Iron Man 2

Most of the time, no wait, ALL of the time a sequel is just an excuse for Hollywood to cash in on the success of a great film. They're usually not bad, but sometimes a sequel can ruin a good thing. Yet sometimes, on rare occasions they get it right. There are those rare sequels that don't try to top or outdo the last one, don't sacrifice character development or story for explosions, and don't try to be bigger for the sake of being bigger. Examples of this are The Dark Knight, Halloween 2 (1981), Aliens, The Godfather Part 2, Spiderman 2, Lethal Weapon 2, Terminator 2, and now Iron Man 2 can stand alongside these great films as one of the greatest sequels ever made. So now let me explain why. At the end of Iron Man, Tony Stark confessed to the world that he is Iron Man and the movie picks up right where we were left off. The government claims that the Iron Man suit is an extremely dangerous WMD and needs to be turned over to the military. Of course Tony Stark is unwilling to hand it over saying the is suit is not a weapon and that he "is" Iron Man and that there is no threat to anyone. Stark also mentions that no one is close to being able to imitate the technology used to build anything that can compete with his suit. Little did he know that waiting in the works was Ivan Vanko who blames the Stark family for his fathers misfortunes and wants to destroy the Stark legacy. He is just as smart as Tony and he wants blood. While Tony is once again doing on of his billionaire playboy stunts by taking over his companies stock car in a race Ivan comes onto the track and shows the world that there is someone out there who can take Iron Man. After seeing this Tony Stark's business rival Justin Hammer played by the ever talented Sam Rockwell breaks Ivan out of jail and enlists him to help embarrass Stark even further. There is a lot of other conflict in the story that I wont give away here, but let me explain why I mentioned earlier that I think this is one of the greatest sequels ever. The best example I can think of to make my point is the second Transformers movie. Transformers was a fun and interesting modern take on a classic cartoon, but the sequel forgot that with all the explosions it was supposed to tell a story as well, so instead we got a movie so bad that all the robot action was pointless and the whole thing was just stupid. Whereas the filmmakers for Iron Man 2 realized that the reason why people love the first one so much wasn't because of the action, but because of the story it told, and the great characters that came along with it, and instead of making a bigger movie, they made a movie that reminded us why we fell in love with Tony Stark and the gang in the first place. The characters in Iron Man 2 all have their own growth that they have to go through and we learn more about them in the process. So instead of giving the audience more eye candy and over the top action, we get everything we loved about Iron Man in the first place. Everything that made the first one great is present in the sequel without overshadowing the first one so much so that you cant revisit it. I think that's what makes a good sequel, and just like when they introduced us to Iron Man, they got it right.

4 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter or facebook, let me know there.

one luv, Toinne

The Losers

So...The Losers. I had a lot of fun watching The Losers despite the fact that it's kind of a bad movie. The story is one we've seen a million times, a team of special ops soldiers get betrayed by someone during their mission and while they are believed to be dead they regroup and try to devise a plan for revenge, then out of nowhere a person who can or cant be trusted offers help but with their own motives. It's pretty much the same old song and dance. Yet, for some reason even though this film was completely predictable and had that "been there before" feeling, I still enjoyed it. I think the credit goes to the characters in the film. All the characters were pretty cliche but the actors playing them gave these paint by numbers characters charm. Hot off Avatar the unbelievably sexy Zoe Saldana played a pretty badass, ball-busting, bazooka toting chick, and then there was Chris Evans who is to me always fun to watch (he made those atrocious Fantastic Four movies somewhat tolerable) who played a geeky guy who is aware yet somehow at the same time completely unaware of his total geekiness and he was just hilarious. Dean Morgan and Idris Elba were the two kinda head guys of the group, the ones who put the plans together, and their buddy on screen chemistry was fantastic. Newcomer Oscar Jaenada (at least I think he's a newcomer, I'd never seen him before) played the really cool guy who said few words but had a strong presence, and last but certainly not least Jason Patric (who was great in this movie) played exactly the type of villain a movie like this needs, a wisecracking know it all with a plan for destruction. So I guess if it isn't obvious by now, I didn't enjoy the movie so much as I did the characters and performances being as they're the only thing I really remember about this movie, I mean The Losers is a decent action flick, but it's really nothing you haven't seen before. Not worth the ticket price, but give it a rental when it comes out on dvd because The Losers is a bad movie that is a whole lot of fun to watch.

