Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Review

The first time I saw this film, I was on a school field trip with my 4th - 6th grade class; which was the perfect age for Harry Potter knowing that we were and still are the same age as the main actors of the film. We were excited and literally jumping up and down on the bus on our way to the movie theater. The fact that our principal let us skip the WHOLE day of school for us to go see a movie, that some certain schools would probably do everything possible to shut down the franchise, was a huge honor and I still remember it as one of the greatest movie theater experiences to this day. How great was the movie you might ask? Here's my review:

The movie open's up with Albus Dumbledore (Richard Harris) and a cat who transfigures into Professor McGonagall (Maggie Smith) awaiting on the street of Private Dr. for a man named Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) who is supposedly bringing a boy. He arrives within seconds on a flying motorcycle carrying a baby in his gigantic arms. No problems at all, trusts Dumbledore to Hagrid. They drop him off on a doorstep of a residence owned by, according to McGonagall: "The worst muggles imaginable".
Dumbledore then says his departing words in such a sensitive tone: "So long... Harry Potter", right before the opening title appears.

Then we dive into our main hero, Harry Potter who is now grown up to be at age ten-going-on-eleven. He lives in misery as he is pretty much to what you call a slave to the "worst muggles imaginable", The Dursleys who are of his Aunt, Uncle and cousin. We get a good establishment of each character, especially Harry as his life seems to be at its saddest the way we see the Dursleys treat him, until he unintentionally gets his revenge by "making a few things happen" without knowing how at the zoo. That's not all, we also see The Dursleys extremely pissed tearing up letters that come day after day addressed to young Harry Potter. Like Harry, the audience doesn't know why. One crazy antic after another, the Dursleys end up trying to hide out in a place where they can avoid all of Harry's mail coming their way. Talk about extreme measures. That is until a character barges into their hideout, is it a burgler or a mass murderer? No it's Hagrid from the beginning of the film, introducing himself in a nice fashion by handing Harry that letter that couldn't manage to get away from him. The letter says that, Harry's been accepted into the school of Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Is Hagrid playing a joke on Harry? No, because after more is explained, we end up discovering that our main hero is not only kind, generous and is able to put of with his family's shit for life, but that also he is a wizard.

That's just the first 30 minutes of the movie by the way people, there's still 2 more hours to be dove into. So the rest of the movie shows Harry goes shopping for school supplies located in a place that muggles don't know about called Diagon Alley. He then boards a train (located also in a place unknown to muggles) that escorts students to Hogwarts. That's where Harry befriends our other two main characters of the film, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). Characters develop easily well as they then exit the train and then travel in canoe-like boats to where we finally get our first glimpse of Hogwarts. With the visuals and John Williams score as spectacular as the first look at Diagon Alley; I could already tell using my ten-going-on-eleven year old brain that the movie would get better from there.

That's when the movie really starts getting good and establishes each new location perfectly without over explaining or showing too many shots that you would find in the trailer to the film. That's when Harry then begins his adventures at Hogwarts by getting sorted into one of the four houses, taking classes that involve potions, wands, and flying broomsticks, and later discovering the second half of the title to the movie: The Sorcerer's Stone.  That's the part where I'll stop explaining things here and just tell you from here on about why I think this movie is fantastic and why you should definitely see it if you haven't yet.

If you're looking for a great film made for both kids and adults that has great actors, great direction, amazing visuals, and music done by the best film composer ever; then this film is for you. It literally keeps you entertained from beginning to end to where it doesn't feel like a two hour and thirty minute film. Besides it being perfectly cast and the sets looking a lot like how I imagined them in the book, I was the most impressed with Chris Columbus' direction in this film. Yeah, the same guy who made comedies like Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire made Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as well. I was a little hesitant at first when I heard he was the one that was directing the film, that is until I saw the trailer which eventually within seconds became my most anticipated film of the year. When the film was getting made, I first thought (judging from his previous films) there was a chance he'd put too much humor in the film and not make it dark and demented like it was in the books. Thankfully, none of that happened and had the look of the film live up to the book quite well. That was what impressed me the most.

Among it being the first film of the seven books (eight movies), it definitely makes a great first start of the series. Even if there was a lot taken out of the book like most people complain about, I can't complain at all knowing it still makes for a great movie for what is written into the film. Also I know that a lot of people also complained about Daniel Radcliffe having blue eyes because according to the book Harry Potter had green eyes, but that doesn't mean it should ruin the film for you. Radcliffe was still the perfect Harry Potter. He still looked a lot like him and he did a great job acting out the character (especially for age 11). Same goes to Rupert and Emma as well. Honestly though, I think the best actor in this film though is Richard Harris who played Dumbledore. He was PERFECT when it came to character and looks. He totally steals the show in the end when listing the housecup winner (my favorite scene in this film). Honorable mentions for best cast role go to Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane) and Snape (Alan Rickman). I wish I could say all the actors in this film, but aside from Radcliffe, Grint and Watson, those three lit up the screen to where I seriously don't know if I would've enjoyed the film as much if it weren't for them.

The last thing I've gotta mention is how well adapted the screenplay really is, and how literally every movie (except the 5th one) was written by only one guy. Yes, from the writer of Wonder Boys and The Fabulous Baker Boys... Steve Kloves. I was super impressed how much work he put into writing the films. I'm sure it's not easy when it comes to adapting one of the biggest selling book series of all time, so I must express my thoughts on how well he did with the screenplay. In my opinion, I think this is the best adapted among all the films so he definitely did no wrong here, nor did the rest of the people who worked on this film. So what do I think of this film overall? Probably the BEST way to start off a series of films. The writing, direction, acting, visuals, John Williams' score, all perfect. If you haven't seen the film yet, please do ASAP because this is one not to miss out on.

**** 

Special Goodbye to Harry Potter

Before I start my reviews, I just had to give a shout out to how much Harry Potter has done for me and how much I will miss it. 10 years it took to make 8 films to what I believe to be the greatest movie franchise ever, adapted from published material. In 2001, I was only 10 years old when I heard there was a Harry Potter movie coming out in November on the 16th. Like every other kid that didn't think Harry Potter worshiped the devil, I got excited. The even better thing is that I actually got to go on a field trip opening day to see Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. I'm serious, got the whole day of school off just for that one experience, which I still consider to be one of the greatest of last decade. At age 20, I still wish I could re-live that experience over and over. When I saw that movie, I was hooked; hooked enough to go see it two more times in theaters that same weekend. I even got it on DVD the day it came out and watch it about 4 or 5 times in one weekend. Obviously, it was something like I've never seen it before, and I had been watching a ton of movies since my dad introduced me to his VHS movie collection when I was age 8. I agree with what Richard Roeper said in his review on "At the Movies", it was like The Wizard of Oz of our time. He still stands by that statement, and I still concur.

Over the years, I went to every single opening day of a new Harry Potter movie because I couldn't get enough until it ended. I never knew when it was going to end because J.K Rowling kept writing books while the movies were already being made. I knew that the students at Hogwarts only attended there 7 years until graduation, but I kept wondering if J.K Rowling would get greedy and start writing spin-offs and such to make more money. Thankfully she didn't, because I was also worried if the kid actors would be too old by the time the seventh book/2 movies were made. Thankfully they were not as well, and no replacements were made among any of the characters EXCEPT for Dumbledore.

