Real Steel

It seems like all films that have anything to with boxing are entertaining. The "Rocky" series, "Cinderella Man," and "Million Dollar Baby" are just a few examples of boxing films that have hit the screen and been widely received as great movies. Why do people love the boxing genre? Because they have heart, they are about the underdog rising to the top, and when the time comes for the main character to go into the ring...it's very suspenseful. This year, a new twist is being brought to the boxing genre. Now robots are in the ring and it's more violent than ever. Is it possible to have the same emotion that we have for human characters for machines? Maybe...

Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is running out of time. Running out of time to pay his debts to several "dangerous" people, running out of time to keep up with his rent, and running out of time until he becomes a washed up has-been. To solve his problems, Charlie invests all the money he has into his boxing robot, Ambush. Charlie drives around with his robot looking for fights for the extra cash. The bad thing is, Charlie is a little stubborn and soon his cocky attitude results in the destruction of Ambush, his last way to make money.

When Charlie doesn't believe things can get any worse, he finds out that his ex-wife has died and that his son Max (Dakota Goyo), whom he has never met, is now his to raise. Even though both want nothing to do with each other, they have a common love for robot boxing and this love begins to shape their growing relationship. One night, Max comes across an old abandoned robot in a junkyard. Charlie tells Max that the robot, named Atom, would never have a chance in a fight but Max is determined. To Charlie's surprise, Atom not only wins his fight but is offered more fights by more and more people until he makes it into the big leagues. Now against all odds, Charlie and his son must fight their way to top in a struggle that won't only build their fame, but build their relationship.

So does "Real Steel" feature the same emotion felt in other films of its kind? Yes and no. This time around, the heart and soul of the film doesn't take place inside the ring, it takes places outside the ring. The real story is about a father trying to make up for the years that he abandoned his son. Sadly, the movie could have done a better job in its character development. Things just happen to quickly and without explanation. At the start of the film, Charlie doesn't even act like Max is there and tries to ignore him as often as possible. Then ten minute later, Max is hugging his father and joking around with him. Where did that come from? Make no mistake there are a few well done scenes that illustrate their growing relationship, but there aren't enough of them to make it seem believable.

As for the plot, "Real Steel" doesn't exactly bring anything new to the table (except for robots) since the story is an exact copy of most other boxing films, most of all "Rocky." This being the case, the movie itself was very predictable, but when it's over, the predictability does not ruin the movie was still being fun. And "Real Steel" is very fun. It was already entertaining to watch men beat their opponents up, but when robots do it, the entertainment reaches a whole new level. Not much can beat the sight of a giant robot sending another's head into the junk pile with a major punch.

"Real Steel" is big on the action, but not big enough on the emotion. For some, the sight of robots going at it might be enough to satisfy ones action craze, but if you want to see an inspirational film where you can connect with the characters...go watch "Rocky" again. I give it two stars out of four.

"Real Steel" has a running time of two hours and six minutes and is rated PG-13 for some violence, intense action and brief language.

Dream House

It's October and Halloween is around the corner! As usual, many thriller/horror films will be hitting theaters throughout the month and the first one to be released is the psychological thriller, "Dream House". From the creepy music, the eerie house, and the two little girls featured in the somewhat freaky trailers, "Dream House" looks like a promising thriller that will be sure to blow your mind. But after seeing it, that spark of great story telling never quite hit the dynamite.

Will Atenton (Daniel Craig) has decided to leave the big city of New York to move to a more quiet town so that he can write his new novel in a more peaceful environment. He moves with his wife (Rachel Weisz) and two daughters to a seemingly lovely home, but they begin to take notice of the wary neighbors and the signs in the basement that speak of gruesome murders that took place in their house. With more and more whispers that the mysterious murderer, Peter Ward, is on the loose, Will must find out the truth about what dark events took place in his house and how he can prevent them from happening again.

The biggest problem with "Dream House" began long before the film was released. When the first trailer was released, the film makers thought it would be clever to include a little something special to get people excited. What was that little something special? Nothing much, just the...BIGGEST SPOILER ALERT OF THE FILM! In the rare case that anyone reading this article has not seen the advertisements for this film I will refrain from giving away the spoiler but believe me...it's big. Shortly after the trailer was released, the director of the film told the press that even though a seemingly big spoiler was shown in the advertisement, there would be way more that we weren't expecting. Well the thing is...he's wrong. There is no more. If you see the trailer there is nothing else to surprise you, and it ends up giving the entire film away.

