The Amazing Spider-Man Review

The Amazing Spider-Man

The Amazing Spider-Man- 2012

Length: 2 hr. 17 min
Genre: Action/Superhero

Cast:
Andrew Garfield

Emma Stone

Dennis Leary

Rhys Ifans

Martin Sheen

Grade: B+

Would I buy: No

Review:

In this reboot of the 2002 box office smash Spiderman comes a new vantage point on a familiar story with an entirely new cast. For the few who don't know of the story, it basically is about an outsider, Peter Parker (Garfield), who lost his parents at a very young age and lives with his aunt and uncle. One day whilst wandering off in a science lab his bitten by a radioactive spider and is then transformed into a hero. Set out to find the truth about his parents and seek justice for those who are helpless and are put in harms way, Peter uncovers a startling truth that leads him to the fight of his life to fight with one of his main comic book nemesis, "The Lizard". 

Before I get too critical I must say that I was very impressed with Andrew Garfield's performance as Peter Parker. He did a fantastic job portraying the emotions that Peter probably felt as well as providing a lot of comic relief to the story when it was needed. I have been a fan of him since I saw his performance in The Social Network, so I was very excited to see what he could do here, and he delivers. Emma Stone is always on point and she continued her streak in this film, and Rhys Ifans is slowing working up my ladder on favorite actors because I love every character he plays in every film he's in. Martin Sheen even gave a good performance, so that's when you know its the goods.

There are a lot of mixed reviews about this film and I think the majority of them are strictly based off the fact that this reboot takes place at a very unneeded time, which I do agree with. There just wasn't a big enough gap from Spider-man 3 to now, to make us wonder if someone could do it better, however that's just my opinion. However,  as a whole I must say I do think they did it a little better in most categories. One of the main things I felt that was missing though was the menacing presence of the villain. What I mean is, in the original Spider-man you knew that the goblin was just up to no good and simply wished to wreak havoc upon everyone. In this film, at some points it's almost as if you felt sorry for the Lizard's character, even when he was destroying everyone. I feel that this is also at fault on the script for poor pacing. I mean the first hour and 20 minutes you are watching all of this backstory of Peter Parker and then it immediately switches and says, here's the villain, someone needs to stop him, Spider-Man where are you? Even though I felt this way I must say the action scenes were much better in this film than the originals.


One thing MANY people will be pissed off about and that I completely understand is that the trailer sets this film up to answer a simple question, "What happened to Peter's parents?" I'm just going to tell you now so you can be warned you don't find out any good information. They basically made that seem like it was going to be the main point to clearly set up for a sequel. I mean we all knew it was coming, but really? Make us wonder the whole time to get nothing in return? Also there were MANY parts in the trailers that weren't in the movie. For example, the line "You want the truth about your parents Peter? Come and get it!" Yeah it wasn't in there. Cool. The one line that says come and fight me please I will show you what happened isn't in there. I've been lied to and I don't really appreciate it. Anyways this movie was worth the cost of admission and I will see the second one for sure. It is a good time and I recommend it for sure!

Promethius review

Promethius- 2012

Length: 2 hr. 4 min
Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller

Cast:
Michael Fassbender
Charlize Theron
Logan Marshall-Green
Guy Pearce
Idris Elba
Noomi Rapace

Grade: B-

Would I buy: No

Review:

As most of you know this film is, or is set up to be based on the trailer, a prequel to the classic 1979 horror Alien directed by Ridley Scott. This film is essentially about a team of explorers who follow mythology and want to find the origins of humanity, and are quite sure that they have found a planet with a life form on it. Needless to say, they get a little curious and decide to go check it out. However what they find is not at all what they wanted to find, and what they found as our beggining, as the tagline says, could be our end.

Let me first start off by saying that I have read many reviews about this film before and after watching it, and I disagree with all of them that state this film was boring and/or a film with a glorified trailer. While it does take a while to get started into the actual exploration and findings, once the intensity is started it does not stop. One thing to credit to this movie if anything is that it will definitely grab your attention and have you thinking about it way after the final frame. Do not listen to people saying otherwise, please. Also there are many reviews out there saying that this is NOT a prequel, and they could not be any more wrong. Without giving spoilers I just want to let everyone know that the planet that Promethius is set on and the one that Alien and Aliens is set on are different, however once you watch this film, especially the end, and if you remember anything about Alien you will definitely see how these are indeed related.