3 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter or facebook let me know there.

one luv, Toinne

Kick-Ass

What I originally intended to do with this review was to simply write: Kick-Ass, does. Score it and leave it at that, but I feel like I need to explain why Kick-Ass is one of the greatest movies ever made. Dave Lizewski is just a normal kid in high school. He wonders why nobody has ever put on a costume and tried to help people like superheroes do, you would think with all the comic books and movies out there some idiot would have at least tried it by now, well one day Dave decides he was going to be that idiot. As a comic book fan this is something that I to have fantasized about, I'm just not stupid enough to do it, so Dave creates an alter ego named Kick-Ass and goes out to fight crime. After getting his ass kicked all over YouTube, what he does is inspire other people to do the same, well not get beat up, but to throw on a costume and fight crime . Every action has a reaction because the towns head mob boss doesn't like the fact that there are so called superheroes out there making him look bad. Suddenly Dave's little fantasy world becomes bigger than him, and he quickly starts to realize that he's in way over his head. I expected Kick-Ass to be a fun and entertaining action flick, but what I didn't expect was such a well written story with great characters and serious conflict. Not only does Kick-Ass, well, kick ass, but it's a truly great movie and far surpasses any movie in its genre. Forget Spiderman, X-men, Batman, even Ironman, Kick-Ass has set a standard for what hero movies should be, and has raised the bar high, like astronomical. It's so good because it's relate-able, especially for a comic book fan such as myself. Even though the aforementioned characters have films that are pretty entertaining, none of them can really be related to, I love superheroes, but I have always felt kind of a disconnect to the characters simply because non of that was possible in real life. Kick-Ass on the other hand had real people with no powers, just the tenacity to get out there and help others for the greater good. The story progression and character interaction felt very natural and realistic, and it's because of this that when these peoples lives were in danger, you felt it on a primal level and not just as a bystander. I can't finish this review without mentioning Chloe Grace Moretz who plays Hit Girl. She owns this movie. This little girl is the highlight of the film, watching this 11 year old kick so much ass was so inspiring. Hit Girl is a character that will no doubt be controversial, but makes the movie in every way. People will say that having a little girl put in such dangerous situations, and killing people in such violent ways was irresponsible of the filmmakers, but I look at it this way, I could see if this little girl was vulnerable and the situations she found herself in caused her to be afraid or in over her head, then yeah the naysayers would be right. But Hit Girl was not vulnerable in any way, shape, or form, in fact she made grown men with guns cower in fear, my girlfriend said seeing that was empowering to her as a women, to see this little girl handle her own in the face of death, it made her feel like if Hit Girl could handle herself so well, then so can she. I think that says it all. After seeing it only once Kick-Ass is one of my favorite films of all time, its just a nonstop, roller coaster ride. This movie is made of pure adrenaline, and even as I'm writing this review, I'm still feeling the rush.

5 out of 5

Agree of Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter or face book let me know there.

one luv, Toinne.

In From Netflix: The Boondock Saints 2: All Saints Day

If you saw the first one then you know how much uber cool ass that movie kicked. Well guess what, the second one kicks more. This time around "The Saints" have been hiding out in Ireland for the past nine years, and after all this time someone wants to draw them out. A priest in their neighborhood was murdered in the same fashion they used to kill criminals. This pisses them off in a major way and brought them out of hiding, and back to Boston. One of the best lines in the film is "Whoever wanted to bring them out of hiding only had one small flaw in their plan, it worked." Boy did it ever because they hit Boston with the vengeance of God. This movie is not just as good as the first one, it's better. It uses the same formula that the first film had, which really works for the film because it switches things up on your expectations by doing the same thing in a different way. There's no doubt that this film will have the same cult classic status the first one did. Look if you saw the first one then I really don't have to convince you to see this, in fact you might have already seen it, but if you're not aware of these cult classics I strongly recommend putting them in your netlflix queue because they are totally awesome, adrenaline injected, testosterone filled movies.