Because of this major advertising flaw, "Dream House" ends up being incredibly predictable (even if you don't know the twist). This leads to the film dragging out from beginning to end and not once does it do a successful job of drawing in the viewer. Adding to its predictability is the fact that "Dream House" simply takes elements from other great thrillers (saying the names could give away the ending) but fails to craft them together in a new and creative way.

As for the overall scare/suspense factor, the film also fails. The trailers play up the eeriness too much making the final result more disappointing. Because of the film's predictability, suspense is absent and the plot is much more humorous than scary, and not in a good way.

I should have know from the poorly thought out marketing campaign that "Dream House" would be a disappointment. But I had faith that the film would throw something even more unexpected in my face to impress me. I was wrong. Predictable, unoriginal, and void of all suspense, "Dream House" lurks in the shadows of the great psychological thrillers of our time. I give it one star out of four.

"Dream House" has a running time of 92 minutes and is rated PG-13 for violence, terror, some sexuality and brief strong language.

Contagion

When I first saw the trailer for this germ-a-phobe apocalyptic mystery film, "Contagion," this was the conversation that I was having in my head: "Oh Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon...and there's Laurence Fishburne with Marion Cotillard. Wow it has Bryan Cranston too? This film has a lot of famous--Jude Law...Kate Winslet...wow!" Yes, wow is the best word to desrcibe my thoughts. In front of me I saw a cast of award winners/nominees who are trying to prevent a worldwide epidemic. Sounds pretty interesting to me. But do the A-lister's star power hold together the film?

"Contagion" begins with Day 2, just twenty-four hours after the unknown virus's birth. Beth Emhoff (Paltrow) isn't feeling too well on the plane ride back from Japan. And neither are the people she has came into contact with. Whether it's a waiter that has taken her glass, or a person who has shaken her hand, whoever has picked up Beth's DNA is getting sick...very sick. Soon after Beth arrives home to her husband Mitch (Damon) and son, she has a seizure, is taken to the hospital, and dies the next morning. Mitch arrives only to find his son dead and is taken into custody in order to quarantine him and diagnose the virus that is spreading through his family and throughout the world.

On the other side of things we have three doctors. Dr. Cheever (Fishburne) is a doctor at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention who is approached by the Department of Homeland Security. They believe that the worldwide disease is a bio weapon designed to put the world in a state of shock on Thanksgiving week. Dr. Cheever sends Dr. Mears (Winslit) to Minneapolis where Mitch lives to investigate the virus and attempt to quarantine the city. The third, Dr. Orantes (Cotillard), travels to Japan to find the source of the virus. Oh yeah and Jude Law plays a journalist who says to "not trust the system".

As you can see, there are a LOT of things going on in this film, and that is one of the flaws. The story is too big. Instead of focusing on a concrete story, the film focuses on several. There are several consequences to this. First, because the film focuses on seven different characters and stories, it is hard to remember all of what is going on and in some cases, the "main characters" can be forgotten. Second, it's like the filmmakers just decided to finish the stories of some characters and leave the fate of others up in the air. Several questions and plot points were never addressed. And the final and greatest problem is that because of the giant storyline, "Contagion" is void of emotion. How can I connect with a character and their story when they only take up one seventh of the film? Answer...I can't.

As with many "crisis is wiping out humanity" movies, "Contagion" starts off with a bang. It's quick, it's intense, and lots of people are dying. For the first hour, I was very into the film...the second hour, not so much. The film's second half drags and the terrible thing is that the ending is nothing special and quite anticlimactic.

The star power "Contagion" packs can't save the film from a bloated plot line and an unemotional ending and characters. And while the film may have tried to push messages of "don't trust the government" and "deforestation is bad", the only effect the film had on me was the slight hesitance to touch my face...and even that won't last long. I give the film one and a half stars out of four.

"Contagion" has a running time of 106 minutes and is rated PG-13 for disturbing content and some language.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Apes taking over the planet? That premise is almost as ridiculous as this films extremely long name, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes". However, seeing six more films spawn from the original classic (one being a remake and the latest being a reboot/prequel) its obvious that the idea has not lost its momentum. Does this new prequel have what it takes to continue the story of super smart apes?