In 2002, I was devastated to hear that Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the first two films, had passed away. I was sad and worried at the same time. I thought Richard Harris made the PERFECT Dumbledore that he seemed totally irreplaceable. So after his passing I asked myself, who would play Dumbledore in the next 6 films? Well thankfully the new Dumbledore, played by Michael Gambon, wasn't a disappointment at all and managed to play the role well throughout the rest of the series. I still overall think that Richard Harris was the better Dumbledore, but Gambon did great at the role as well.

As years went by, I aged as fast as the actors did and came to the year 2011 where I finally got to see the end of the series, which was one of the most exciting experiences to any franchise. My expectations were high, and they all came true. I'll discuss more of that when I review the last film. If you haven't seen the last film yet, it'd be best to catch up before reading my reviews, though I never post any spoilers in my reviews anyway unless I alert it. This case being not.

So overall in reviewing the movie series as a whole, I'm happy to say that I was so entertained by each movie (except one of them) so much that it was totally worth the 10 year wait to see what happens in the end. People complained about there being too many movies, or them being too long, and etc. Thankfully I didn't care and after seeing the final movie, it ended exactly how I wanted it to. I'll go into that more in the review.

I just wanted to give a special thanks to the three main actors of Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson; the directors: Chris Columbus, Alfonso Cuaron, Mike Newell and David Yates; the lead producer David Heyman; the screenplay writer Steve Kloves (no I'm not including the other guy who wrote the 5th movie); and most of all J.K Rowling for creating one of the most fantastic looking, entertaining, and magical experience that I've ever seen on the big screen. Harry Potter will always be my most favorite saga of all time. 

:D

September 2011 Update

Hey guys,

Sorry the Harry Potter special is taking so long, but I just finally started the fall semester of college and needed to get a regular routine going first. Anyways, I'm still working on the Harry Potter reviews. It should come out great. Looking forward to posting it. :)

August 2011 Update

I'm now going to be doing monthly updates to inform you readers about why I may not be blogging weekly or if there's any special reviews coming up. I can now say that there's both.

Blogging and Movie Viewing Time:

I haven't been blogging as constantly as I hoped I be because I have another semester of college coming up to where I'm trying to register for classes and such. After I get all that cleared, I should be good to go weekly.

Also I still haven't had a chance to go see Cowboys & Aliens, Crazy Stupid Love, Larry Crowne, or the Change-Up. I did have time to go see Harry Potter, but I'll let you know more about that in the next section. I may just wait until Larry Crowne comes out on DVD and the rest I'll still try and make. So just FYI, I may never review films after I said I would and even if, I may not even be able to blog about it weeks after I've seen it. Just putting that out there. I'll still try my best.

Special Review
Or should I say reviews. Since the Harry Potter movie franchise has finally come to an end, I want to express my full opinions on why I'm a fan of the franchise, what I think of each film and even a special RTL awards among the Harry Potter films only in ranking them from best to worst in each category I've made specifically for this awards special. I will also give reasons why I made the rankings for each category in that certain order. Here's a schedule I've made to show what order each blog of this Harry Potter special will occur:

-Introduction to my full thoughts and inspirations about the franchise.
-My review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
-My review of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
-My review of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
-My review of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
-My review of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
-My review of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
-My review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
-My review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
-The Harry Potter Fan Made RTL Awards (listed by ranking Best to Worst)

Now even though you would think I would review The Deathly Hallows Part 2 first since I just saw it recently, I would prefer to go in order starting back from when I first saw it as a kid and ended as an adult. I mean, how could I not. I have been a huge fan of the movies and books to where I wouldn't be doing this special if I truly wasn't. I hope you look forward to reading my reviews and rankings of each film. If you're not a Harry Potter fan, I would recommend you wait until the special is over because that's all I'm gonna talk about for the next 10 blogs straight. For those who are a fan as well, I look forward to reading your comments about my thoughts and would love to know yours if you want to express your feelings about the movies/books as well. Well nothing from here on except Harry Potter. Time to get to it.   

Midnight in Paris Review

When it comes to Woody Allen films, it's always interesting to hear people's opinions about each of his films. A few that I think are overrated most people seem to like, and vice versa. There always seems to be different opinions about each film he makes literally every year. It was finally this year that I came upon no harsh criticism at all on this latest film of his. From what I heard, apparently no one hates it; it did extremly well at the Cannes film festival; and that it's become his highest grossing film of all time. Obviously after reading upon that information, I knew I had to check it out myself to see if the hype was true if it was TRULY one of his best. I am happy enough to confirm that it is. Here's my review:

Surprisingly, I've always thought one of Woody Allen's best genres was fantasy. This film is a perfect example of how to mix in smart comedy with that genre. Owen Wilson plays Gil, another personification of the character Woody Allen always played in his early films. He's a writer moving from screenplays to literature who becomes heavily facinated with the surroundings of Paris when visiting there to discuss marriage plans with his fiance Inez (Rachel McAdams), and her parents as well. The parents of course don't fully approve of Gil's personality because of his "facination" with life in Paris. His fiance, Inez also runs into an old friend of hers, Paul (Michael Sheen) who seems to act more rich and sophisticated than Gil when it comes to mannerisms and knowledge. As Gil becomes more bored with the marriage planning and Inez's "facination" of Paul, he decides to go for a walk at around the time of midnight in Paris. Later a car picks him up to where he begins to run into characters who seem fimiliar to historic figures of the 1920s. Gil later realizes that he went back in time after having an engaging conversation with F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife Zelda. As time goes back in the dawn of Paris, he later returns back to present time and has the urgency to go back again by waiting until midnight again. After realizing the power he has, he begins to adventure nightly making acquaintances with all these different historic people (mainly writers).

I'll leave the rest off at that point because since the movie's only an hour and a half long (like most Woody Allen films), I wouldn't want to give away too much detail. What I can say is that, (just like the hype is saying) this is truly one of Woody Allen's best films. I'm glad that most of his audiences are all coming to that same agreement and are going to see this in theaters helping Woody Allen's profit increase heavily. It wasn't since Hannah and Her Sisters that a Woody Allen film has grossed that much at the box office. I can only hope that the Oscars and Golden Globes can recognize this great piece of work and nominate the film that I believe could possibly be on the Top 10 of this year (along with Harry Potter and Super 8). The film has great pacing enough to where I was never bored for a second. It has terrific performances from the whole cast, especially from Corey Stoll who played Ernest Hemingway. I definitely think it's the best performance Owen Wilson's ever given and I may have a chance at a Golden Globe nomination in the Best Actor - Comedy/Musical category.

Of course the best of all is the writing and direction from Woody Allen. That man has never lost his touch when it comes to true original filmmaking. Even though he always has the same main character that usually he or any other similar to him has played, he always manages to create the most unique plots very different to his previous films. His direction is as great as his writing because he always knows what the right shots to use when it comes to defining the mood and moment of the character. I'm saying that from an overall aspect to his work, because he does make a new film literally every year. He's made few stinkers in my opinion, but only a few among 41 films he's made so far in his career. This among those 41 I must confirm again is one of his best. It has a great feeling to it and I believe Gil is one of those characters that almost everyone can relate to (including myself). I once again hope this gets recognized during awards season and doesn't get looked as another overlooked May/June release. Even if you're not a Woody Allen fan, I still recommend that you see this film, because you never know when you'll finally come to terms with his work, knowing he does it yearly. 