5 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter of facebook, let me know there.

one luv, Toinne

Why Did I Get Married Too?

I cant tell you how many times I've watched a Tyler Perry movie and thought to myself "Isn't this the exact same movie he did last time?" It's not a secret, I don't like Tyler Perry movies. I've never really seen one that I considered to be a well done film with fleshed out characters. His films are always so predictable to the point that within the first 20 minutes of every one his films I have figured out every characters actions down to the very second. That is until now. You may not believe these words coming from me, and honestly, I almost don't believe them myself either, but 'Why Did I Get Married Too?' is an outstanding film, and hands down the best Tyler Perry film to date. There I said it, now let me tell you why. This time around Perry doesn't just give us the formula that we have all become used to in his films, you know it just as well as I do. A broken, scarred, and mentally shatter women learns a lesson through love and faith in God and suddenly becomes a better person. Throw in a few scenes with Madea, a church scene, some rebellious kids, a friend with great advice that is never taken, an abusive husband, and that one perfect guy who will magically make everything better and you have a Tyler Perry movie. None of that is present here. Perry really explores each couple in the film with such depth and emotion that I was totally taken off guard, I knew I was watching a Tyler Perry film, but it didn't feel like it. It's almost as if he knows what we have come to expect from him and said, not this time. I usually would give some details on the story, but it's just so well done that I really don't want to give anything away. The performances in this film are also top notch, everyone brings their A game in this one, even Perry who I never really considered much of an actor. I'm still in shock and now finally I'm a believer. I always felt like Perry had a great film in him, he just had to step away from his formula to give it to us, and that is exactly what he does here. If he can continue to make films like this, then I will be just as excited to see his films as everyone else I know. If you miss out on this film than you will be missing out on Tyler Perry's best work yet.

4 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter or facebook let me know there.

one luv, Toinne.

How To Train Your Dragon

In my eyes Dreamworks Animation Studios has always been unable to find its way from under Pixar's giant shadow. Dreamworks has made some entertaining movies, but has never reached the greatness in storytelling that the guys and gals at Pixar give us every single time. Well now we have How To Train Your Dragon, and this time Dreamworks got it right. It tells the story of a kid named Hiccup, he's a Viking but you wouldn't be able to tell it by looking at him. He's scrawny, timid, and not really good at doing what Vikings do best, killing dragons. One day he actually ends up trapping a dragon that no one in his village has even seen, but when he goes to kill the dragon, he just cant do it. This was crushing to him inside knowing he didn't have it in him to do the one thing Vikings were born to do. After this crushing blow something happens between him and the dragon the he eventually names Toothless that made him look at dragons in a completely different way. What I like about 'Dragon' so much is the fact that the story develops so well, it's always natural and never feels hokey or forced like most Dreamworks films do. Hiccup really has to earn the trust of Toothless before the dragon even let's him interact with it, and there are a few surprises and plot twists that truly keep this story very interesting. It never stays in one place to long and we find out something about the dragons near the end of the movie that ends up changing the whole film. As I was watching it though it had occurred to me that this is Avatar with dragons. One person finds himself on the inside of a misunderstood society and ends up trying to protect them, it's the same thing. I'm not complaining, Avatar was awesome, and so is How To Train Your Dragon. Dreamworks best film to date, and it's about time. Pixar you now have real competition.

5 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter or facebook, let me know there.

one luv, Toinne.