Scientist Will Rodman (James Franco) has been searching for a cure for Alzheimer's Disease. His motivation for his research is his father, Charles (John Lithgow), who is struggling with the disease himself. To find this cure, Will tests different vaccines on the chimpanzees he keeps in his lab. The tests turn out to be successful on the chimps as Will sees them become as smart as humans. One of these chimps is named Caesar (Andy Serkis) who inherits this intelligence from his mother. Will raises Caesar in his home, teaches him sign language, and treats him like a son. But fate cannot let Caesar live a human life forever. After a violent incident, Caesar is forced to live in primate facility operated by John Landon (Brian Cox) and his son Dodge (Harry Potter's Tom Felton). Seeing for the first time how his fellow species is treated, Caesar develops a plan to make the rest of the chimps like him and free them all from their prison.

Back when the original "Planet of the Apes" was released in 1968, it was ok that the actors wore costumes to play the apes. But in 2011, that would never work. Good thing modern day film making has the magic known as CGI to make apes look like more than a man in a mask. And when talking about this there is really only one critical question to ask: does the CGI impress the eyes of the viewer...yes it does, moving on.

Another great achievement of modern film is the art of motion capture in which an actor plays his part in a funny suit and then the CGI is added to the scene afterwards. Examples of this can be seen in characters such as Gollum from the "Lord of the Rings" series, King Kong, and the apes in this film (such as Caesar). Another thing in common with these characters is the actor that plays them, Andy Serkis, who has proved that he is one of the best is the motion capture acting business. The wonderful thing about Serkis's performance is that none of it includes dialogue. Instead he portrays a wide range of emotions, such as anger, with just body language. And its not hard to say that Serkis gives the best performance of the cast, making Caesar one of the most interesting characters of all the summer movies this year.

But "Rise" also features a touching narrative, filled with emotional scenes and a heart filled climax. But some of the scenes are not only emotional, but have a very classic feel to them. In fact, the best scene in the film I would consider to be among the top three scenes of all the films this summer because of the sheer iconic feel it has to it (hint...don't mess with a super intelligent ape). The narrative along with the stunning motion capture and Serkin's great performance makes "Rise" a great opportunity for the franchise to live on. I give it three stars out of four.

"Rise of the Planets of the Apes" has a running time of two hours and is rated PG-13 for intense and frightening sequence of action and violence.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Does anyone think that there have been too many super hero films this year? Well if you do...I feel sorry for you, because I love comic book movies. Granted there have been at least four or five other super heroes that have graced the silver screen this year but there is one more who needs his time to shine and he is perhaps the most known of them all. I feel like it's good to note that I felt like it was my patriotic duty to see this film but more importantly, "Captain America: The First Avenger" is the last piece of the puzzle before Marvel releases their mega super hero team-up film, "The Avengers" next May. Does Cap bring anything new to the table?
It's 1942, World War II is in full swing, and young Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) has been rejected for military service once again. It's no surprise that he has been rejected for the hundredth time. Steve is puny, sickly, and has a long list of medical issues. But Steve has no greater desire than to serve his country so he doesn't stop trying.
Soon his efforts are noticed by a scientist named Abraham Erskine (Stanley Tucci) who takes Rogers aside to offer him a chance to be a part of the government's new super soldier program. During training Rogers is looked down upon by everyone including Colonel Chester Phillips (Tommy Lee Jones). But Dr. Erskine believes that Rogers is the best choice because of his heart, compassion, and bravery. The next day Rogers is injected with the super soldier serum and he emerges as a tall, buff, Nazi killing machine who is tasked with taking down Johann Schmidt (Hugo Weaving), the head of Hitler's deep science division HYDRA. Rogers, now named Captain America, must stop Schmidt before he unleashes the ultimate power upon the world.
In the past couple years, the super heroes we have seen have had very different personalities. There has been the million dollar narcissist, the self-absorbed Norse god, and several others with severe anger management issues. That's why its nice to see a more classic kind of hero back on screen. Captain America does not put himself above others, he doesn't insult, back stab, or judge anyone. Instead he's a humble man that loves his country and is willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. Cap is a hero we haven't seen since perhaps the last "Superman" film and its good to see a hero that parents won't mind their kids looking up to.
Just like May's "Thor" had a much different setting than past Marvel films, so does "Captain America". The World War II setting is a change up but don't worry, Cap doesn't come close to the intensity and graphic content of films like "Saving Private Ryan". Instead Cap's a whole lotta fun featuring lots of fighting and explosions.
But there's a lot of heart in the mix. As with many hero flicks there is emotion, there is romance, and there are lessons to be learned (in this case sacrifice) and here there's lots of it especially during the film's gripping climax (one of the best Marvel has made).
Backing all of this up is the terrific cast. Many know Chris Evans as the other Marvel super hero The Human Torch from the "Fantastic Four" movies and usually he plays the same type of character; the smooth talking ladies man. Not so much in "Captain America". As you've read, Evans was challenged to play a much different character for this film and he succeeds. As for Hugo Weaving, who has given life to villains such as Agent Smith and Megatron he was the perfect choice to play to cruel Nazi nemesis of Captain America (who fans know as The Red Skull). Throw in some good supporting actors like Stanley Tucci, and the humorous Tommy Lee Jones and you have an all star cast.
"Captain America: The First Avenger" has everything going for it, great action, great acting, and a lot of love for the U.S.A. Fans of past Marvel films with have no problem enjoying this film and there's a high chance that those who don't enjoy the comic book craze will have just as much fun. But if there is one thing I know, its that after this movie and what is shown after the credits I, along with the rest of the super hero lovers, can't be more excited about what will happen when Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, and Captain America come together to fight whatever stands in their way. Bring on "The Avengers"! I give this film three stars out of four.
"Captain America: The First Avenger" has a running time of 121 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

