Friday, July 27, 2012

Gone

(Movie, 2012)

This movie is way better than The Roommate. At least it kept me awake. I just hate the ending. It was kind of disappointing. You know the feeling when you’re too thrilled about something and when it finally happened, it just seemed too soon to finish. I mean, I know they can do better. It seemed like the ending was made in a hurry.

Amanda Siegfried’s sister, Molly, looks a bit old for the character. And what was Wes Bentley even doing there? His character is useless, totally useless. Take it off the movie, nothing changes.


Casting & Acting:        7.5
Cinematography:        7.0
Overall Production:     7.0
Plot/Story:                 6.5
Rating:                    7.00



The Roommate


(Movie, 2011) 

I got less than a couple of hours free and I’m choosing between The Roommate and Gone. Both movies were critically panned, but have interesting trailers. I chose The Roommate. 25 minutes later, I almost fell asleep.

I didn’t know about Minka Kelly prior to this movie. I knew Leighton Meester and I really thought she was the protagonist until she showed up as the roommate (antagonist). They really look almost the same. I even thought halfway through the movie that Leighton played both characters and that she was crazy who has a dual personality or that they are twins. That was confusing.
Let’s cut the crap, the movie was horrible. Although Leighton was not that bad, she was just not so convincing as a crazy person. She lacks conviction. As for Sara Andrews (Minka), she seemed so cutesy. There was always that little smile on her lips even if the scene doesn’t need it. I don’t know for sure but it seems to me that all the actors in this movie (except Billy Zane) already worked in the same project before. Not that it matters though.

The editing was bad. They are few lacking seconds from one scene to another. You can notice the cuts even during the catfight. The music is pretty lame, too, mostly mismatched to the scene.

If you want to see pretty people in one film, go ahead watch this. But my verdict: a waste of time.


Casting & Acting:       4.0
Cinematography:       4.0
Overall Production:    4.0
Plot/Story:               3.0
Rating:                  3.75

Jeff, Who Lives at Home

(Movie, 2012)

It’s pretty unusual for me to watch Jason Segel, Ed Helms, and even Judy Greer in a quite serious role. They are good actors. They are all good in this movie. When it comes to acting, it’s flawless. The story line is interesting. I just don’t understand why the director keeps on zooming in and out the camera as if he’s making a mockumentary or something. I don’t think that camera tactic is meant for this kind of movie.

Casting & Acting:      10.0
Cinematography:       7.5
Overall Production:    8.0
Plot/Story:                8.0
Rating:                    8.375

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel


(Movie, 2012)
I often visit Rotten Tomatoes website to check nice movies to watch. That’s where I heard about this movie. The trailer was fun, well, the movie was fun. I like English movies… The lines are witty, the stories are great, the acting is impeccable! With legends like Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, and Judi Dench in it, nothing could possibly go wrong. I cannot comment on the accuracy of the film compared to the novel where it was based from because I haven’t read it. Needless to say, the movie is still great. Viewers of this generation may not be interested in watching this movie as this is not about cute people or CGI or anything like most movies nowadays. This movie has depth. I am just worried a bit looking at the actors how old they really are. As I said, they’re legends. They’ve been in the industry for decades. And they are really good at it. And as everyone else, they age. I just hope none of them will “retire” soon. As Evelyn (Judi Dench) said in the movie **spoiler alert**, “Put enough old people in the same place, it won’t be too long before one of them goes.”


Casting & Acting:      10.0
Cinematography:      10.0
Overall Production:    9.0
Plot/Story:                8.0
Rating:                   9.25

Rain Man

(Movie, 1988)

Now I know why this movie has been referred by and mentioned in a lot of other movies. This is definitely one of the best movies ever! Dustin Hoffman (check name) was great, even Tom Cruise was good! Needless to say, this movie made it to my list of favorite movies of all time.