Clash of the Titans

Thank God Why Did I Get Married Too was sold out or else you would be reading a review for that film. So after managing to avoid yet another Tyler Perry movie I was able to check out Clash of the Titans. The story is based on Greek mythology, Perseus played by Avatar's Sam Worthington is a demigod, half man-half god, the son of Zeus. After men have declared war on the Gods Hades comes to Zeus and asks him to "let loose" on them. Zeus agrees to Hades inquiry not knowing that it was all part of a plan to dethrone Zeus, Hades was just waiting for the right moment. Down on Earth Perseus has just discovered that he is a demigod and at first doesn't know how to deal with the news. After Hades gives an ultimatum to the people of the city of Argos they turn to Perseus for help, he doesn't hesitate on the offer so that he can have a chance at taking down Hades for killing the man who raised him, the only father he's ever known. It's a familiar story because at some point or another we have all came across Greek mythology in our lives, this is just an updated version with big CG creatures. The script for Clash is very solid I really had no problems with the story at all, my beef lies with the fact that the script was just too big for director Louis Leterrier. Don't get my wrong, I enjoyed the film quite a bit, but it just wasn't as epic as it could have been, and coming from Greek mythology this movie could have been EPIC. I just felt like if this script was in the hands of Steven Spielberg or Peter Jackson this would've been a great movie, but it's just a popcorn flick that could have been so much more. Overall Clash of the Titans is a pretty decent flick and worth the ticket price. I didn't see the 3D version of this film only because I heard the 3D conversion was terrible and takes you out of the movie, but I would recommend Clash if you just want a decent action flick and really nothing more.

3 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you think about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter or facebook let me know there.

one luv, Toinne.

Hot Tub Time Machine

So the premise for Hot Tub Time Machine is totally ridiculous. Three best friends who have lost contact with each other played by John Cusack, Craig Robinson, and Rob Cordury decide to take a weekend vacation to get away from life after one of them "tried" to commit suicide. They bring along Cusack's nephew played by Clark Duke of Greek and Sex Drive fame to the place that used to be their favorite vacation spot when they were in high school. When they get there its not the awesome spot they remember it to be, they cant help but wonder what happened and there's nothing else to do but get in the hot tub and get drunk. Somehow they end up back in 1986, and hilarious hijinks ensue. The idea for this movie is so silly and ridiculous and everyone involved takes advantage of that. They know it's silly and they just don't care, and that's why Hot Tub Time Machine is so much fun. Even when trying to figure out how they went back in time, they use theories from other popular time travel films. It's just so funny, and what a better time to set this film than in the 80's, America's most hilarious and weird decade. 80's joke never get old and this movie is proof of that. Every since The Hangover came out last year every comedy I've seen since has been compared to it, and HTTM didn't make me hurt myself laughing the way The Hangover did, but it still had those WTF LOL OMG moments that keep me laughing the entire time. There is some great stuff here, and really shouldn't be missed by anyone who loves to go to movies and have a laugh.

4 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you think, or of you follow me on twitter or facebook let me know there.

one luv, Toinne.

Repo Men

Anyone who knows me knows I like different, and Repo Men is certainly different. The premise for the film is very grim and dark. In a not too distant future a company called The Union has invented a breakthrough in modern medicine, they have created artificial organs. No more waiting on a list for a liver transplant, just go to The Union and get a liver, just that simple. Well not really, you see these organs are ridiculously expensive, so expensive that its a life decision in more than one way to get one. Just as any big investment, if you cant make the payments it gets taken away. If you can't pay for your house, the bank takes it away. If you cant pay for your liver, that's where Jude Law and Forest Whitaker come in, they track you down and literally take your organ out of your body, and they love their jobs. Now with a premise as dark as Repo Men Whitaker and Law manage to give it a lighthearted buddy movie feel. The first act of this film is hilarious, and given the subject matter, that's pretty impressive. Speaking of the first act, it pulls no punches the very first scene in the film is very graphic and really lets you know what you're in for, if I had a gripe with Repo Men it would be the second act. After a pace that was fast, action packed, and just funny it drags in the second act slowing things down a bit to explore the world of the film. I'm usually all for exploring characters, most of you know this, but for some reason this film misses the mark just slightly. Once we get into the third act, the climax of the film picks up that energy again and never really stops until the end of the film, which leaves us with a very unexpected twist that you will never see coming. All in all Repo Men is a very enjoyable fun film to watch. It won't stick with you or blow you away, but for two hours I can guarantee you'll be entertained. The onscreen chemistry between Law and Whitaker is worth the ticket price alone.

3 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter or facebook, let me know there.

one luv, Toinne.