***1/2

The Tree of Life Review

When it comes to films that are truly like no other and go a route that filmmakers could be inspired by but not follow, those would be films by Terrence Malick. Here's a film that tells a simple story, but tries to tell another story as well using the simple story. The other story though is what you have to make of it instead of trying to depend on Terrence Malick to try and tell that other story for you. To some audiences that would be a problem, but for me it's a terrific feeling since I have a huge appreciation for cinema that much. 

What I can say about the simple story is that it involves a family of five: a father, a mother and three sons. One of those sons is named Jack, and we see a view of Jack's young childhood set in a small Texas town in the 1950s. We also see a glimpse of his current life set in the present where he is surrounded by city buildings and modern art structure (which I must say is fun to view multiple times in my opinion). I'm sure you're wondering where the simple story comes in, but no that's it. It's just the point of view of a guy named Jack on how he was raised and what his reactions were to his life situations. Is that all there is? Maybe for the simple story, but Terrence Malick always likes to put in that one extra layer in his films. You just never know what it is though, that's the fun of it. I did say that the film tries to tell another story, but that's what I believe what the extra layer is. It may not be what Malick's was.

When you look at the title "The Tree of Life", you may wonder what it means or already have an idea what its meaning is. Most of the beginning shows aspects of life creation before it gets to Jack's childhood telling. It features shots of planets being created, dinosaurs and evolution. The thing I do know what Malick is trying to tell is "What do you get out of it? What do you think it means?". I thought it had meaning, but it's meaning that doesn't need to be explained scientifically or posted on a blog or forum. It's more personal that can remain in my head or that I can say to a family member or a close friend. 

If you're confused by my review, then you may be confused by the movie. It's okay if you are because this film may not be made for everybody, but it's still worth seeing just to see if you get anything out of it. In simple terms, the film is well made. It never addresses things clearly, but the cinematography is flawless and the performances are reaching. I'm not saying to everyone to go see this film, but check it out if you want something to find meaning to or to judge the look of the film.

***1/2 

Horrible Bosses Review

I could say my expectations for this movie came true. It was funny and had a somewhat original premise that avoided most hollywood cliches. This film is a good example on how not to screw up in making a movie. Here's my review on why I think that.

As you know from the trailers (if you've seen any of them) that this movie is about three men that all want to kill their so-called evil bosses so that the world could be a better place for them and everyone else they know. Would that mean our three main characters are psycopaths, or is it their bosses? Well you have our first opening character of Nick Hendricks (Jason Bateman) who is upset with his boss Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey), because Dave decided to promote himself to vice president instead of Nick after Nick's been working for him for over 10 years including overtime and etc. We get the picture. Next you have Dale Arbus (Charlie Day) who is a dental assistant to Dr. Julia Harris (Jennifer Aniston) who keeps hitting on him sabotaging his engagement with his fiance. Last, you have Kurt Buckman (Jason Sudeikis) who was actually having a good time with his job until the owner's son Bobby Pellitt (Colin Farrell) becomes his new boss and does nothing put goof off, hate on slow people and do drugs. Not exactly the best situation for each of those characters specifically, but overall I'm sure everyone else on Earth would have a different take with at least one of those bosses per se.

Now that I told you the opening, you think I'll tell you the middle and end? Of course not, you have to go see the movie because I am recommending that you see it. Not in a strong way, but if you want over-the-top yet smart humor to brighten your day, this movie will do the job. The best parts I can say about the movie though are all the scenes with the bosses, including Jennifer Aniston. Yes, for once in a long time, Jennifer Aniston has actually done a funny role in a movie since "Office Space". The role she plays was either perfectly written for her or she took a few improve classes and got a B+ or above. I certainly hope to see her play more roles like Dr. Julia Harris. Now for Kevin Spacey should come no surprise. He's ALWAYS funny at playing any evil boss you see in a movie. Going all the way back to his role of Buddy Ackerman in the 1994 film "Swimming with Sharks", he has not lost any of the talent he had playing that role. I truly think you'll enjoy him in this. Now with Colin Farrell, his character is too enjoyable that I can't explain any of his scenes without giving any spoilers away. I do tell you though, his scenes are funny all right.

So I'm glad to say that our three main characters are still likable even if their plot in the movie is trying to kill their bosses. Their chemistry goes so well together that it's hard to see any other actor playing their role in this movie. This has definitely been a great year for comedy. I can't say it's funnier than Bridesmaids or is one of the best films of the year, but it's still one not to miss out on.

***

Transformers: Dark of the Moon Review

 
Going into the theater to see this in IMAX 3D, I couldn't tell whether this was going to be as good as the first one or as bad as the second one. It had an okay story trying to involve NASA as apart of the plot, only bad thing is that they pretty much abandon that plot line after only 20 minutes into the movie. Long story short, some old transformers crashed on the moon that were discovered by astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin that was never revealed until now and the transformers from the moon go to earth, become evil and destroy most of Washington D.C. and Chicago. If you leave the theater at any point, you wouldn't be missing much.

Of course, where does our screaming hero Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) fall into all this? Surprisingly, Ken Jeong's character Jerry Wang (who's like a crazier version of Senior Chang from the show Community) just happens to work at the same office Sam works at and just shoves all this information in his face about the autobots on the moon then literally runs off and dies. If that's a spoiler for you, sorry but I don't care for what I give away for this movie because I could tell the writer only did it for the money. Anyways, back to Sam's plot, he also has a new girlfriend named Carly Spencer (another bullshit yet somewhat clever way to blend in characters from the old TV show into the not-caring Michael Bay franchise) who seems to be a lot more likable and smarter than Megan Fox's character Mikaeyla from the previous two movies. She becomes involved with the plot as well and surprisingly not just because she's dating Sam, but because her boss has come connection with the autobots as well, but I'm not gonna go into that.

So after an hour and a half of bring back old characters or introducing new characters that don't need to be in the movie at all, that's where we have a whole hour of just non-stop action in the city. That's pretty much the only part I found mildly entertaining, not because of the action itself but because it's very laughable on how over-the-top Michael Bay went with explosions and focused more on the military guys than the autobots themselves. I find it laughable that he copied some of the same scenes shot for shot from the first movie, I mean did he even notice or is that all he can do and come up with nothing new? Also I know it's a different city they're fighting in, but why couldn't they have a completely different location instead of the same type of city. Going back to the first movie again, we saw that already! I mean if the title is called "Dark of the Moon", why not have the fights be in outer space? That would've been awesome! New location and inventive choreography could've been done with the autobots, but nope. Instead we have the same fight from the first movie, only it's longer, shows the humans a lot more than the autobots, and it's slightly more boring because you see more explosions than you do of actual fights. Oh, and you have Shia LaBeouf literally screaming every one of his lines the whole time instead of actually doing something. I still think he's a good actor, but I think his contract took over his real acting skills for this flick. It's ridiculous really.

The ending I can't even explain because it ends SO ABRUPTLY! Either way, I still found it entertaining mainly because of the 3D effects. I mean it's no Polar Express or How to Train Your Dragon, but I actually found it to be better than most flicks released in 3D today. I still wish they'd stop releasing everything in 3D but I'll consider this one to be an exception. Also, the music by Steve Jablonsky is good and some action bits are still fun to watch like the car chase in the second act, or the military skydiving. That I thought was kind of cool. Still a bad movie overall.

