Monday, May 25, 2009

Terminator Salvation

The future begins in this sci fi epic about the war between humans and machines. Fun, action, and a lot of explosions are packed into this new installment in the Terminator saga, Terminator Salvation. In this film however, a few changes are made to the film including seeing what's happening in the future, a new starring cast, and the most disappointing fact...there is no Arnold Schwarzenegger .

The film opens with a man named Marcus Wright(Sam Worthington) who has caused the death of two cops and his brother and wants his life to end. A woman soon visits him and says that he can have a second chance at life by donating his body to science. He signs the paper donating his body to Cyberdyne(a company that creates Skynet.) Fifteen years later, the world has been bombarded by Cyberdyne-created robots called Terminators. There is talk of a man named John Connor(Christian Bale) who is said to be the messiah that will help win the war with this advance machine system that has become known as Skynet. The commanders of the war inform John of the hit list that Skynet has which includes himself at number two but his father, Kyle Reese(Anton Yelchin), at number one. On top of that problem, John and his wife Kate(Charlotte Gainsbourg) stumble across Marcus Wright who is no longer a man but a new kind of Terminator. While trying to unlock the secret to this Terminator, John recruits him to help rescue his father.

BOOM BOOM BOOM! Explosions echo throughout the entire film. Whether it's a bomb, a robot, or a building collapsing, not many scenes go by without action. The film is lathered in fast-paced action of all kinds including chases, hand-to-hand fighting, and large battle scenes. These scenes are made even better with insane CGI that isn't found in many films(if you want a comparison think Transformers.) The CGI is smooth, well done, and used abundantly from creating a large flying battleship to making a robot in the end looking exactly like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

My problem with this film is that, like X-Men Origins Wolverine, the heart that was found in the earlier films is absent in this one. This film consists of violence, death, and hate. There isn't a strong message that stuck out to me in Salvation. There isn't a big feeling of hope or reassurance that the best is coming despite the encouraging words of John Connor. Where's the love? What has happened to sacrifice and fighting for the greater good? And above all where is the humanity? Machines don't sacrifice themselves for another machine, only humans do that. That is part of the puzzle that was missing in Salvation.

For those who are wanting a fun flick with relentless action, this is the film for you. However, if you want a movie with action and depth, you may want to stick with the classic Terminator films. For me this film was fun to watch but I just wish it could have been a little more inspirational thus making it a great film. 2.5 stars out of 5.

Terminator Salvation is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and language. The running time is 1 hour and 55 minutes.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Angels and Demons

Ron Howard and Tom Hanks reunite in this sequel to it's critically panned predecessor, The Da Vinci Code. Angels and Demons is an epic thrill ride that kept me guessing the entire film and this film was better than the last.

This film begins with both the death of the pope and a science experiment in which scientists create a form of energy called antimatter which has the power to create a giant explosion if it touches anything. As this is happening, a secret organization known as the Illuminati kidnaps the four priests, one of which will become the new pope, and also steal one of the cases of antimatter. Then the Catholic Church turns to Robert Langdon(Tom Hanks) hoping that he can help uncover the secrets of the Illuminati and save Vatican City from destruction.

When it comes to the plot, there are several things to think about. This film is a thriller/mystery which means that there are quite a few twists in the film. In many films, twists are a bad thing that causes one to become confused but in mysteries, twists are necessary to deliver a good movie. In this case, the twists kept me into the film and were the fun part about the movie. Several scenes just blew me away because they took me down one trail and then switched it around completely surprising me.

A downside to this film is that it could have been a little shorter. The end seemed to really drag out and after looking back at the film, this problem could have been solved if I read the book. At about twenty-five, thirty minutes before the end of the film, there is a big scene which made it seem like the climax. After this scene, I was expecting the movie to end for the next twenty minutes. A warning to those who haven't seen the movie: The scene with the helicopter isn't the climax. If you remember that, the film will probably not feel as dragged out.

On the other hand, the action was great, the suspense was planned well, and the twists kept me on the edge of my seat the entire film. Since I love music, I also noticed that the score in this film was amazing and fit perfectly with the scenes. All the acting was superb as well and that is no surprise looking at the lead actors Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor. This all mixed together to form one big thriller that, while not as fun as Star Trek and Wolverine, will entertain many crowds that want to see something different. 2.5 stars out of 4.

Angels and Demons has a running time of two hours and twenty minutes. It is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence, disturbing images, and thematic material.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Weekly Update



- Hopefully many people saw X-Men Origins Wolverine. After seeing the movie, many fans were disappointed that Ryan Reynolds,who played the sword wielding mutant Deadpool, did not have enough screen time(which he didn't.) Well lucky for us, Ryan Reynolds will return to the screen in his own film which will most likely be titled, X-Men Origins: Deadpool. In the comics, Deadpool is known for his wisecracks and talking directly to the audience which has already been seen at the end of the credits of Wolverine.
Hugh Jackman has also signed on for the Wolverine sequel which will see Logan heading to Japan which is a big storyline in the comics. The sequel may be far away though because Hugh is already signed on for five other films.