As I'm sure most of you have picked up on I am huge on acting in a movie. Every single character in this movie was phenomenal in my opinion. The true standouts to me were of course, Michael Fassbender and Idris Elba, and also Logan Marshall-Green. Every frame these characters were in just showed how truly great they are, and how dedicated they are to the roles they play.

Though this film was great it does not go without flaws. There was one scene that I will not describe in detail, however it was just horrifically unrealistic even for a sci fi movie. Surgery is all I will say. Also I just love how in movies being made today people who are supposed to be the smartest people in the world make dumber desicions than I would in certain situations. They make characters just stupid sometimes, and it really just aggravates me. Other than that I did enjoy this movie and I reccomend to see it in 3-D. It is worth the cost of the ticket and you will enjoy yourself!

Snow White and the Huntsman/ Promethius

I apologize for the delay on reviews but nonetheless here are 2 reviews!

Snow White and the Huntsman- 2012

Length: 2 hr. 7 min
Genre: Action/Adventure

Cast:
Kristen Stewart
Chris Hemsworth
Charlize Theron
Sam Claffin


Grade: B

Would I buy: No

Review:

This version of the classic fairy tale story of Snow White definitely has a darker tone than any other version to date. This version is about an evil queen (played by an amazing Theron) who is adament about being the fairest of all people and ruling for all eternity without ever aging a bit. However, the problem lies whenever she finds out that the only one who is fairer than she is Snow White (Stewart). In an attempt to take her heart Snow White is able to escape into the wilderness after being locked away for years. Intent on finding her the evil queen acquires the skills of a widowed huntsman (Hemsworth) to track her down and bring her back. What starts off as a man hunt essentially becomes an alliance of trust between the two, however the queen will stop at nothing to get Snow Whites heart and reign forever.

There are many credits to be given to this film, primarily the acting by Charlize Theron as the evil queen, and also the ability of this movie to maintain a constant theme. From the second this movie starts you just feel the dark mood and sense of fear to be given to the queen which is something that many films fail to do. It legitimately made you fear what she would do next, and in all actuality made you sympathetic for Snow White. Now, to add on to the acting critique, contrary to what you may think Kristen Stewart actually didn't do bad as Snow White because honestly the script for Snow White definitely complimented Stewart's acting "abilities". Chris Hemsworth always does a great job in my opinion and he definitely fit the role of the huntsman.

My only gripe about the film was that I felt it was oddly paced. Although the mood stayed consistent, the script made it difficult sometimes to maintain the feeling of sympathy at certain points. There were at least two instances in the film where I thought they were trying to make you sympathetic about something you couldn't due to poor character developement. Also it was hard for me to choose which of the two men I wanted her to love because they both had redeeming qaulities in each, and I wish that it would have been clear cut who it was. Other than that I thought the movie was very good and I recommend it to everyone to at least give it a shot. It didn't blow me away, however I definitely thought it was about average.

Think Like A Man

Think Like a Man- 2012

Length: Approx. 2 hr. 2 min.
Genre: Comedy

Cast:
Kevin Hart                                                                  Meagan Good
Michael Ealy                                                               Gabrielle Union
Jerry Ferrara                                                               Regina Hall
Romany Malco                                                            Taraji P. Henson
Terrence Jenkins                                                          Jennifer Lewis
Steve Harvey

Grade: B+

Would I buy: Yes

Review:

Based on Steve Harvey's book "Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man" the story of this film intertwines the story of multiple friends experiencing the trials of dating. There are 6 main men in the story who fit many different stereotypes of men: the happily married, the divorced, the dreamer, the mother's boy, the slacker, and the player. For the opposite the opposite team there is the single mother, the superficial woman, the accustomed to hurt, and the woman who is tired of complacently. Once an airing of an interview with Steve Harvey is made public about his new book, women have the power of the man's mind at their fingertips while reading this book. This book gives women insight to the way men think, what they really mean, their desires, and ultimately what they expect. The book gives women tips and advice on how to make their relationships more effective and to sort out the right guys from the fakes. This makes for a hilarious movie that kicks off the summer in the right directions for all comedies to come!