2012

I'm just going to get right to it, 2012 is one of the MOST EPIC movies I have seen in my entire life. It's so big, so intense, and so chaotic that it was almost to much to watch. This movie is a pure adrenaline rush. Yet, what I liked about it the most is among all of the chaos, death, and destruction, at it's core 2012 is a human story. Jackson Curtis is a divorced father who doesn't get a lot of time to spend with his kids, but looks forward to their annual vacation at Yellowstone National Park. While he's there he and his kids discover that a portion of the park has been restricted to the public. Curiosity gets the best them and they decide to cross the line and continue hiking. Almost immediately they are surrounded by Army personnel asking them why they were in the area, they don't get into any real trouble, but are told that they cant be there. Someone in the park witnessed this and asked Jackson what did those army guys say to him. Turns out this person was aware of the Army's presence in Yellowstone. He was a conspiracy theorist and also knew why they were studying the park. He tells Jackson about the whole Mayans thing that we all have heard about by now. When Jackson and his kids arrive back home in LA the s**t hits the fan. Now Jackson's only mission in however long he has on this Earth is to make sure his family survives the planets horrible fate. What follows is some of the biggest, scariest, just plain intense sequences ever put to film. This is the movie director Roland Emmerich has always wanted to make, seeing as a few of his past movies are Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, but those films are reruns of The Magic School Bus compared to this movie. While I'm on the subject of Emmerich, whats his deal with destroying the Earth in movies? Anyway, forget those movies because you ain't seen nothing yet. I can't say this enough, 2012 is epic on a scale that I've have only seen in one other movie, and that movie is Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. It doesn't reach the epic heights of LOTR, but it get pretty damn close. Like I said earlier what makes this movie work so well isn't the big of it, but the small of it, the heart. If the film didn't take the time it did to connect us to these characters it would have just been a big movie with no lasting impact, but because I really cared about Jackson and his family, everything happening around them was so hard to watch because just like Jackson the only thing I wanted was for them to survive, because if it were me I wouldn't give up no matter how insurmountable the odds may have seemed. I would try until the was no more breath left in my body, and then keeping trying for about two minutes after that. It's a story of human hope, and how we as humans are our best in the face of adversity, even when faced with something as harrowing as the end of the world.

5 out of 5

I gotta start seeing some bad movies, I feel like I've been giving out to many good scores lately, whens the next Twilight movie coming out? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter or facebook let me know there.

one luv, Toinne.

The Princess and the Frog

There is a list of Disney movies that hold a special place in our hearts. Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Aladdin and now The Princess and the Frog can be added to that list. I gotta be honest, I was skeptical about this one, I was wondering if Disney would be able to recreate what I consider to be the golden age of Disney films. Those movies had a magic about them that couldn't be explained, but was felt worldwide, and The Princess and the Frog has that same magic. The setting is jazz era New Orleans which works in favor of the film in every way. The jazzy southern tunes of the film really give it a life of it's own and set it apart from the classics, while at the same time earning it's place to stand aside them. Disney returns to it's roots with a vengeance, when Toy Story was released in 1995 it was the beginning of the end for films like this, but nostalgia is a funny thing, and can help leap some of the best ideas. The Princess and the Frog is like a trip back to the early 1990's and is a dream come true for anyone who has ever enjoyed the films I mentioned earlier. Disney is back in full form and I hope they can continue this tradition and teach a new generation of moviegoers what the Disney's films of my day taught me. That magic is real, and it exist inside of all of us.

5 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie or if you follow me on twitter or facebook, let me know there.

one luv, Toinne

Up In The Air

In a modern Hollywood where everything is explosions, aliens, car crashes, secret agent babysitters, pirates, superheros, sight gags, fart jokes, brooding vampires and shirtless werewolves. It's refreshing to see an adult film with adult themes made for adults. Up In The Air is the story of Ryan Bingham, a man who has nothing in the world to weigh him down. No real home to speak of, barely a connection with his family, no wife, no kids, and none of this bothers him. In fact, he loves his life and the choices he has made, making his job that much more easy to do. He works at an agency that is hired to fire people. When companies are downsizing they call Ryan's company to do their dirty work for them, and given the recent state of the economy, business is booming for Ryan's company. You would think a guy like Ryan has a cynical the world is against me attitude, but on the contrary Ryan is a pretty decent guy who loves people, and life in general, but he doesn't have a preconceived notions of where he should be or what he should be doing with his life. He does what he does not because he likes it, but because he's good at it, he enters a persons life on one of the worst days of their lives, and helps them find a way to get through it with a encounter that may only last for about fifteen minutes. George Clooney gives a great performance in this film. Anyone else might have played Ryan cynical, because at times his dialouge is, but Clooney gives Ryan a sense of complacency that just makes him a regular guy like the rest of us. About some of those themes I mentioned earlier. Loneliness, relationships, losing your job, whats expected of us in life are just some of the themes this film touched on. It handles and examines these things that were fear or cherish in life with such elegance and grace its almost mesmerizing, in such a way that when the film was over, it took me a second to realize it. And even after I realized the film was over I still sat there watching the credits roll taking in what I had just saw. It takes a great film to make me do that, and Up In The Air is certainly a great film.