**

Bad Teacher Review

 
I might as well say the red band trailer for this gave me a lot more laughs than the movie itself. That would probably be because most of the gags I saw in the red band trailer were not in the actual movie. Do I still think it's a good movie overall? Here's my review.

Cameron Diaz plays a teacher named Elizabeth Halsey who has to return to her regular day job of teaching at a middle school after her plan to live off some rich guy goes wrong. The way it's setup in the beginning I can say is hilarious. She doesn't give a crap about the students; she doesn't actually teach them and just has them watch movies in class all day; and her primary goal is to find a new rich guy to live off of. That's where Justin Timberlake's character of Scott Delacorte comes in: a rich sensitive man who becomes the new sub right after getting out of a bad relationship with his ex. Halsey greets Delacorte pretending to act like the other teachers who care and befriends him quickly by getting him to show her an old cell-phone pic of his ex who apparently has a "big heart". A few scenes later, Halsey decides to save up for breast implant, which pretty much explains what will happen throughout the movie. Long story short, she looks for ways to make big bucks for herself, like the middle school car wash and the bonus given to the teacher who has the highest scoring class on standardized tests, and so forth.


As much as you think that there could be at least 50 hilarious jokes written for that main plot line alone, I only saw less than half. So who do I blame? The writers, director, actors? Or how about the MPAA? Yeah I'll go with that. Going back to the trailers I saw in the beginning that actually got me excited to see this at one point; I laughed at about half the scenes I saw in the trailer that were not put in the theatrical release. Why was that? I don't know. The scenes I laughed at were not only funny, but after seeing the theatrical cut it would've made perfect sense to not take it out of the movie because it totally followed the plot. That would also explain why the characters were so badly developed, because there wasn't anything funny or interesting about them, except for Jason Segel's character as the gym teacher. He was the only funny character throughout the whole movie that actually made the movie less bad than it should've been. It's like they kept all his scenes in and threw out over 50% of all the other supporting characters scenes which is why I never could never read into Scott Delacorte that well, or Halsey's rival teacher Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch). Yeah, I forgot to mention that. Halsey and Amy pretty much hate each other for some reason and try to sabotage each others plans. Any good jokes written into that sub-plot? Maybe a couple, though I think I still witnessed more in the trailer.


I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I believe the MPAA or somebody in charge of post-production besides the director threw out a lot of scenes from the original director's cut onto the cutting room floor for some reason. Whatever that reason was, it didn't work at all. When watching the theatrical cut, I could tell there was A LOT edited out. I could tell when a scene wasn't finished or even when one of the characters mentioned something, I could tell it was a reference to a previous scene that was cut out completely. This is why I plan to to rent the Unrated Version on DVD and see if it's literally 10 times funnier that was intended to be than what the MPAA considers comedy to be. I wouldn't be surprised because most directors cuts seem to make more sense, like Donnie Darko or 40 Year Old Virgin, that just add more depth to the lead or supporting character or explains more to the main plot. 


I can only say I liked this movie somewhat for a good build-up, but hated it for it's crappy pay off. I can't wait to see what the unrated version can do better, which I'll review when it comes out.


**1/2

Super 8 Review

When I first heard that J.J Abrams and Steven Spielberg were working on a project together, I couldn't have been more excited. Knowing I've been a fan of the show Lost and pretty much anything my favorite producer/director Spielberg's done, I could tell that I would get at least SOMETHING entertaining. When I saw the teaser for it back in December, it said coming in June. It made me only hope that the wait would pay off and thank god, it DID.

This film is literally great from start to finish. J.J Abrams knows how to open up a film scene and not do anything remotely wrong for at least the first five minutes. He did so with this movie almost all the way through. I'd rather not say what it is because there's not much to really talk about without really spoiling the movie; or maybe I would just recommend you go into the theater without thinking about what you read on anybodys blog about what actually happens in the movie. The only thing I can say is that yes, it does involve some sort of invasion that happens in a small town while a group of well written and well acted pre-teen kids are trying to make a movie using a Super 8 camera. The main trailer should tell you that by now. 

What I really can talk about is how well the film is done. The suspense is incredible, the characters are well thought out and likable, there's absoluetly no "jumping the shark" or "nuking the fridge" in this (A.K.A no ridiculous impossible stunts done in this film), and surprisingly none of the acting is bad. I mean for an action movie, I thought I would've found at least one character that I didn't like or care for, but nope. This is why I love J.J Abrams, because he knows how to make an original character that has no flaws or bullshit in any situation they're in. I can see why Spielberg attached himself to the project as the main producer. It's not just because it's sort of a tribute to all his sci-fi films of the late 1970s and early 1980s, but because he knew that Abrams was one of the most gifted original story tellers of today modern society in film. Abrams knew what films of today were missing and what he may have learned from watching Spileberg's old films. The fact that Abrams and Spielberg actually went up on stage at the MTV Movie Awards to promote this film, I can see why.

I guess the only problem that I have with this film is that it does use a few minor cliches that makes it seem like a somewhat average film. It isn't overall, but it does tend to focus a tad more on the invasion scenes than the kids themselves making their film or seeing what their situation is. It still does, but not as much as I would've wanted to.

Still overall the best film I've seen so far this year and I HIGHLY recommend that you see this film.

***1/2

Everything Must Go Review

Among the worst non-life threatening situations I've seen in any movie, it had to happen to Will Ferrell. How could such a funny guy go through all this drama by losing his job; having the locks changed on his house; all his possessions laying out on his front lawn and etc.? How does he handle it all? Finally, what do I think of this movie? Here's my review:

Well I can start this off by saying this is one of Will Ferrell's best roles he's played in awhile. Arguably better than his role of Harold Crick in Stranger Than Fiction. In this movie he plays Nick Halsey, an alcoholic who according to his wife, co-workers and a few next door neighbors doesn't deserve much in life because of his instability. His wife (who we never see in the movie) takes out her anger by leaving him, changing the locks and throwing all of Halsey's furniture and personal belongings out on his lawn. His boss at work fires him for not recovering from his alcohol problems. Luckily not everyone hates Halsey, knowing he befriends a woman named Samantha (Rebecca Hall) who just moved in from across the street; and Kenny: a maid's son from down the street who does nothing but rides his bike up and down the neighborhood streets. 

As he makes acquaintances, he also has business to do as well. He is approached by his detective "friend", Frank Garcia (Michael Penã) who says that he can't get a key made for his new locks yet and must sell all the stuff on his lawn within five days. Why? I really have no clue, apparently that's the new law, or at least in this movie. Nick decides to have Kenny participate in helping him sell his stuff by paying him minimum wage and teaching him business tips on how to become a salesman. Samantha mostly just talks to Nick surprisingly wanting to know him more than finding out why all his belongings are out on his lawn. in my opinion great character development. 

That's really how it begins, but I'll leave the middle and end up for you to watch. Still, what do I think of all three acts of the movie? Well I could see what writer/director Dan Rush was trying to do, and thankfully he pulled at least more than half of it off. From what I saw was that he was trying to make a film about events that can relate to real life more than what you would just see in a movie; which is good except I think he shoves it in your face a little too much. The movie is overall more depressing than it could've been. That doesn't mean I don't like the movie though. I'm just saying that too much depressing events happen all at once. I mean I can understand the beginning, but it sometimes goes WAY too far throughout the middle and end. I still really like the ending and think the moral to this film is done very well.