-For a show that's been canceled twice, Family Guy just keeps going due to the huge fan base. Now the studio is preparing a Family Guy movie. There is not much known about this film and all that actor Seth McFarlane said is that they are in the early stages. I am personally a Simpson's fan and I don't think that a Family Guy movie could surpass the Simpsons Movie back in 2007. Sometimes I think Family Guy is too inappropriate to be funny.




- Universal, home to so many horror monsters, is moving on with an adaption of the novella written by Robert Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Mr. Hyde has been portrayed many times through the years( the most exaggerated seen in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.) This project, currently titled Jekyll, will star Keanu Reeves as Dr. Jekyll. If they don't change the story too much, this could be a great film.

-The first footage of the 2010 live action, Disney film, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, was released a few days ago in an interview with Jerry Bruckheimer. Some may realize that this movie is an adaption of the popular video game series(one of my favorite) about a young prince who teams up with a princess to battle an evil sorcerer and the sands of time(a magic released turning humans into demonic soldiers.) This is one I can't wait for. The movie will be released in the summer of next year. It stars Jake Gyllenhall as the prince, Mike Newell(Harry Potter 4) is directing, and Jerry Bruckheimer( Pirates of the Caribbean) is producing. You can see the interview at the bottom of the page.

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Star Trek

"To boldly go where no man has gone before." If you count the new cast and mind-blowing special effects, that's exactly what this movie did. Director J. J. Abrams has brought us a great sci-fi epic that's not just for Trekkie's.

Chris Pine stars as James T. Kirk who has grown up as a thrill-seeking farm boy. As he grows up he becomes extremely intelligent but doesn't put it to good use until he meets a man from Starfleet. The man who is at first the captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise tells James to enlist in Starfleet thus following the steps of his father. So James enlists, goes through three years of training, and then his adventurous life in space begins.
Far away on a planet named Vulcan, there is a half alien, half human boy named Spock(Zachary Quinto) who has been raised in a logic-based community that rejects emotion. Spock is like the others boys on his planet except for the fact that his "human traits" inspire him to different things than the others of his kind. This results in him enlisting in Starfleet as well. James and Spock both end up on the U.S.S. Enterprise and at first, their differences cause trouble and anger between them. When an alien race headed by Captain Nero(Eric Bana) threaten Starfleet and the galaxy, James and Spock learn to put aside their different lifestyles in order to combat this threat.

Unlike X-Men Origins: Wolverine, this movie had a firm plot line that was easy to follow and understand. There were no confusing unnecessary twists which is usually what happens in two hour action flicks. The scenes in the film were also fast paced so nothing felt like it was being dragged out. One thing about the film that stuck out was the opening scene of this film which did a good job of setting the mood for the film. The opening scene also let me know as a viewer that the action was coming and coming fast.

The big thing with this film was special-effects. This movie had aliens(small and monstrous in size), fast spaceships, and large battle sequences so the special effects had to be the best for this movie to work and they were the best. The effects might remind people of the third Star Wars film,which was the last movie that resembled Star Trek in any way, because of the similarities in space/alien settings. However, since there has been four years between these two films, the CGI has grown even better and completes the experience of this film. I have one word for those who have not yet seen the film...IMAX. Go see this in IMAX because it will blow your mind.

A nice thing that I caught in this film was that the main characters were all motivated by love. James Kirk, even before he was born, was shown love by his parents that were willing to sacrifice anything for him at the beginning of the film. Now his parents' love and sacrifice are James' motivation. Spock always loved his mother even though she was human and considered a second rate citizen on Vulcan. Even the villain, Captain Nero, was motivated to conquer the universe because of the loss of the love of his life.

Even though I never watched the original show, my parents pointed out that this new film had many odes to the original show like the same tag lines, same crew, and even Leonard Nimoy who made an appearance as the old Spock. So don't worry Trekkie's, this new film has plenty of familiar aspects.

So it seems that yet another blockbuster franchise has been born this summer. Star Trek is a wonderful action movie that will be fun for most ages and gives you a fictional experience in, "Space, the final frontier." 3.5 stars out of 5.
Star Trek has a running time of two hours and six minutes. This film is rated PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence and brief sexual content.

