"Fantastic Mr. Fox" A-
Remember stop motion animation? The old Christmas animated movies where they had clay figurines and brought them to life with stop motion? When I was a kid, I enjoyed those kind of shows. I was always fascinated with how they did the animation. Apparently, it takes a long time to make a movie like this because basically it is taking constant pictures while moving the figurines. It is move them, take a picture, move them, take a picture, etc. It is reminiscent of a flip book, as some have described it. Wes Anderson worked very hard for a very long time in making the movie "Fantastic Mr. Fox", which is based on a Roald Dahl book. Dahl also wrote "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". Wes Anderson (director of well made movies such as Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and The Darjeeling Limited) does something a little differently this time and made a kid's movie. I must say, he does a brilliant job with it! The usual Wes Anderson cast is in this movie, which are Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson. The lead characters here are Mr. and Mrs. Fox, played by George Clooney and Meryl Streep. The movie starts out with Mr. and Mrs. Fox stealing from farms basically, until Mrs. Fox learns she is pregnant with a cub. Mr. Fox is forced to find a new occupation as a columnist for a newspaper. He is a "wild animal" as he puts it, so he continues his old job of stealing chickens without her knowing it. He mainly attacks Boggis, Bunce and Bean and their corporations. They are described in the movie as "one short, one fat, one lean. These horribe crooks, so different in looks, were nonetheless equally mean". It all turns into a war for food and apple cider. The apple cider is from Bean's farm and he is the one who is obsessed with exterminating foxes or fox like creatures who try to steal from him. I won't give too much away in case you want to see it too lol! The cast is perfect and the stop motion animation is so awesome. It made it a visual treat and Wes Anderson did a brilliant job making this movie for kids and adults to enjoy. I read the book when I was in 4th grade and I also did a book report on it, so it was so cool to see it not only come to life on the big screen, but also to see it done the way animation was done in the old days! I highly recommend this movie because it is fun for the whole family. It deserves to get the academy award for best animated movie of the year!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Ninja Assassin
"Ninja Assassin" B-
Andy and Larry Wachowski became popular when they directed a high budget science fiction movie called The Matrix, my all time favorite movie. They decided it would be cool to direct two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. They were good, but by no means matched the success of the first one with fans or the critics. They then with help of an unknown director named James McTeigue, they created V for Vendetta. Some success came from that, and then they directed a flop called Speed Racer. I personally enjoyed this movie, but apparently the set pieces and overly flashy racing scenes were a bit much for some people. Now, just in time for the holiday season, we get a family movie from the creators of the Matrix trilogy entitled Ninja Assassin. Okay, so it is definitely not a family movie lol! You certainly get that vibe with the slice and dice opening sequence. It is not very often even before the opening credits you have blood and limbs literally flying everywhere along with chinese stars. It made Punisher: War Zone look like a PG kid's movie. After that, it slows down a little bit, but in the same process, the action comes and goes at times. The star of this movie, a Korean pop singer named Rain, showed himself in the movie Speed Racer and proved that he can be a compelling actor. In this movie, he is a tough guy who uses awesome weapons to defeat other ninja clans. The story is kind of incoherent. Basically to put it simply, Raizu, the ninja assassin, teams up with an Interpol agent to put away all of the evil ninja clans, specifically the clan of the black sand. This clan sends a letter with black sand and in it and then before you can say ninja, chinese stars are flying everywhere. That is pretty much all you get from this movie. It is fun, it has action and it works, but it certainly won't be in the running for any academy awards.
Andy and Larry Wachowski became popular when they directed a high budget science fiction movie called The Matrix, my all time favorite movie. They decided it would be cool to direct two sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. They were good, but by no means matched the success of the first one with fans or the critics. They then with help of an unknown director named James McTeigue, they created V for Vendetta. Some success came from that, and then they directed a flop called Speed Racer. I personally enjoyed this movie, but apparently the set pieces and overly flashy racing scenes were a bit much for some people. Now, just in time for the holiday season, we get a family movie from the creators of the Matrix trilogy entitled Ninja Assassin. Okay, so it is definitely not a family movie lol! You certainly get that vibe with the slice and dice opening sequence. It is not very often even before the opening credits you have blood and limbs literally flying everywhere along with chinese stars. It made Punisher: War Zone look like a PG kid's movie. After that, it slows down a little bit, but in the same process, the action comes and goes at times. The star of this movie, a Korean pop singer named Rain, showed himself in the movie Speed Racer and proved that he can be a compelling actor. In this movie, he is a tough guy who uses awesome weapons to defeat other ninja clans. The story is kind of incoherent. Basically to put it simply, Raizu, the ninja assassin, teams up with an Interpol agent to put away all of the evil ninja clans, specifically the clan of the black sand. This clan sends a letter with black sand and in it and then before you can say ninja, chinese stars are flying everywhere. That is pretty much all you get from this movie. It is fun, it has action and it works, but it certainly won't be in the running for any academy awards.