In an overall statement about this film in what I love and hate about it: I love the moral of the story, I love the actors, I love the supporting characters written in this film, and I love the direction. I think writer/director Dan Rush actually did a good job at putting together this film. What I hate about this film is mainly all the stuff that actually happens in the film. I'm not gonna name everything off, but I think the depressing events in the beginning were already enough for Nick Halsey to process that he screwed up and needs a change. As for the film itself, I would give it ***1/2, but as for my personal opinion about this film...

***

The Hangover Part II Review

Note: I recommend watching the first movie before reading this review for this one. 

First off, I wanna start off by saying that I DID like this movie and no it is not the EXACT same movie like every bashing critic said it was. Sure it does repeat some of the same elements like the last movie; but that's what I thought was funny about it because those are the elements the main characters try to avoid throughout the movie. They even mention it throughout the beginning of the movie multiple times.

So, the movie starts off with the same type of intro used in the first film. Just because I said that doesn't mean you've already come to think it's the same film as the last. Anyways, it flashes back to around a week and a half ago to show that our characters Phil, Stu and Doug are still hanging out and talk about Stu who's to be married. No it's not to Heather Graham, which is a shame because I really liked her character in the first one. Instead, Stu is marrying a Thai woman named Lauren who I will admit is a nice likable character; a lot better than Doug's wife, Tracy from the first one (who's also a bitch in this one as well). Stu then talks about going to Thailand for his wedding and wants to take Phil and Doug with him. But wait, what about Alan? Is the fourth member of the wolfpack coming along for the ride as well? Thankfully yes after Doug talks Stu into it, because how would this movie go without everyone's favorite fat Jesus? Not well, I predict.

So the gang and their wives fly out to Thailand to have a nice rehearsal dinner. The gang also befriends Lauren's little brother Teddy who decides to join the wolfpack for a nice campfire on the beach roasting marshmallows-- that is until the next day where Phil, Stu and Alan wake up in some crappy Bangkok hotel, Teddy ends up missing, and Doug is surprisingly fine back at the hotel. How did they end up in that situation? Well that's where the adventure starts for the audience. 

I'm not gonna say anymore about the film except that for all the adventures they go on trying to retrace their steps and find Teddy isn't an EXACT replica of the first movie like everyone says it is. I don't know why, maybe the critics just wanted a different opening for the whole thing. The fact that it's called The Hangover Part II doesn't mean that it's gonna be a completely different movie than the first one. I mean I was expecting the same type of plot, were the critics? Well either way it's a fun movie. The way everything is answered is still clever and hilarious. There may be a few of the same jokes here and there, but they never really ruined or got in the way for me like they did for most others. There's really nothing wrong that this movie does. The only thing that I guess bothers me is that Todd Phillips went back to his more gruesome films like Road Trip and Old School by using too many grotesque images to where it got a tad more disgusting to look at than it being funny. I mean one or two is plenty, but I think Todd Phillips wanted to see how far he could take the R rating rather than put full focus on the movie itself.

Either way I still recommend the movie if you liked the first one and don't mind a few of the same jokes. It's still hilarious, but I do wish they could've had more Doug in the movie as well. That would've given the movie new jokes and a nice sub-plot.

*** 

Bridesmaids Review

 

My original intention was not to see this movie, but when I heard my friends were going to and got an invite to tag along with them; I said to myself "Why not."

So thirty minutes into the movie and I'm already laughing my head off saying to myself "This is 100 times funnier and more clever than the trailers for this made it look!". I'm serious, I should not trust movie trailers anymore and go with my gut instinct on what I personally think this movie could be. I will admit I'm not a huge Saturday Night Live fan, but I've always thought Kristen Wiig was clever at everything she did; and this movie shows the best of it.

The jokes are funny; the characters are well developed and likeable; pretty much everything that should be done in a film, this movie follows. The actors especially were top notch compared to most comedies you see now today. I know this may be a bit overreaching because the release date was kind of early but I could totally see Kristen Wiig getting a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) for this film. It's possible.

For the record, this is NOT a chick flick. After seeing this movie, it's FAR from it. This movie shows that women can be clever and funny in a crude way as well. Not every movie starring women is the next Sex and the City like film. I mean in my personal opinion, I found this to be funnier than The Hangover Part II and I laughed my ass off at that as well. If you had any thoughts about this being another chick flick, forget those and go see this movie ASAP. This is one you do not want to miss out on.

***1/2

Three Months Later...

For those that follow my blog and have been wondering why I haven't posted anything in almost exactly three months; well the best to say is a few things came up:

-The outlet to my hard drive broke so all my top 10 lists I had to redo, it's all good and well secured.

-I started college not too long ago and it took awhile to get everything prepared.

-I thought I'd start blogging sooner by just making more top 10 lists or reviews of movies from previous years, but since the summer was coming up and there were a lot of movies I wanted to see; I figured I should just take the whole month of June and early July just to see at least a few films that I'd post reviews of to get back on track and let you know what I think of of this year's summer films over all.

Films I've seen so far this Summer (in order of being posted):
-Bridesmaids
-The Hangover Part II
-Everything Must Go
-Super 8
-Bad Teacher
-Transformers: Dark of the Moon 

Films that are out I have yet to see this Summer:
-The Tree of Life
-Midnight in Paris
-Larry Crowne

Films that aren't out I plan to see this Summer: 
-Horrible Bosses
-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
-Cowboys and Aliens
-Crazy, Stupid Love
-The Change-Up
-30 Minutes Or Less

Films that I plan to review when they come out on DVD:
-Pirates of the Caribbean
-Thor
-X-Men: First Class
-Kung Fu Panda 2
-Cars 2
-Green Lantern

I look forward to posting these reviews and am glad I'm back to blogging again. :) 

Top 25 Best Remakes

Now when I mean best remakes, I'm not just putting my favorite films that are remakes of whatever in order. I'm going by how well they managed to follow or 1-UP the original. I was first going to do a top 10, until I realized there's a lot more remakes that I enjoy than just 10. That's why I decided to extend it to not 20, but 25 well done remakes that managed to live up to the original by following it step by step flawlessly or making it 10 times more epic using the technology we have today (and I mean that in a good way). So enjoy my list of films I believe to be the 25 best movie remakes of all time! 


WARNING: List may update or extend itself in case more remakes come out that I can't resist leaving off this list.


For example: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)


1. Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Remake of: Ocean's Eleven (1960)

Yes people. This is what I consider to be the greatest remake of all time. Not only do I think it's better than the original, but I can't even imagine a better cast for this film. George Clooney does a grade A job at playing high class thief Danny Ocean. He has the perfect attitude of someone who wants to steal but do it in the most unsuspecting way. I also love the rest of his team with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, and etc. If I had to choose my favorite of the team, it would probably be the Malloy brothers played by Casey Affleck and Scott Caan. They have the perfect family love/hate chemistry which is like the icing on the cake among the interactions with the rest of the team. There's really so much that I can talk about this movie that I really should just do my own review of this. As a remake, there are some different plots; like in the original they plan to rob 5 casinos, not 3. Also Danny Ocean is the only name from the original used in the new one. Either way, its still a GREAT movie that's entertaining literally from start to finish. One more thing to say about this film is that among most remakes, this actually had good sequels made. I mean you don't really see many remakes actually have sequels made since most of them fail at the box office. Thankfully this one didn't and for good reason. I love this film. I love that this remake actually had its own franchise and line of sequels which most remakes don't. Good job to Steven Soderbergh and George Clooney for being apart of this fantastic remake of a movie.