It all ends. From the moment I saw those words on the poster for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" I was counting down the days until July 15th which I knew would be a monumental day for cinema...the day that the highest grossing franchise of all time comes to a close. And it went out with a magical bang. So far the newest "Potter" has broken every record there is to break making almost half a billion dollars its first weekend. Is it worth all the hype? YES...in every way imaginable and it is my pleasure to tell you why.
"Deathly Hallows Part 1" ended with Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) finding the Elder Wand, the most powerful wand in the world which is capable of preforming the most advanced forms of magic. Now Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is in more of a hurry than ever to find the remaining parts of Voldemort's soul called Horcruxes. But things get worse when Voldemort realizes what Harry is searching for. The final stopping point of the trio's search is where it all began...Hogwarts school. Knowing that the final Horcrux rests in the halls of Hogwarts, Harry continues his search while all the teachers, students, and members of the remaining Order of the Phoenix prepare for the final battle against Voldemort and his army of Death Eaters who stand just outside the castle walls. In the Battle of Hogwarts, old faces will be seen, secrets will be told, and the ultimate sacrifice will be made so that the Dark Lord can finally meet his end.
Despite being the shortest entry in the series (clocking in at just over two hours) "Deathly Hallows Part 2" has more action, emotion, chills (the good kind) than any previous "Potter" film. Thinking back, the Battle of Hogwarts took up about three fourths of the movie. But don't worry, it not all mindless action and explosions (Transformers). All of the action has a distinct purpose like to show the bravery of a student against a hoard of enemies, to show the sacrifice that Harry's friends make for him, to show Mrs. Weasley (Julie Walters) dish it out on a certain female Death Eater, or to show that there is still hope. The action is never just there.
But between the duels and suspense are emotional moments. Scenes that have the most power in the series. Scenes that have no music and no dialogue. The prime example of the emotion found in "Hallows" is the moment where we find out the life story of the mysterious Severus Snape (Alan Rickman) which ends up being one of the key points in the entire saga. "Hallows" reaches its audience better than any of its predecessors have, and I'm not just saying that because of the tears I could hear around me.
And then there is the acting. The world has seen Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson grow up over the past ten years and their acting always grew with their age. Now, at the climax, it's better than ever. Dan was challenged with acting out the most difficult scenes of the series and he pulls off every one. My favorite scene of his doesn't even have any words. He just acts with his body and his eyes and his breathing...and it is powerful. As always the trio is surrounded by an all star British cast including Maggie Smith, Jason Isaacs, Robbie Coltrane, Michael Gambon, and many many others, but who could talk about the "Harry Potter" series without mentioning Alan Rickman. Possibly the best casting choice of the films, Rickman once again pleases as Severus Snape but this time showing a whole new side of the dark professor that people who did not read the books probably were not expecting (but I would never tell you about it in this review).
And then there is a whole other thing to deal with. It's over, the series has come to an end. All the adults who adored the books and films and introduced their children to them are saying goodbye. All the kids like me who have spent the majority of our lives reading the books, watching the films, going to midnight book releases and film premiers...are saying goodbye to a major piece of our childhood. I was in dismay just like the rest of the fandom, until I remembered the words of J.K. Rowling, "Hogwarts will always be here to welcome you home." It all ends, but not our love for Harry. His magical world will always live on to be enjoyed by countless others. This great achievement in cinema deserves every bit of the four stars out of four.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" has a running time of 130 minutes and is rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images.

