Teen heart throb Zac Efron returns to his acting career in the teen comedy 17 Again. This movie stars Matthew Perry as thirty-seven-year-old Mike O'Donnel who gives up the chance for a college basketball scholarship, forsaking college to marry his girlfriend. Now he lives with his nerdy billionaire best friend, Ned (Thomas Lennon), as a man who has been kicked out of his house, is hated by his kids, and hates himself for making that decision when he was seventeen. All he wants is to get another chance at life and that's where the plot unfolds. After Mike falls into a magical portal, he is transformed back into his seventeen-year-old body (Zac Efron). With help from Ned, Mike O'Donnel tries to get a better life by reliving high-school. However, he soon finds out that the reason he was transformed was to establish a better relationship with his kids.
The surprise with this movie is that it is down right hilarious. I was not expecting this film to be the comedy it was. There is great humor (although some of the humor is for an adult audience) throughout the entire film and the scenes all deliver large laughs from the crowd. From the essence of the nerdy friend to the teen humor, there are laughs that all ages will appreciate.
This movie also has many life lessons such as when seventeen-year-old Mike tries to convince the students at his school to not have sex before marriage. The irony of this story is that Mike starts acting like a father when he is transformed into a teen. He cares for his daughter and tries to protect her from her sleazy boyfriend. Mike also helps his son, who is bullied by the basketball team, by coaching him in sports and teaching him how to get the girl of his dreams. In this movie, we see Mike O'Donnel realize that he should not live in the past so he can instead focus on the present.
With a good mix of comedy, romance, and drama, this movie is a great warm up to the summer movie season. This film is rated PG-13 for language, some sexual material, and teen partying. 7 out of 10.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
The Week of April 24th
-The producer of the X-Men franchise, Laura Donner, has clarified that a X-Men First Class franchise is in the works. These new movies will focus on the the first X-Men which include Cyclops, Jean Grey, Beast, Iceman, and Angel. That means that Hugh Jackman will not return to play Wolverine in these movies. The producer did not clarify if Iceman and Angel would definitely be in the movie because they were portrayed as younger people in the original trilogy.
-Even though the graphic novel it's based on has not been released, a film entitled I, Frankenstein is in the works. This movie will include classic characters like Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, Quasimodo, and the Invisible Man. In this film the characters are reimagined with Frankenstein's monster being a private detective, Dracula being a criminal mastermind, and the Invisible Man being a secret agent.
-There is a brand new Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince trailer that was released online yesterday. It is by far the best and has many new scenes. You can view it at the bottom of this page.
-Even though the graphic novel it's based on has not been released, a film entitled I, Frankenstein is in the works. This movie will include classic characters like Frankenstein's Monster, Dracula, Quasimodo, and the Invisible Man. In this film the characters are reimagined with Frankenstein's monster being a private detective, Dracula being a criminal mastermind, and the Invisible Man being a secret agent.
-There is a brand new Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince trailer that was released online yesterday. It is by far the best and has many new scenes. You can view it at the bottom of this page.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Dragonball: Evolution
Fans of the graphic novel turned cartoon entitled, Dragonball Z, were probably overjoyed to hear that the show would soon become a live-action flick. Unfortunately, the show wasn't spectacular and neither was this movie. Dragonball Evolution is about a boy named Goku(Justin Chatwin) who has been trained his entire life by his grandfather in hopes that one day he will destroy the evil Piccolo (James Marsters) from the universe. To do this he must acquire seven mystical dragonballs that will enable him to wish Piccolo out of existence, hence stopping the apocalypse. Along the way he meets a girl, an old man (Chow Yun Fat), and a thief, who all have already acquired a dragonball and agree to help Goku on his quest. In a nutshell, Goku fights Piccolo, wins, and gets the girl (there, I just saved you $8.50.)
There are two sides of this movie. There is the special effects side and the theatrical side, which includes the script, the plot, and the acting. First let's talk about the special effects side. This side kicked butt. I loved all of the martial arts sequences, which included well done slow-motion effects. The choreography for the fights was well done. Who doesn't like watching people go at it in mid-air? The only thing wrong about the special effects is that it was the only enjoyable aspect of the film.