2. King Kong (2005)
Remake of: King Kong (1933)

Truly the best work done my Peter Jackson in my personal opinion. He doesn't make this look just like an old monster flick. He puts true art and emotion into this film. First off, he does manage to make it look EXACTLY like the sets from 1933. Second, he did great casting with actors in the roles of the original characters; and I didn't actually find anything wrong with Jack Black as Carl Denham like most people did. Third the visual effects looked incredible, especially Kong which Andy Serkis did a great performance of. Even with it being over 3 hours, I still found this film to be entertaining all the way through. I was even emotionally attached to this film with the relationship between Ann Darrow and Kong. Naomi Watts actually gave an award worthy performance in this, which I don't usually see in blockbusters (except Aliens). This is a terrific remake that I hope will be recognized as one of the greatest.


3. War of the Worlds (2005)
Remake of: The War of the Worlds (1954)

Most of you will probably disagree with me completely on this, but I LOVE this film and I thought it was better than the original. You think I have bad taste in movies? Well back off, this is my list, and I believe that Steven Spielberg my most favorite director ever did no wrong in remaking this film. I truly thought Tom Cruise did an excellent job at playing the divorced father figure trying to protect his kids from the invasion. I was really invested in all the characters written into this film. Yes this film has a different story to it than the original and also different characters. That doesn't mean it has a different invasion. Different approach from the martians, but same impact. They still have the same looking tripods and other equipment used to exterminate the human race. Still has the same ending. I thought I would have problems with this movie comparing it to the original, but I don't. I still love the original, but this just seems like more of my taste for an invasion movie. It may not be exactly like the original book or movie, but it certainly lives up to it.


4. Ransom (1996)
Remake of: Ransom! (1956)

Ron Howard still conquers cinema after making Apollo 13 with this incredible remake. As generic as the title sounds, it's still more original than you think. Even though this was a remake, it had better suspense and better background with each character. Mel Gibson also gives the performance of his career in this film. Even if you hate the way he is in real life, that doesn't stop him from being a great actor. This movie shows it. Also Gary Sinise does a great job at playing Jimmy Shaker who I consider one of the greatest villains of the 1990s. Definitely a film you'd wanna see if you give Mel Gibson and the title of this film a chance.


5. The Departed (2006)
Remake of: Infernal Affairs (2002)

In my opinion, I love this film a whole lot more than the original. I don't hate the original, but I didn't find it to be all that great like most people do, even if it did come first. Thankfully Scorsese knows how to do no wrong in remaking a movie. The thing he did different with this film than what he did with "Cape Fear" was that he added more of his own style into the mix. He pretty much made a mashup of "Goodfellas", "Mean Streets" and the plot of "Infernal Affairs" which turned out very well. Even though the tone to this film is different than the original, Scorsese and writer William Monahan kept the characters in their same format which just made the film more interesting. It just makes me wish the original did more with their characters like how Scorsese did with this film.


6. True Lies (1994)
Remake of: La Totale! (1991)

Wouldn't have thought James Cameron among all people would remake a film. Either way he succeeds. The story sort of stays true to the original only with a few more added subplots and 100 times more action. Schwarzenegger believe it or not is perfectly casted in this role. He actually does a good job at portraying a man who's hiding the truth from his family that he's actually a top secret agent by pretending to be a salesman. Great action and well performed comedy by the whole cast. Fun flick not to miss out on.


7. Cape Fear (1991)
Remake of: Cape Fear (1962)

Scorsese does an excellent job at making it look just like how it did in 1962. Uses the same suspense, the same type of music, and of course tries to stay true to the original characters. This would be a little higher on the list if it seemed a little less boring. He does tend to drag some scenes out longer than they need to be. Yes he is trying to develop the characters more, but some I just didn't buy. Other than that, this film does show how well you  can remake a movie using the same features it had in the original. Too bad that tactic doesn't work with all films like when Gus Van Sant made "Psycho (1998)". 


8. The Thing (1982)
Remake of: The Thing From Another World (1951)

With John Carpenter being a huge fan of the original, it really comes to no surprise on how well he pulled this off. Great cast, great adaptation. Kurt Russell is always entertaining to watch whenever he does a John Carpenter movie. Definitely a creepy flick that YOU MUST see if you haven't yet, even if you haven't seen the original.


9. Bad News Bears (2005)
Remake of: The Bad News Bears (1976)

I must say, I was REALLY impressed how well Richard Linklater made this look exactly like the original. Yes, I do mean that in a good way. I guess after doing "School of Rock", it shows how well he works with kids and how well he can pick the right ones to have them look and act exactly like the kids from the original. Of course we can't forget Billy Bob Thornton who's perfect at pulling off Walter Matthau's drunken buffoon character known as Buttermaker. He's really funny and really good at acting like the no-good disorganized alcoholic who used to be a major league baseball player. In my opinion, really overlooked remake that deserves more recognition.


10. The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Remake of: Seven Samurai (1957)

It goes from swords to guns in this western remake of Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai". It tells the same story and even has some of the same characters. Only difference is they exchange the plots among some characters from the original and give it to others. For example, in this version they have the youngest one who they say isn't old or strong enough to fight with them ends up proving them wrong by following and protecting them behind their back. They never had the youngest one from the original do that. Either way it still works out. Great ensemble of actors match each original character perfectly. If you're ever in the mood for an awesome western that isn't "The Wild Bunch", I recommend this one.


11. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
Remake of: Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Entertaining flick that truly lives up to the original. Do I think its better than the first? Just by a tad. Mainly because of the screenplay. I usually prefer longer movies so I can get to know the characters and story plot better. It does that job in this. Instead of telling the story through a flashback, it starts fresh and ends better. You know by the end whether the body snatchers have completely taken over the world or not. Philip Kaufman directs great suspense and has pretty good effects for the late 1970s. Worth seeing? You betcha!


12. You've Got Mail (1998)
Remake of: The Shop Around the Corner (1940)

An excellent remake that goes a clever transformation into modern society by changing it from writing letters to email. Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan team up again providing great chemistry on screen where their characters battle in person to have the better bookstore in town. What they don't know is that they've been best friends chatting online thinking they're talking with completely different people. It's a great plot with superb build up to the very end. Don't wanna give anything away so if you haven't seen this movie, check it out, as well as the original.


13. The Fly (1986)
Remake of: The Fly (1958)

It does follow the original quite well, only in a much darker tone and not just like any B-horror flick. Who would've thought Jeff Goldblum could play the lead role so well and so creepy. David Cronenberg shows great direction in the pacing of the story and showing off his characters in the most interesting way. As fun as this movie sounds, still not one made for kids. It gets REALLY dark in the end. Still worth checking out as an adult.


14. The Karate Kid (2010)
Remake of: The Karate Kid (1984)

Like most people, I was completely surprised at how good this actually was. It had the same story but with new characters and different location. Usually that's the stuff I never buy in remakes, but thankfully that wasn't the case with this film. The characters first off I must say were totally believable. I actually became invested in their portrayal and backstory, especially Jackie Chan's character Mr. Han. I didn't think anyone could make a good replacement of Mr. Miyagi, but like many parts of this movie I was proven wrong. Jackie Chan perfectly suits himself up into that character, not just because he knows actual karate (or kung fu is what they call in the movie) but he shows he can also do drama. Of course same thing goes for the other actors as well. I can see why the producer of the original one, Jerry Weintraub wanted in on this one as well. Good script and great casting. Comes to show its not just one of those films where a big movie star like Will Smith produces a big budget remake just so he can have his kid as the main star. Nope, he puts full faith in the project and tries to make it live up to the original, and thankfully it did. 