Casting & Acting:      10.0
Cinematography:        9.0
Overall Production:   10.0
Plot/Story:                9.0
Rating:                   9.50

Happy Feet 2


 (Movie, 2012)
I don’t know why this movie made mostly bad reviews. I liked it. I enjoyed the movie. It is not as good as the first one though but still watchable. I watched it twice in an afternoon. Guess I’m still a child at heart. 
I got confused with Matt Damon’s and Brad Pitt’s Will and Bill (the Krills). Aside from they looked exactly the same, they almost had the same voice. The duo reminded me of Skat from Ice Age, having their own misadventures and fun moments. They are this movie’s scene stealers. I kinda missed The Amigos though. If they had more scene time here like on the first part, the movie could have been funnier. And since the original Gloria is already dead (insert actress), Pink joined the Happy Feet family and her voice is kinda similar to the original with is huskiness and all. Her voice is right away distinguishable. I didn’t know that Pink is the new Gloria but I need not to check online to know that it’s her. And I think her voice is just to old to be paired with Elijah Wood’s innocent voice.


Casting & Acting (Voice):               7.0
Cinematography/Visual Effect:       8.0
Overall Production:                       9.0
Plot/Story:                                   8.0
Rating:                                      8.00

Donner Pass

(Movie, 2012)

Bad movie. Bad acting. Bad background music (except for the main theme song). It’s just plain B-A-D. ‘Nuff said.


Casting & Acting:      3.0
Cinematography:      4.0
Overall Production:   3.0
Plot/Story:               2.0
Rating:                  3.00

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Wrath of the Titans

(Movie, 2012)


I like this movie more than the first one (Clash of the Titans). Wrath is more direct. It just went through the action right away. I can't say anything about the accuracy of the story though. I only read Edith Hamilton's Mythology book once and I never memorized every Gods and Goddesses. I'm bad at memorizing. 
I also liked that Rosamund Pike played Andromeda in this movie. Not that I don't like the girls in Clash, I just like Rosamund Pike. She's beautiful, she's nice to look at. 


Casting & Acting:      8.0
Cinematography:      9.0
Overall Production:   8.0
Plot/Story:               7.0
Rating:                  8.00

He's Just Not That Into You


(Movie, 2009)

I heard about this movie about a couple of years ago but I never really watched it nor planned to watch it. I never even watched the trailer. About two nights ago, as I was searching in the net for best romantic comedies, a blogger listed this movie as one of top 25. When I finally checked the trailer, I was surprised about the cast. I thought this movie was about teenagers. My bad, that probably was a different movie that came out around the same time. 
This movie, as I learned later, was based on a self-help book. I never read this book and since it's self-help, I probably would never read it. Anyway about the movie, overall it was good. It's kinda mature compared to other rom-coms with ensemble cast. Love Actually is still the best when it comes to this genre, but  HJNTIY is much better than New Year's Eve. Way much better! As compared to Valentine's Day, I'd probably choose HJNTIY mainly because this is less cheesy and more realistic. 
Casting & Acting:       8.0
Cinematography:       8.0
Overall Production:    8.0
Plot/Story:                8.0
Rating:                   8.00

Sunday, July 8, 2012

Big Miracle


(Movie, 2012)

I usually download films but I seldom watch them especially now that I have to save more time studying. I prefer to watch TV series because it is only about 40 minutes per episode compared to two hours of movies. But this did not stop me from downloading movies. Anyway 2 weeks ago while I was looking for some particular films, I stumbled upon Big Miracle. I did not know anything about it, never watched a trailer but I got interested when I saw whales in its poster (cover photo). So last night I watched it. For an animal lover like me, I actually enjoyed the movie. Who doesn't like a whale, right? The film was not cheesy. I have watched a lot of films about animals and it's usually the humans that messed up the movie. This is based on a true story, so if there are some cheesy scenes, they are forgivable. And besides, who doesn't want to see nations unite, right? There is still hope for humanity after all. 




Casting & Acting:      9.0
Cinematography:      9.0
Overall Production:   9.0
Plot/Story:             10.0
Rating:                  9.25