As well all are well aware, Kevin Hart is a comedic genius and in this film he does not disappoint. However what was truly surprising about this film was that the supporting cast was very funny as well.  This made this film much more pleasurable knowing that it could stand on it's own two feet without the presence of Kevin Hart on the screen. The character development in this movie was spot on as well making it very easy to relate to the characters and want them to succeed. Every character had about as much screen time as needed to tell their story and I felt that the script was very well written for the most part. What was very refreshing about this movie was that it was actually a comedy. So many times now a days we are seeing films portrayed as comedies in the trailer only to find out that we really payed to see a drama with spurts of laughs. This film stuck to what it said it was going to do and delivered many laughs while making you feel for the characters too which is something not many films recently have pulled off!

As stated earlier I felt the acting and the script were great for the most part, however one thing I thought that could have been better was the fact that at many times all of the stories were experiencing the same problems at the same time. It truly was like the same dialogue being spoken four times in a row and it got a little repetitive at times hearing the women asking the same questions and the men having the same answers. As different as all of the problems were in the movie, I felt that maybe the success should have been divided more and that the problems could have been slightly more diverse. Every movie is pretty predictable to an extent (except for a few recently that we have seen like...Inception), but it wasn't just the end that was predictable in this movie it was the negativity of ALL of the relationships after you found out ONE was having a problem.

Other than that I had a great time and I felt like it was a great way to start the summer! I recommend everyone to go see this movie soon!

Dark Shadows

Dark Shadows-2012

Length: Approx. 1 hr. 53 min.
Genre: Comedy/Horror

Cast:
Johnny Depp                                                                  Gulliver McGrath
Michelle Phiefer
Chloe Moretz
Helena Bonham Carter
Eva Green

Grade: C

Would I buy: No

Review:

Johnny Depp and Tim Burton together usually make a great combonation whenever it comes to works of cinema, however here the effort is for naught. Dark Shadows is about a man named Barnabas Collins (Depp) who practically owns the town of Collinsport in his hands due to the family business. He has everything he has ever wanted, money, power, and the love of his life. Unfortunately, this power attracts those with wicken intentions, one of those being a woman named Angelique (Green). After denying her confession of love Angelique is set upon making Barnabas pay for what he has donce, hence killing both of his parents and casting the love of his life under a spell to spiral into her doom. Barnabas' attempt to join his parents and his love are vanquished after he is put under a spell to be a vampire and is eternally doomed to a life of solitude until two centuries later he is found where he has to adjust to the new world and right what was done wrong to him!

The whole problem with this film to me was what plaques many films now a days, the trailer. The trailer for this film (in my eyes at least) seemed to give off a vibe that this film would be pretty funny. The whole problem here though is that the film seemed indecisive on which route it wanted to take. The tone of this film was very dark, and with a dark film such as this it is very difficult to strike a median of comedic elements while keeping the tone still dark and spooky. The dialoque was witty and funny at points but there were just no laugh out loud moments to be able to correctly label this film as funny.

As far as the acting is concerned, I thought it was firing on all cylinders. My only other gripe about this film was that the pacing seemed to be very off. The first 20 or so minutes of this film felt extremely rushed to me. An important concept in a film like this is wanting to feel for the main characters struggle and rooting for them, however here it was just hard to decide who Barnabas was at first. Later on in the film you develope a sense of wanting him to succeed, but it just took to long to decide.

A film of this genre isn't typically my cup of tea however this film did nothing to boost my opinion of it in anyway. I would say that it was a very average film that is honestly pretty forgetable. If you enjoy Johnny Depp's work then by all means go see this movie but do not expect to be blown away.

The Avengers movie review

The Avengers- 2012

Length: Approx. 2 hr. 12 min.
Genre: Action

Cast:
Samuel L. Jackson                                                                      Scarlett Johanson
Chris Hemsworth                                                                        Jeremy Renner
Mark Ruffalo                                                                              Chris Evans
Robert Downey Jr.                                                                     Tom Hiddleston

Grade: A+

Would I buy: Absolutely

Review:

To sum up this film in one word I think the word I would choose is "chaos". From the moment this film starts until the second it finishes it is a mood of simply chaos, and I mean that in a positive light. The plot of this movie is basically that Loki (Hidleston) comes to Earth in an effort to obtain an energy source that will ultimately make him ruler of all worlds, and give him what he rightfully is owed and what was taken from him by his "brother" Thor, power. Once chaos ensues the Director of international peacekeeping, Nick Fury (Jackson), then goes on a search to assemble a team powerful enough to stop this corruption from ending our world as we know it. This team is called the Avengers.