15. Heaven Can Wait (1978)
Remake of: Here Comes Mr. Jordan (1941)

Warren Beatty makes his directorial debut as well as stars in this remake about a guy who has an accidental death and is then given a new life in the body of a millionaire playboy. Very good production as well as superb dialogue written by Warren Beatty as well with the help of screenwriter Elaine May. Pretty smart movie for a remake. Hard to tell which film the audience prefers knowing this and the original did well at their release.


16. Angels in the Outfield (1994)
Remake of: Angels in the Outfield (1951)

I know most people prefer the original instead of this version, but I can't help but be sucked into the modern aspects added to this film with its color and new visual effects. But I digress. I did see this film at age 5 and as you would know at that age, I got addicted to it. That doesn't keep me from judging this as a remake though. As a remake, I believe it 1-UPs the original. Call me crazy but I thought this one had a better story going when told more from the kids point of view. It had clearer development and I was a little more invested in these new characters than the original. That doesn't mean the original is bad, it's still good. I just prefer this one.


17. Flipper (1996)
Remake of: Flipper (1963)

Now I know most of you probably don't like this movie. Yes this is a personal childhood favorite of mine, BUT that's not the only reason. Compared to the original, it doesn't do THAT bad at all. It still have good character development, follows the story in the correct path without too many modern Hollywood subplot gaps, and has some pretty good actors in it. Amazing that Elijah Wood did this movie before Lord of the Rings. The downside I do have with this film is that it really doesn't age well to audiences of today mainly due to the dialogue that isn't well written. Overall still a good remake.


18. The Italian Job (2003)
Remake of: The Italian Job (1969)

An sweet thrill ride involving a heist, a revenge scheme and awesome car chases using the main product placement of this movie, the Mini Cooper. Yeah, this may not be a BETTER film compared to the ones listed below it, but as a remake it does the job well. Also, I always love Seth Green in whatever movie he does. Even if some of his films suck, he always picks the right role to play and as the computer genius in this one; he hits the nail right on the head. Great performances from the rest of the cast as well.


19. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Remake of: The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) 

Pretty cool that Alfred Hitchcock managed to remake his own film. The master of suspense does it again by casting James Stewart this time for the lead role of a father trying to protect his family from getting involved in an assassination plot he accidentally found out about. He also does his film in color this time, which in my opinion I prefer since I love the establishing shots Hitchcock films of Africa and London. A great film worth checking out.


20. Brothers (2009)
Remake of: Brothers (2004)

Based off the 2004 Turkish film. I didn't really expect this to be remade so soon. I guess the America really wanted their own version. Thankfully, producers attached critically acclaimed Jim Sheridan as the director and casted actors Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman. I will admit the trailer did give away some major parts of the movie, but still great suspense. Screenwriter David Benioff did a great job with adapting the characters to make them seem like real people and not just cardboard cutouts you see in every drama produced by Hollywood. Terrific film. I can see why Richard Roeper called this the best film of 2009.


21. I Am Legend (2007)
Remake of: The Omega Man (1974)

If movies like Pursuit of Happyness and Ali didn't show you how great an actor Will Smith is, this one should. It's one of those films that actually did scare me in theaters. I don't mean just random stuff jumping at the screen, I also mean the performances and direction of the story. I do think this is somewhat better than the original, mainly because of the effects. I don't wanna sound too Gen-Y, but I can see why "The Omega Man" needed to be remade. Still a good film, but this had better production and pacing in my opinion. 


22. The Longest Yard (2005)
Remake of: The Longest Yard (1974)

I was surprised how well they followed the original film. I mean looking at the cast, I never would've guessed they could pull off each character that good. Funny how Burt Reynolds is still in this movie only playing a different character, and another actor from the original actually reprises his role playing the same character only just 30 years older. It's a lot of fun if you're into sports movies and you have a good sense of humor.


23. The Parent Trap (1998)
Remake of: The Parent Trap (1961)

I loved this film when I was a kid as much as the original. Now looking at this film today, I have to say it still lives up quite well. It follows the original perfectly by using the same story but changing the characters to have a better setup for the modern world. It's a great film for all ages. Also for those dissing on Lindsay Lohan, she may not manage herself well with her personal life but she can still act all right; and this film is a perfect example.


24. True Grit (2010)
Remake of: True Grit (1969)

I'm sure you thought this film would be higher on the list, but like I said, these were hard to decide on. I really did enjoy this film. When I heard the Coen Brothers were making this starring Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, I was a little hesitant. Then again, like most of their movies they surprised me. I enjoyed the production of the film, the acting, and of course their well adapted script which thankfully related a little more to the book. Well done.


25. Solaris (2002)
Remake of: Solaris (1972)

To most it may be nothing but a slow moving picture starring George Clooney, but to me it's visually stunning on how well Steven Soderbergh managed to recreate the environment from the original. I can see why James Cameron was also the producer of this. Not the most exciting film, but still well recreated nonetheless. 

RTL Awards 2009

Best Picture

An Education

(500) Days of Summer

The Hurt Locker

Inglorious Basterds

Up in the Air [winner]

Even though The Hangover was my number 1 movie of 2009, it still wasn't the BEST Picture compared to the other nominees. Just my favorite. Up in the Air was a no brainer pick. It clearly had what most movies don't have to offer, a sense of reality. It's not easy to take losing a job. It took true courage to make this type of film involving our economy and no one could have doe it better than Jason Reitman.

Best Popcorn Flick

Avatar

The Hangover 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

2012

Watchmen

Zombieland [winner]

Once again; even though The Hangover was my number 1 film of the year, it still wasn't the Best POPCORN Flick. Zombieland did its job here. A great year for popcorn movies no doubt looking at the nominees, yes even 2012 I loved. All fun movies to watch, but it'd be hard for me to go at least a few months without watching Zombieland. Definitely a popcorn flick, and a very great one.

Best Animated Film

Fantastic Mr. Fox [winner]

Ponyo

Up

All three of these were excellent no doubt, but Fantastic Mr. Fox I thought was the best one made for all ages. Great story adaptation, great voiceovers, and amazing animation which in my opinion puts Wallace & Gromit to shame. Glad it got the award recognition it deserved even if it didn't win. I do wish Ponyo could've been nominated though.

Best Director

District 9 (Neill Blomkamp)

(500) Days of Summer (Marc Webb)

The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow) [winner]

Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)

Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)

A great year for visionary directors, including ones like James Cameron, Zack Snyder and Spike Jonze who almost made the list. Amazingly, it's the chick that came out the strongest. Trying to define modern warfare on screen requires a lot of skill if you plan to be right. Bigelow conquered reality with this work of art. Glad she got to be the first female to ever win Best Director at the Oscars. :) 

Best Actor

(500) Days of Summer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt)

The Hurt Locker (Jeremy Renner)

Up in the Air (George Clooney) [winner]

Whatever Works (Larry David)

Where the Wild Things Are (Max Records)

I can't think of any better nominees than these five. Clooney I did believe have the best among all, but I was so impressed with all these nominees that part of me still thinks I should give the RTL award to all five. With Gordon-Levitt's battle with romance, Renner's addiction to war, Clooney's will to fire people for a living, Larry David's literal connection to the audience on his weird events, and Max Record's portrayal of figuring out his place in fiction and reality, all seem to live up to the same amount of challenging work and trying to carry on the movie. There can only be one winner, but there can always be multiple actors that put great effort in characters they play.