Green Lantern

The DC comic book universe, home to the great super heroes known as Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, has never really been able to match the success of their rival Marvel (home to Spider Man, the X-Men, Iron Man). To many there is a very clear definition of the problem DC has faced in the past decade and that problem is this: if it's not Batman, it's not good. The last Superman film was not successful enough to spawn a sequel, last year's "Jonah Hex" was named by some to be the biggest flop of 2010, and most recently a planned Wonder Woman TV show was cancelled after the first previews.

Now we have "Green Lantern", one of the most recognizable heroes of the DC universe and one of the most popular superheros ever. Ryan Reynolds seemed to be a good fit to take on the role of Hal Jordan and a light of hope once again sparked for DC. Does Green Lantern's light shine bright for an upcoming franchise or will DC have to once again go back to the drawing board.

For millions of years, the Green Lantern Corps, a police force for the entire universe made up of all kinds of aliens, has been protecting galaxies from all types of harm and chaos. The largest threat to ever challenge them was a force called Parallax, an immense being capable of destroying worlds. Though once imprisoned by a Lantern named Abin-Sur, Parallax breaks free and finds the Lantern that imprisoned him for revenge. Fatally injuring Abin-Sur, he escapes on a ship that flies to Earth in order to select the next being in line to be a Lantern.

The human chosen to be the next Lantern is Hal Jordan (Ryan Reynolds), a former captain of the US Air Force and current test pilot. Hal is rash, ignorant, sarcastic, and when he discovers Abin-Sur in his ship on that fateful night he doesn't believe that he is the right person to become a hero. But the ring, the source of all the Green Lantern's power, never makes the wrong choice and Hal will have to train with others in the Green Lantern Core in order to confront Parallax because he may be the only one capable of defeating him.

First off, some of you be wondering why I did not mention the other big names in the film such as Blake Lively or Peter Sarsgaard since they were heavily utilized in the trailers. The reason is simple...they are of no use to the plot whatsoever. These characters have no need to even be in the film except to occupy little plot holes, the film would be no different if they were not in it, and while I would not quite say that it is a waste of Lively's talents, it is definitely a waste of Sarsgaard's.

To my great disappointment, the plot in "Green Lantern" is just downright lazy. It is like the filmmakers do not even care about telling a good story. For Hal Jordan, the character development if you can even call it that is very weak and failed to grip my emotions like the recent "X-Men: First Class." It is also very obvious that "Green Lantern" tries to copy the Tony Stark (Iron Man) personality in Hal Jordan and well...Reynolds is no Robert Downy Jr.

As for Lively and her small role involving the romance with Reynolds...there is not much romance to be seen. The emotion between the two characters is rushed and forced upon the audience in order to continue to more "exciting" scenes.

The last major flaw with the plot (that I will mention) is that the writers leave too much up to the imagination. For example, one scene features Reynolds and Sarsgaard's characters talking about their past and how Reynolds always got the girl blah blah blah. Does the film elaborate on this past? No, we are just supposed to assume that the three main characters have known each other for some time and, similar to the problem with Hal Jordan, these other characters never get developed.

Because of the problems with the plot, "Green Lantern" really feels like a sequel rather than the first in a franchise (something that I don't think I've ever thought about a film before...bad sign). Scenes, conversations, and events happen too quickly. The film is too fast paced. Scenes that could be very emotional and/or entertaining end up rushing by. The film decides to put its focus on cool special effects and action rather than a good story. And the action that it focuses on is not even that impressive compared to last month's "Thor."

Though my allegiance will always be with Marvel, I do hope for success for the films that DC puts out but it just seems that they can never get it right. Unfortunately for the studio that wanted three "Green Lantern" films in three years and a Justice League film (the DC version of the Avengers), those dreams are likely to fade away. I give it one star out of four.

"Green Lantern" has a running time of 114 minutes and is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action.