5 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter or facebook let me know there.

one luv, Toinne.

Black Dynamite

Forget Shaft. Forget Dolemite. Forget Coffy. Black Dynamite is the greatest blaxploitation film ever made. The reason for this is because it takes all of the crazy elements from those movies made back in the 70's and 80's and puts them all into one movie. If you saw the trailer for this movie you would first think it was a parody of these film, when actually its and homage, a tribute to a genre of film that has a huge cult following to this day. In true blaxploitation fashion the film is grainy, the color is off, the directing is bad, and the actors can't act, except it's all done on purpose. There are so many things that could've gone wrong with this movie, but they got it right, they got it so right. From boom mics being left in shots, to actors suddenly becoming out of focus, to the jive turkey talk and way over the top action, they got it right. Starring Michael Jai White as the title character this film is apparently a labor of love made by people who love this genre of film and just wanted to make a movie in tribute to those films. If this was just an attack on those movies this movie could have been stupid and offensive, but Black Dynamite is quite possibly the most entertaining film I've ever seen. You may not have even heard of this movie before reading this review, but I'm telling you now, find it and see it, you will not be disappointed.

4 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you think about this movie, or if you follow me on twitter or facebook let me know there.

Sherlock Holmes

Completely awesome from start to finish. That's all you need to know.

5 out of 5

one luv, Toinne

In From Netflix: The Hurt Locker

A lot of people like The Hurt Locker, it was one of the most critically acclaimed films of last year, and probably will be nominated for an Oscar. I just can't seem to jump on that "great movie" bandwagon with this one, don't get me wrong, The Hurt Locker is a good movie, but not a great one. The setting is Iraq in 2005 and we follow a bomb squad who's mission is to find and disarm IED's in the field. That's pretty much it, there's isn't a real story to speak of except for maybe in the first scene the squad leader of the bomb squad gets killed in action and was replaced by a new squad leader who takes a cowboy approach to disarming bombs. He doesn't like using the bot and isn't afraid to get in there with the bombs and get hands on. These moments in the film are really intense and very well done, just great stuff because with every second until the bomb is disarmed you are on the edge thinking it will go off. The fact that director Kathryn Bigelow was able to do this over and over is amazing, and she came up with some pretty creative and unpredictable situations. My problem isn't with the bomb disarming scene's but with the scenes in between. There isn't any real character development, and it all just kinda felt like something to fill in time until we get to the next bomb. It's kind of a let down because I felt like if we got to know these characters better we would care more whether or not that bomb went off, instead we just got really cool action moments. So for me The Hurt Locker just felt like moments of intensity followed by moments of..meh. Overall though it's a pretty decent movie and I would recommend it, I just felt like there was something missing and it didn't turn out to be the great film that I was expecting. If it weren't for the great action scenes I don't think I would have liked this one, those scenes make the movie, so much so that I don't feel like I'm scoring the movie itself, but the action sequences. Oh well.

4 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie.

one luv, Toinne.