Best Actress

The Blind Side (Sandra Bullock)

An Education (Carey Mulligan) [winner]

(500) Days of Summer (Zooey Deschanel)

Inglorious Basterds (Melanie Laurent)

Trucker (Michelle Monaghan)

When it comes to a great performance by a newcomer for a coming of age character besides Ellen Page for Juno, it'd be Mulligan. I can't believe she never won any big awards for her brilliant performance. Even though she got nominated for the big ones, it just didn't seem like enough when she didn't win any of them. At least she won the majority of critic awards for Best Actress. How is it that the critic awards seem to be more correct with my opinions than the Oscars or Golden Globes? Weird. Also Deschanel, Laurent and ESPECIALLY Monaghan were completely overlooked.

Best Supporting Actor

An Education (Alfred Molina)

The Hangover (Zach Galifanakis)

Inglorious Basterds (Christoph Waltz)

Watchmen (Jackie Earle Haley)

Zombieland (Woody Harrelson) [winner]

As crazy as it sounds, I thought the zombie killer gave the best performance among the ones nominated. He never once changed character and showed true devotion throughout. I know a lot of you probably hate me for not giving it to Christoph Waltz, but Harrelson played I character I was more invested in and to me had more challenge with his character. Waltz did show better facial expressions, but Harrelson showed better charisma with his fellow actors. I will admit Waltz did deserve the Oscar and I'm still glad Harrelson was nominated not for Zombieland but his other film The Messenger. This award was just my own personal pick.

Best Supporting Actress

An Education (Emma Thompson)

Funny People (Leslie Mann)

Inglorious Basterds (Diane Kruger)

Up in the Air (Vera Farmiga)

Up in the Air (Anna Kendrick) [winner]

I don't see how Monique gave a better performance in Precious than Kendrick for Up in the Air. Kendrick's role was challenging and unique with big dialogue. Monique's was just the same character we see in every movie, only it was one-note and uninteresting. Well I can admit in my own personal opinion that Kendrick is the real winner and that Monique doesn't live up to the rest of the nominees as well. That be that. 

Best Original Screenplay

(500) Days of Summer 

Funny People

The Hangover [winner]

The Hurt Locker

Inglorious Basterds

I was debating between The Hangover and (500) Days of Summer. I decided The Hangover because it was super clever at putting everything together and adding character after character without having to question the reasons why because it's so perfectly setup. Also the plot may be a slight rip off of Dude Where's My Car?, but the jokes are actually funny and it has a better ending. I was very surprised when (500) Days of Summer didn't get nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars though. That was a shame.

Best Adapted Screenplay

An Education

Fantastic Mr. Fox

Up in the Air [winner]

Watchmen

Where the Wild Things Are

Another no brainer. I thought it would also be that way at the Oscars until Precious undeservingly took it away. Now Jason Reitman is still empty handed. Well hear me out: there is NO WAY in my opinion that there was a better written screenplay this year than Up in the Air. It will always be the true winner in my book.

Technical Categories

Cinematography: Inglourious Basterds

Art Direction: Avatar

Costume: The Young Victoria

Film Editing: Up in the Air

Sound: The Hurt Locker

Visual Effects: 2012

Makeup: District 9

Score: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Song: “All is Love” Where the Wild Things Are

Robert Richardson continues to impress me with recent work he's done like Inglourious Basterds. Avatar had a perfect new world design even though they are a slight rip off of "Yes" album covers. Couldn't think of a better job done than The Young Victoria for costuming. I loved the editing for The Hurt Locker but Up in the Air had better pacing and jump cuts. Probably all of you may disagree but the effects of destroying the earth in 2012 I thought were better than the Pandora effects in Avatar, sorry. Same thing goes with The Hurt Locker for sound. I didn't hate Avatar, I just thought some aspects in other movies were better. It still had a great production. Same thing goes for District 9 which I can't believe wasn't nominated for Best Makeup. Not one of my most favorite movies of the year, but the makeup seemed really challenging. Alexandre Desplat I hope wins an Oscar one day because with Fantastic Mr. Fox, he shows he can score more than just period pieces. As cheesy as the song "All is Love" sounds, I like the melody and the feeling of it seems to match up with the movie itself. At least I think so.

Best Ensemble

An Education

The Hangover

The Hurt Locker [winner]

Inglourious Basterds

Zombieland

Tough choice, but I thought every role in The Hurt Locker was extremely challenging, especially Renner's role. I wish it could've won the SAG for Best Ensemble but Inglourious Basterds was as deserving and at least The Hurt locker won Best Picture. I think that's a fair trade.

Best Film Debut

District 9

(500) Days of Summer [winner]

The Messenger

Moon

Zombieland

A great year for film debuts. I thought (500) Days of Summer was the best not because it's my highest ranked movie but because it had the most creativity put into it and got great audience response. Glad to see director Marc Webb is working on the new Spiderman reboot. Hope he pulls it off.

Most Overrated/Underrated

Overrated: Precious

Underrated: Funny People

Precious was good, but no where near Oscar worthy in my book. Why? Because I've seen that type of film A MILLION TIMES BEFORE! I don't see why all the sudden it finally got noticed by critics and the Academy. Also, it stole Jason Reitman's Oscar! Not cool. Now with Funny People I can't see why so many people hated it. It may be long, but it's build up can't make it any shorter. Also most people didn't realize it's supposed to be more of a drama than a comedy. It's pretty much a serious story featuring some jokes. Well I'm glad that at least me, my friends, and my favorite critics all loved this movie.

Best Hero/Villain

Hero: Harry Potter (The Half-Blood Prince)

Villain: Hans Landa (Inglorious Basterds)

There were a lot of heroes this year, but Harry Potter showed more bravery and ambition than any other movie character in 2009, even more than Tallahassee in Zombieland. There shouldn't be any question at all for Hans Landa. He is the best villain of the year. He's a Nazi, is all about business, and scary as shit when you look at his suspicious face for more than 10 seconds. Truly a devoted villain.

Best Scene

(500) Days of Summer (Feel Good Dance Line)

(500) Days of Summer (Expectation/Reality)

2012 (Escaping from L.A)

Up in the Air (Ryan’s “rebirth” speech)

Zombieland (Tallahasee’s Showdown in 

            the Park) [winner]

I don't think there's ever been a scene where you're shooting zombies with a shotgun while riding a roller coaster. That to me was very cool to see in theaters. As for the rest, if I had to choose a second place winner it would be Ryan's "rebirth" speech from Up in the Air. That was so emotional and so well acted. All are great are all scenes you must YouTube on your spare time.

Best Quote

Columbus: Rule #32, enjoy the little things.

(Zombieland)

A very well thought out quote because it actually is one of those phrases you should be saying in real life. People always focus on big problems or just think outside the box too much. You can always get that positive feeling by enjoying what you have now even if it's not much. A great quote indeed.