Let me start by saying that any expectations I had about this movie prior to it's commencement were completely and utterly smashed (pun intended on the Hulk's behalf). This movie not only had some of the best action sequences in a movie that I have ever seen, but it also had me crying laughing at many points in the movie. The script of this movie was spot on and perfectly blended the contrasting characters with nothing in common but good in their hearts to work together to achieve one goal. Every hero in this movie was just as important as the next, all though in some cases I felt some were robbed of screen time. The acting was great, the plot was great, for a superhero movie that is, and the action sequences were phenomenal. Now as we all know Robert Downey Jr. has comedic timing on lock, however half of the funniest things in this movie were non verbal. There were so many parts of this movie where the crowd was in hysterics but not because something was said, just things that were done. I loved how the writers of this movie gave Captain America the reigns and allowed him to instruct because that is honestly true to the comics. However, of all the characters in this movie the true standout to me was Mark Ruffalo as the Bruce Banner/The Hulk; I mean the guy is just phenomenal. He had so many mannerisms that fit the character of the Hulk so well that when I think back on the Incredible Hulk (2007), I feel that these mannerisms definitely should have been implemented there as well. Mark Ruffalo has a tremendous track record already as far as works of cinema, and this film will definitely add to that stature. Not only were the scenes just awesome whenever Bruce turned into the Hulk, but at sometimes they were some of the funniest scenes of the movie as you work towards the end.

I really enjoyed Hawkeye's (Renner) and Black Widows (Johanson) chemistry as well. They really worked well together and made an awesome duo when the situation called for it. Overall this film was a perfect blend of everything you want to see in a movie. Of course, Samuel L. Jackson did amazing as Nick Fury because number one it's Samuel L. Jackson, and number two because Nick Fury is Samuel L. Jackson. That is his character. Unfortunately I did not stay after the credits and even if I would have I wouldn't have told you what I saw. Just go see the movie I promise you will not regret it.

*It is crucial that you see Thor in order to understand what is going on, so if you haven't seen that, well may God have mercy on you as you are watching this and not understanding why anything is happening.

Suggestions:
Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk (2007), Iron Man, and Iron Man 2.

The Cabin in the Woods review

The Cabin in the Woods- 2012

Length: Approx. 1 hr.35 min.
Genre: Horror/Comedy

Cast:
Chris Hemsworth (also played in Thor)
Kristen Connolly
Fran Kranz
Anna Hitchinson
Richard Jenkins (Robert from Step Brothers)

Grade: A

Would I buy? Yes

Review:

As my first review I chose to start off with the most recent film that I have seen at the theatres, which is The Cabin in the Woods. It starts off as a pretty generic horror movie with a cliched plot about five friends who decide to pack up their belongings and get away for a nice weekend of fun and relaxation at a remote cabin in the woods. As we all know from every horror film with this set up, bad things will ensue....

However, ten minutes in (without giving spoilers) you quickly find that things are not like every other horror film you've seen, and as indicated in the trailer, the bad things occurring are being controlled by people watching their every move. This sets up for a unique film to watch.

It is nearly impossible to review this film without giving away spoilers but I will do the best I can. The Cabin in the Woods simply takes everything that you have ever seen in in a film of this genre to this date and puts a new spin on it entirely. While I am not a huge fan of comedy being used in horror films, here it just works! The comedic elements seem to lighten the mood just enough that whenever the bad things begin it is quickly scary once again. This film in no way attempts to stick to the script of any typical formula that you have seen before, it actually becomes very apparent towards the last thirty minutes that it's intentions were to raise the bar even higher for horror films to come. The purpose of this film was to provide horror, originality, and humor all at the same time, and in every way it succeeds.

If you hated Cabin Fever (2002) as much as I did then you will love how much The Cabin in the Woods makes Cabin Fever look like a 2 a.m. straight to t.v. movie on sci-fi. It was truly nice to watch a horror film that truly scared you, while providing a whole new idea and executing it perfectly. This film has been truly underappreciated at the box office so I encourage all of you to see it immediately. Whether or not you will enjoy this movie is contigent upon the type of movie you thought you were going to see, and what it gives you. If you thought this was going to be a quick slasher movie where you leave your mind at the door, than do not go see this movie.

Suggestions if you enjoyed this movie:

Due to the fact that this film is so unique there is honestly no suggestion for it. Just see it.