In From Netflix: Surrogates

There are only two reasons why I would fall asleep on a movie. One, I was really tired; Two, it was really boring. In this case Surrogates is the latter. Set in a futuristic world where humans no longer interact with each other, but through robot surrogates controlled by computers or their minds or something like that (think Avatar but the opposite of awesome) humans don't have to live with fear anymore. Surrogates give them the ability to live out their wildest dreams. The premise for this movie is pretty solid I must admit, I guess it tries to be a commentary on how we live behind our computers, and sure, it has some resonance, but the message doesn't really come across as intended. Back to the story, someone has found a way to kill humans using the surrogates through a device that fries the robots chips therefor frying the brain of the human using it. Since this has never happened before its kind of a big deal, and the person responsible has to be found. This is where Bruce Willis comes in, who tries his best to save this movie, but just cant. The thing about Surrogates is it starts out pretty interesting with some pretty cool ideas but after about maybe twenty minutes in I started to realize that this movie wasn't going anywhere and all the ideas of the film had been burned out. In a Sci-Fi film we constantly have to be introduced to something new to give us a sense of the world of the film. Sci-Fi movies that did that best in recent memory were Star Trek, Avatar, and District 9 there was always something to give us a sense of the world and ground the fantasy of the film in reality. In the case of Surrogates that's it, the surrogate robots are pretty much all we get and the novelty wears off pretty quickly. Another thing is about this movie is, in the end our character really had nothing to lose. If our hero gets to a point where he/she has nothing to fight for then everything the film has worked towards in creating suspense goes right out the window. It's a shame to see a movie with such potential be such a throw away film, but Surrogates just isn't worth the time. I'll give it some credit for it's potential, but if you missed out on this movie, it really wouldn't hurt.

2 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie.

one luv, Toinne

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

J.K. Rowling has captivated us with her world of magic and wizardry for almost ten years now, and as in most cases you can never have too much of a good thing. The story of Harry Potter has been a long fun and magical journey and know that it's almost over it makes me a little sad. Remember when Harry was just a kid and didn't know who he was, or anything about Hogwarts and how magical that all felt? Well nine years later the world of HP feels just a magical as it did in the beginning. The only difference is he's a little older now, and not afraid to talk to girls. Harry and the gang are witches and wizards who go to a magical school, but they are still teenagers. I love how Rowling always finds a way to remind us in every book or movie that even though these great adventures are going on they are just happen to kids. This time around she uses hormones, the girls are growing boobs, the guys have strong chins and broad shoulders and everyone is starting to notice. Half Blood Prince at moments plays out like a teen comedy, but it's still HP. Half Blood Prince is the most story heavy of all the films so far, Death Eaters are attacking muggles now, they are getting braver and the loom of dark things are coming. Draco Malfoy has been chosen for something, and since I write spoiler free reviews I wont say what it is, and to ensure that Malfoy stays safe and carries out his mission Severus Snape is somewhat persuaded to make The Unbreakable Vow saying that he will watch over Malfoy and make sure what he has to do will be done, if he breaks this vow, he will die, heavy stuff, and that's not all. That is the basis for what you need to move on with the rest of the story, but I feel like if I write anymore I'm going to give the whole thing away. This is the first HP film I saw without first reading the book, and I now see why everyone who hasn't read the books enjoy the movies so much, when you're not expecting to see one thing you simply enjoy what is happening. I was so captivated by the film that I completely forgot about being upset about not having time to read the book before the movie came out. It was funny, charming, intense, and enchanting. This is The Empire Strikes Back of HP movies, it sets us up something big to come and leaves us feeling a little unsettled in the end. I enjoyed the HP movie experience so much that I'm thinking about holding of on reading Deathly Hallows until after the movie come out, if that doesn't make me a true HP fan then so be it, but I loved Half Blood Prince and until now I thought Prisoner of Azkaban was the best HP movie. One thing about the movie is it assumes you are caught up with whats going on in the would of wizards and magic, so going into this movie cold is not a good idea.

4 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie.

one luv Toinne.