Introduction
Hi my name is Alex and one of my main hobbies is movies! I have always enjoyed reviewing movies, just like the critics do in the newspapers. I like assigning a letter grade to each movie I see. I basically see a movie and as soon as I can, I write down my likes and dislikes about it. I mostly like the movies I see, but there are some that I think could have been a lot better. Everyone has various tastes and various opinions about certain movies, genres, directors, actors and actresses. Movies are all about the story line and the specific way a director and the characters tell the story. I started out this blog with a few sample reviews I wrote when I would review movies on facebook. I hope you like this blog and the reviews! Remember, this is only my opinion on certain movies. I in now way want to discourage anyone from seeing certain movies, not do I want to force you into seeing certain movies. Have fun and enjoy the reviews!!!
Recent movie reviews from my facebook page
"Invictus" A
Clint Eastwood in my opinion is one of the best directors in the history of movies. He has always been one of my favorite actors and directors of all time. He started out mainly with the spaghetti westerns and started directing academy award winning movies. I remember when his epic western Unforgiven came out and got best picture of 1992. I just watched that recently and it is awesome. It also stars Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman, which pretty much guarantees movie perfection! He has directed other amazing movies such as Mystic River, Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Changeling, Gran Torino and many others. I also enjoyed Space Cowboys, True Crime and Absolute Power, his mysteries and science fiction movie all starring Clint Eastwood. I would sometime like to watch The Bridges of Madison County and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I am sure those are also really good Clint Eastwood directed movies. You may ask yourself, what is this movie review about? It is about his newest movie, which is my opinion, could be the best picture of 2009. Clint Eastwood's storytelling, casting and inspiration all make his movie Invictus a near perfect motion picture. I read the book by John Carlin and the movie really does do it justice in my opinion. It is about Nelson Mandela and his goal to unite all of South Africa after he got our of prison after a 27 year term. His goal is to unite his nation through the sport of Rugby. This is where Francois Pienaar comes in. They have a meeting over tea about how to make South Africa a more united nation that can put an end to Apartheid. What we get is one of the most inspiring movies I have seen in a long time. Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman have perfect chemistry in their roles and I would not be surprised if both of them got Academy Awards. I would also not be surprised if the music got some Oscar nominations. The soundtrack is amazing in this movie and really fits the movie perfectly. In my opinion, Invictus should get best picture of 2009 and it is really a near perfect movie.
"The Blind Side" A
John Lee Hancock is a director of a few movies that I know of. He became famous with his movie entitled The Rookie. It starred Dennis Quaid and it was about a chemistry teacher's dream of becoming a professional baseball player. He becomes a pitcher and a successful one, with the support of his teammates and his family. His next movie, The Alamo, was a really good historical account of what actually happened at the Alamo. It was yet another inspiring movie. With The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, it is all about inspiration. This movie is a true story about Michael Oher, a professional football player who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens. The story starts out when he was living on the streets in a rough neighborhood with rough people. Things are tough, until he meets Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy and their children. They take him in, and he has Thanksgiving dinner with them and before we know it, he is living in their home. A particularly sad part is when Leigh Anne gives him his own room in their house. Michael Oher says to her, I have never had anything like this before. And Leigh Anne says, what a room to yourself? Mike says, no, a bed. That scene really shows how their worlds collide and how they immediately become a family. It is a really good story of rags to riches, and it is so awesome that Michael Oher got to attend college at Ole Miss and now plays pro football for the Ravens. It is such a good movie and I highly recommend it to anyone.
"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" A-
The first Twilight movie was a success. The books made it that way. I really haven't heard of the books until last year when the first movie came to theatres. Twilight was a good movie but it wasn't in any way as good as the book. It seemed like it was just retelling the book, as if reading the book to the audience. Just one year later, we get New Moon. It has more fight scenes and its a better movie, but its still not as good as the book. This time, we learn about the werewolves. And the werewolves are awesome. You basically root for them over the vampires this time. Jacob is the guy Bella spends most of her time with this time because Edward leaves to protect her, and to go to the Voltouri, a ruthless vampire clan in Rome, Italy. It's a good story and i think the true fans are going to enjoy it.
"The Time Traveler's Wife" A
It is not very often that I really want to see a movie that is a love story. Don't get me wrong, I love love stories, but I don't usually suggest them. Tonight was a different night. I suggested a romantic movie. The Time Traveler's Wife, starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, is a really good love story with a science fiction element to it. At first, the movie is somewhat complicated because you're not exactly where Henry, the time traveler, is really going. The movie does a good job of setting up a good story and explaining it as it goes along. Henry is a time traveler who learned that he had this power at age 6. He can't control and his anomoly is referred to as chrono impairment. He keeps going back in time to key events in his life, such as his love Claire, his mother, father and his doctor of genealogy, who plays an important role in determining the cause of his time traveling experiences. We also learn that drinking alcohol increases his travels. It is a good mystery love story that is also a tear jerker. The most loving moments are when he goes back to the meadow where he meets Claire when she was a little girl. It is there that the relationship starts and keeps on going in different areas of their timeline. The movie jumps back and forth to different events, but that is all part of the mystery. It is a movie with a good message with a good science fiction element to it. This is one of the most original love stories I have seen in a long time and I am really glad I finally got to see it.