Now, the theatrical side. This aspect was very disappointing. I was laughing from the very beginning of the movie to the end at how cheesy some of the lines were. The plot had way too many twists in it so by the end of the movie it had me thinking...huh? The acting wasn't the best either. The actors didn't draw me into the film and reminded me quite often that I wasn't watching another great super-hero movie like Spider Man 2 or The Dark Knight.
Unfortunately for the film, the special effects didn't make up for the acting and cheesy script. This movie didn't have any elements that made it stand out among other hero flicks. This will be one I forget, and with the film only making a little less than $5 million on opening weekend, I think the studio will think twice before making a sequel. 4 out of 10.
There are two sides of this movie. There is the special effects side and the theatrical side, which includes the script, the plot, and the acting. First let's talk about the special effects side. This side kicked butt. I loved all of the martial arts sequences, which included well done slow-motion effects. The choreography for the fights was well done. Who doesn't like watching people go at it in mid-air? The only thing wrong about the special effects is that it was the only enjoyable aspect of the film.
Now, the theatrical side. This aspect was very disappointing. I was laughing from the very beginning of the movie to the end at how cheesy some of the lines were. The plot had way too many twists in it so by the end of the movie it had me thinking...huh? The acting wasn't the best either. The actors didn't draw me into the film and reminded me quite often that I wasn't watching another great super-hero movie like Spider Man 2 or The Dark Knight.
Unfortunately for the film, the special effects didn't make up for the acting and cheesy script. This movie didn't have any elements that made it stand out among other hero flicks. This will be one I forget, and with the film only making a little less than $5 million on opening weekend, I think the studio will think twice before making a sequel. 4 out of 10.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
The Week of April 10th
-The big, surprising news this week is that Sony has announced that they will be making a third Men In Black. It's been seven years since the last action/comedy MIB film was on the big screen and the announcement was a big surprise for fans who didn't think it would happen. At the moment, there are no details about the movie. There is no writer, director, and this is no statement about Will Smith or Tommy Lee Jones returning to the film. I certainly hope so because a film without Smith and Jones would be very disappointing.
- After the great success of the film, The Dark Knight, some fans thought that since it was so good, Warner Brothers would cut the franchise there forgetting a third film. Nah, Warner Brothers wants more money of course. Anyways, actor Michael Caine who plays the butler, Alfred, in the saga, was in an interview earlier this week and was asked about the Batman franchise. He did sign a three-film contract before they started making the films so however far away it may be, we will see the Dark Knight grace the screens again. Caine also commented on the fact that the Riddler will most likely be the choice for the villain. Director, Christopher Nolan, is making a different movie at the moment so a third Batman is a long ways away.
-Earlier this week, an unfinished cut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was leaked onto the Internet. The appropriate authorities were contacted and the people who did it will be prosecuted; the courts do have punishments for acts like this. The FBI and the MPAA are also investigating the crime. The cut of the film has been removed from all sites. Chairmen, Tom Rothman said that the film was not edited, not finished, and a misinterpretation of the actual film. Specific names of people who stole the movie, or sites the movie was leaked onto are not known.
- After the great success of the film, The Dark Knight, some fans thought that since it was so good, Warner Brothers would cut the franchise there forgetting a third film. Nah, Warner Brothers wants more money of course. Anyways, actor Michael Caine who plays the butler, Alfred, in the saga, was in an interview earlier this week and was asked about the Batman franchise. He did sign a three-film contract before they started making the films so however far away it may be, we will see the Dark Knight grace the screens again. Caine also commented on the fact that the Riddler will most likely be the choice for the villain. Director, Christopher Nolan, is making a different movie at the moment so a third Batman is a long ways away.
-Earlier this week, an unfinished cut of X-Men Origins: Wolverine was leaked onto the Internet. The appropriate authorities were contacted and the people who did it will be prosecuted; the courts do have punishments for acts like this. The FBI and the MPAA are also investigating the crime. The cut of the film has been removed from all sites. Chairmen, Tom Rothman said that the film was not edited, not finished, and a misinterpretation of the actual film. Specific names of people who stole the movie, or sites the movie was leaked onto are not known.
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