Knowing

Hmm, I'm not really sure how to write this review because Knowing was a complete 180 of what I actually expected. Ok so the story goes like this, 50 years ago a time capsule was buried at a school and this is the year the it will be resurfaced. Inside is a piece of paper that at first glance looks like a bunch of numbers, but an astrophysicists played by Nic Cage figures that this paper has predicted every global disaster in the last 50 years and how many people died in them, and there are three more left. Long story short Nic Cage's character figures out that the last event is the end of the world. I know you think I might have spoiled the ending there, but trust me I didn't. Cage is faced with the overwhelming task of trying to stop the end of the world. Now about what I said earlier with Knowing not being what I expected, the film has a more creepy tone than advertised and there is an element to the film that if I was to write about I would give the movie away. That element is what changes the entire movie for better or worse, in my case I liked it, although I have heard that some people just found it confusing or unnecessary. Honestly I think it was just a way for Hollywood to give the audience a somewhat satisfying ending, Hollywood doesn't like sad endings and tries to avoid them at all cost. I imagine that the first draft for the script of this film ends with the world being destroyed, but the execs didn't like it so they changed it into what we have now. I might be going of on a rant here, but I feel like I'm intelligent enough to handle an unsettling ending I LOVE unhappy endings in films simply because it almost never happens, like The Mist, wow now THAT was an ending. Anyway if you can follow a movie that switches gears on you halfway through than you might enjoy Knowing, if not you're just going to end up confused. So really this on is on you.

3 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie.

Chicago 10

There is nothing like a good documentary. Chicago 10 follow the events of what might have been the largest protest in American history at the Democratic convention in 1967 during the Vietnam war, and the trial a year later after eight men were arrest for organizing the protest. The lawyers of these men round out the Chicago 10. This may be one of the most interesting documentaries I've have ever seen simply because of the way it was approached. As you would expect from a documentary there is footage that was taken during the protest and of the people who were involved, but what I didn't expect was the courtroom scenes being animated. Documentarian Brett Morgan didn't have any footage of the trial because there was none, so what he did was took the manuscripts from the trial and animated what happened in the courtroom. He felt the story of what happen behind those doors needed to be told. It plays out like a courtroom drama film would, but the best writers in Hollywood wouldn't have been able to make this stuff up. The animated sequences intercut with real footage easily make this the most compelling documentary I've ever seen. If you're like me and love to see a good documentary every now and then Chicago 10 is a MUST SEE, but even if you're not into documentaries you may enjoy this one because it is not approached like a traditional documentary. It is just a great film.

5 out of 5

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie.

Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen

So before I went to see this movie I saw that there was A LOT of hate out there on the internet for T:ROTF. The first thing I noticed was that most of the hate was coming from geeks, and since I kinda consider myself a geek I figured I was going to hate this movie. I don't know if it was because my expectations were so low, but I thought Transformers was almost entertaining. It had some of the best action I'd seen so far this year, but one of the worst, most inconstant and just plain annoying story lines I've seen in a while. I did see some things about this movie that could warrant the outrage against it, but I also saw some very redeeming qualities. First I'll address the bad, the plot is ridiculous and drawn out. It just gets to a point where I was like okay this is a result of the writers strike because it felt like just an excuse for these robots to kick each others asses. The first film did have a somewhat more plausible scenario (if you're willing to except that alien robots are plausible) and it didn't over explain. The first said to us here's whats going on, now watch robots fight. This film says to us here's what going on, but also this and oh yeah one more thing, and wait just a sec...okay now watch robots fight, and it got to a point where it was so far fetched that I almost stopped caring. Yet even with it's silly story it still remains almost entertaining, and in my experience in watching movies if the plot sucks the movie itself will follow, that is not the case here. Why did I go see Transformers in the first place? I didn't go to see deeply effected characters dealing with the perils of everyday life, that's what movies like Crash and Babel are for, I came to see giant robots turn into vehicles and beat the crap out of each other, and that's exactly what I got. In that respect Michael Bay got it right. He knows what we paid for and he gives it to us. T:ROTF is not The Dark Knight or Watchmen, or even Star Trek. Every action movie is not supposed to make you think and feel (although lately its becoming the norm) some action movies are just supposed to be dumb fun action movies that don't take themselves too seriously and that is exactly what this movie is. Yet, still I have come to expect a certain level of quality in storytelling in action movies lately, sure not every action movie has to be as good as the aforementioned movies, but it wouldn't hurt either. I guess I'll just accept this movie for what it is, giant robots that turn into vehicles and beat the crap out of each other and nothing more, but really if the action wasn't solid this movie defiantly would have got a lower rating.

3 out of 5

P.S. Megan Fox was super hot. (Did you really expect me to review this movie without mentioning her)

Agree or Disagree? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about this movie.

one luv, Toinne