Clint Eastwood in my opinion is one of the best directors in the history of movies. He has always been one of my favorite actors and directors of all time. He started out mainly with the spaghetti westerns and started directing academy award winning movies. I remember when his epic western Unforgiven came out and got best picture of 1992. I just watched that recently and it is awesome. It also stars Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman, which pretty much guarantees movie perfection! He has directed other amazing movies such as Mystic River, Flags of our Fathers, Letters from Iwo Jima, Changeling, Gran Torino and many others. I also enjoyed Space Cowboys, True Crime and Absolute Power, his mysteries and science fiction movie all starring Clint Eastwood. I would sometime like to watch The Bridges of Madison County and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. I am sure those are also really good Clint Eastwood directed movies. You may ask yourself, what is this movie review about? It is about his newest movie, which is my opinion, could be the best picture of 2009. Clint Eastwood's storytelling, casting and inspiration all make his movie Invictus a near perfect motion picture. I read the book by John Carlin and the movie really does do it justice in my opinion. It is about Nelson Mandela and his goal to unite all of South Africa after he got our of prison after a 27 year term. His goal is to unite his nation through the sport of Rugby. This is where Francois Pienaar comes in. They have a meeting over tea about how to make South Africa a more united nation that can put an end to Apartheid. What we get is one of the most inspiring movies I have seen in a long time. Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman have perfect chemistry in their roles and I would not be surprised if both of them got Academy Awards. I would also not be surprised if the music got some Oscar nominations. The soundtrack is amazing in this movie and really fits the movie perfectly. In my opinion, Invictus should get best picture of 2009 and it is really a near perfect movie.
"The Blind Side" A
John Lee Hancock is a director of a few movies that I know of. He became famous with his movie entitled The Rookie. It starred Dennis Quaid and it was about a chemistry teacher's dream of becoming a professional baseball player. He becomes a pitcher and a successful one, with the support of his teammates and his family. His next movie, The Alamo, was a really good historical account of what actually happened at the Alamo. It was yet another inspiring movie. With The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, it is all about inspiration. This movie is a true story about Michael Oher, a professional football player who now plays for the Baltimore Ravens. The story starts out when he was living on the streets in a rough neighborhood with rough people. Things are tough, until he meets Leigh Anne Tuohy and Sean Tuohy and their children. They take him in, and he has Thanksgiving dinner with them and before we know it, he is living in their home. A particularly sad part is when Leigh Anne gives him his own room in their house. Michael Oher says to her, I have never had anything like this before. And Leigh Anne says, what a room to yourself? Mike says, no, a bed. That scene really shows how their worlds collide and how they immediately become a family. It is a really good story of rags to riches, and it is so awesome that Michael Oher got to attend college at Ole Miss and now plays pro football for the Ravens. It is such a good movie and I highly recommend it to anyone.
"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" A-
The first Twilight movie was a success. The books made it that way. I really haven't heard of the books until last year when the first movie came to theatres. Twilight was a good movie but it wasn't in any way as good as the book. It seemed like it was just retelling the book, as if reading the book to the audience. Just one year later, we get New Moon. It has more fight scenes and its a better movie, but its still not as good as the book. This time, we learn about the werewolves. And the werewolves are awesome. You basically root for them over the vampires this time. Jacob is the guy Bella spends most of her time with this time because Edward leaves to protect her, and to go to the Voltouri, a ruthless vampire clan in Rome, Italy. It's a good story and i think the true fans are going to enjoy it.
"The Time Traveler's Wife" A
It is not very often that I really want to see a movie that is a love story. Don't get me wrong, I love love stories, but I don't usually suggest them. Tonight was a different night. I suggested a romantic movie. The Time Traveler's Wife, starring Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams, is a really good love story with a science fiction element to it. At first, the movie is somewhat complicated because you're not exactly where Henry, the time traveler, is really going. The movie does a good job of setting up a good story and explaining it as it goes along. Henry is a time traveler who learned that he had this power at age 6. He can't control and his anomoly is referred to as chrono impairment. He keeps going back in time to key events in his life, such as his love Claire, his mother, father and his doctor of genealogy, who plays an important role in determining the cause of his time traveling experiences. We also learn that drinking alcohol increases his travels. It is a good mystery love story that is also a tear jerker. The most loving moments are when he goes back to the meadow where he meets Claire when she was a little girl. It is there that the relationship starts and keeps on going in different areas of their timeline. The movie jumps back and forth to different events, but that is all part of the mystery. It is a movie with a good message with a good science fiction element to it. This is one of the most original love stories I have seen in a long time and I am really glad I finally got to see it.
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