Sunday, May 3, 2009

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The summer movie season has begun and there was no better way to start it than seeing Hugh Jackman tear up the screen with his fourth X-Men film, X-Men Origins: Wolverine. For about nine years we've seen Hugh Jackman star as the high-tempered mutant Logan(code named Wolverine) but this time the film is focusing entirely on Logan's past without the X-Men.
In this film we see Logan and his half brother Victor Creed(Liev Schreiber) working with William Stryker's(Danny Huston) Weapon X program that is formed to hunt down mutants. When Logan believes that things are getting out of control, he leaves the program and settles down with the love of his life Kayla Silverfox(Lynn Collins). However, Victor isn't going to let Logan walk away that easily so he hunts down Kayla and kills her. That is where Logan's quest for blood and revenge starts.
The main flaws with this film are that it doesn't have the heart of the first three films and that there is no main plot. Wolverine is the plot in this movie. In the past three films, there was the story of the characters and then there was the story about fighting for the greater good. In this film, there is no message or plot having to do with fighting for acceptance and tolerance and that is what made the first three films great and what this one lacks. I could not talk to a person and say, "Wolverine is about...blah blah blah," because there is no clear answer to that statement. As a fan of the comics, I was disappointed at how little screen time other mutants have. For example, fan favorite Wade Wilson/Deadpool(Ryan Reynolds) is only in fifteen minutes of the film. This is the same for most of the other mutants as well including Gambit(Taylor Kitsch who doesn't have a strong Cajun accent like he should have) and Fred Dukes/The Blob(Kevin Durand.)
Now I can move on to the positives. The action in this film did not stop from beginning to end and that is exactly what I wanted to see in this film. All the fight sequences, and there were many, were great. The CGI, which helped make the film in to the action movie it was, was used well and enabled some very stunning effects when it came to the climax. Hugh Jackman, Leiv Schreiber, and Danny Huston all gave great performances in this film. Ryan Reynolds also stole the screen for the first fifteen minutes with his sarcasm and unbelievable mutant powers.
Even though this film could not be compared to the second and third X-Men films, this blockbuster has a great combination of action, romance, and even some dry humor. This film has enough spark to keep the franchise going and don't worry comic fans, it is said that Gambit, Deadpool, and Magneto spin-offs are in the works. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action and violence and some partial nudity. Running time is 1 hour and 47 minutes.
3 1/2 out of 5.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

The Summer Movie Lineup

Ladies and gentlemen...the summer movie season has begun! This summer is bringing a lot of great movies our way.
MAY
-X-Men Origins: Wolverine: Hugh Jackman has returned once more to portray our favorite mutant, Wolverine. This time however, the X-Men aren't here and the story focuses on the past of Logan. This movie is action packed to the rim and has great special effects and Hugh Jackman isn't the only star appearing in this movie. Among the big list of actors are Liev Schreiber as Victor Creed/Sabertooth, Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson/Deadpool, and Taylor Kitsch as Remy LeBeau/Gambit. Since I am seeing this movie again tonight, my review will be posted tomorrow.
-Terminator Salvation: The action packed Terminator saga returns this summer but with a few changes, this film is set in the future and it is not rated R like it's past films. Christian Bale stars in the new action film as John Conner who is leading the survivors of a world-wide bombing. The bombing was the work of advanced machines that are called Terminators. Now the humans most fight for life survive. Fans of the first three films know that the machines created human tissue and enabled themselves to look like humans. That is what the plot seems to be focusing on in this film. This promises to be on of the top action movies of the summer. May 21
-Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian: Ben Stiller stars in this sequel to the 2006 movie Night at the Museum. This movie had mixed reviews and it wasn't expected to be a hit...but it was. Now the movie is shifting from New York to Washington D.C. and the museums are much bigger. Owen Wilson and Robin Williams both return in this film and Amy Adams is joining the cast. Children and adult will love this action/comedy film. May 22
JUNE
-Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: In 2007, many were blown away by the amazing combination of action, special effects, and even comedy in the blockbuster film Transformers. Now the Autobots are coming back in bigger numbers and so are the Decepticons. This film will include all out war between larger than life robots. Some new robots include, the Constructecons which form together to make the Devastator and the Fallen which is the robot equal to Satan(kinda weird). Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, and director Michael Bay are all returning in this major blockbuster. June 25
-Land of the Lost: Will Ferrell stars in this new comedy about a scientist(Will Ferrell) who gets sucked into a vortex with his research assistant and a dim-witted survivalist. In this new world are dinosaurs, caveman, and lizard like creatures that the crew need to avoid. That is where the comedy starts. The film also stars Danny McBride and Anna Friel. This will be a top comedy of the summer. June 5
JULY
-Public Enemies: Johnny Depp and Christian Bale star in this new crime drama about the 1930s criminal, John Dillinger. Director Michael Mann has been tiptoeing around the idea of the movie for decades and Johnny Depp has also been wanted to play a legendary thief. Christian Bale stars as Melvin Purvis who hunts down Dillinger and eventually brings him to justice. This film looks like it will have everything, action, drama, romance, suspense, and two great actors at the lead. One things for sure, this film may be the only movie that comes out in the summer that could still be talked about when the Oscars come. July 1
-Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: The magical world of Harry Potter returns to the big screen again this summer. After Warner Brothers announced last fall that the film would be pushed back from November to July, fans were furious. However, the anticipation has grown and this could possibly be the highest grossing film of the summer. In the sixth installment in the series we see Harry Potter return for his sixth year at Hogwarts school. Now Dumbledoor and Harry must uncover the secrets of Lord Voldemort's past and find the key to his downfall. To do this, Harry must convince the new teacher Professor Slughorn to tell him how Voldemort became so powerful but it won't be as easy as it sounds. In this film, relationships are tested, secrets are found, and all of the events line-up for the final battle between the boy who lived and the dark lord. July 15

I will give the 411 on the movies in August later this summer.