Rise of the Planet of the Apes - Apes are stupid

This review is on Rise of the Planet of the Apes starring James Franco, Andy Serkis, Freida Pinto, and John Lithgow. This movie was directed by Rupert Wyatt who also did the Escapist. I had no real expectations for this movie. But seeing the beginning of this saga seemed interesting enough for me. This movie starts out with the apes being captured and forced into a lab where tests were performed on them. The tests were for a virus strain that could cure Alzheimer disease. During the demonstration one of the apes go crazy and escape injuring people and were forced to kill it leaving a baby behind. This movie had it's good points and bad points. I liked most of the acting, Franco did a decent job pretending there was a monkey in front of him. Okay the acting wasn't the issue with me. I hated how fake the CG looked. The animation was horrible and kept taking me away

from the movie. But not all of the animation, mostly just the scenes where there were monkeys and humans. When it was just the apes they seemed to put a little more detail and realism into it. The movie did a good job filling all of the details the earlier movies had created. Really wasn't anything left out. But the movie was slow and a little drawn out. Watching it once was enough. A second time might be a chore. Rise of the Planet of the Apes gets a 2 out of 4. I thought it was better than Cowboys and Aliens. But not by much.

Cowboys and Aliens - You don't remember do you

This review is on Cowboys and Aliens starring Daniel Craig, Harrison Ford, and Olivia Wilde. This movie was directed John Favreau who also worked on Zoo Keeper and Iron man 1 and 2. Cowboys and Aliens. My first thought was 'you got to be fucking kidding me.' This looked like an extremely poor idea. It seemed like another Snakes on a Plane, which was also over hyped and the publicity was insane. Cowboys and Aliens wasn't as hyped but it still came out of nowhere and suddenly there is advertising all over the T.V. and other events I witnessed. The movie starts off with Daniel Craig waking up in the middle of a desert with a metallic device attached to his wrist. Of course the device instantly reminded me of a Pipboy from Fallout 3 and made me want one very much so. But I digress. Craig is immediately surrounded by men whom take it upon themselves to assume he is a criminal and take him in. The action scene that follows seemed scripted as did all other fight scenes between humans. I wasn't impressed with the action. What I did like is that the technology their main ship consisted of wasn't shy of ours. Still better and capable of mastering space and time, but the model seemed similar. Daniel Craig's character seemed very bland. Sure he was just playing the strong silent type, but he should have some flavor. He felt like some mindless doll that moved and shot a gun when told to. Harrison Ford didn't have any issues playing a grumpy old man. The acting was mediocre at best. The alien animation wasn't terrible but their characteristics were lazy at best. I liked the movie but it felt like a cookie that lacked all sugar and flavor. No depth and some urgency but the urgency didn't matter if I didn't care. I give Cowboys and Aliens a 2 out of 4. It's worth a rent.

Harry Potter The Deathly Hollows pt. 2 - Lets finish this how it began, together

This review is on Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows pt 2. Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. Directed by David Yates who also did Harry Potter's 5, 6, and 7. Well Harry Potter for me like many others has been kind of a family tradition of some sort. I personally started the series on book 5 which I would say was my favorite, that or 6 it's close. But none the less this franchise is one of the few that have managed to keep my attention and even wanting more. But the movies have always left something lacking. And with The Deathly Hallows pt. 2 I think I have finally figured out what that was. Even though they left stuff out from the books I believe what they lacked was the emotional punch the books had. My heart could not get into the movies as it did the books. Especially the last movie, the most heart wrenching moments in the franchise happens in the last story and I felt absolutely nothing. Maybe it was the fact that I was up for twenty four hours when I saw it or it was the fact that it was poorly done. My guess it was poorly done, even the Oscar moments were sadly lame with bad makeup. I'm keeping this brief as I am sure all of my adoring fans have scene this movie already. From what I have heard I am the only person who feels this way, so I'm sure it's just me and my expectations were just through the roof. I love the books but the movies were another story. They were okay and got better with age but were still very mediocre. I give Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows pt. 2 a 2 out of 4. You know she is gonna make more. She'd be dumb not to. Hell I want more.

Transformers Dark of the Moon - You may lose your faith in us, but never in yourselves

This review is on Transformers Dark of the Moon Starring Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, and Josh Duhamel. This movie was directed by the destruction porn master himself Micheal Bay. This was the movie I was waiting for this summer. It's redemption time baby yeah! Or is it? Revenge of the Fallen was to say the least not very good. The humor forced into the move was less than needed, and kind of stupid. Unfortunately some of this humor transferred into this movie. It was very hit and miss but again took away from the movie for me. And I know Megan Fox is a complete bitch. But to reference her in the movie and how much of a bitch she was to work with was kind of childish, and very unprofessional. Don't bring your personal squabbles into my viewing pleasures. Megan Fox's replacement Rosie still couldn't act, but was better than Fox. The beginning of this movie was rather a pointless one and could have been cut out because the movie was almost 3 hours long. It starts off with Sam out looking for a job while living with his girlfriend. But has lost his self worth and meaning without the Autobots. There were some funny scenes with John Malcovich. Well all this job searching leads to Sam running into a coworker who was involved in the space program and Apollo eleven. Apollo Eleven and the space race with the Russians was a massive cover up to investigate the alien craft that crashed on the dark side of the moon. The Russians took the ships engine and kept in Chernobyl. Well we can all guess what happened there. Well only 35 or so people were involved with the real truth behind the space race and all were slowly being assassinated. And so uncovering these murders leads the assassin to Sam and thus the plot begins. Well a simple plot I suppose, no real depth to it. Though there was unneeded silly comedy this movie was darker than the others. Which I believe the franchise needs. When there was violence it was heavy. But with the violence came no real urgency or threat. It was fun to watch but I had no worry about the main characters well beings. The animation was lackluster and could have been better especially with the caliber of the franchise. I have had a lot of negative things to say about this movie, but I still liked it. It's still not the Transformers movie I have been waiting for but its a small step in the right direction. With that being said I'm not sure they will make any more. I absolutely hated the ending. If this was the end of the franchise. It was an ending I was very let down by and would not have envisioned for the end of Transformers. It was very rushed and I couldn't help but roll my eyes and say "really?". Very let down. I liked it but there was too much I found wrong with this film. But at the same time I feel it was on par with the first movie. I give Transformers Dark of the Moon 2 1/2 out of 4. Please don't end it on this note. Oh almost forgot Shockwave, bad ass, I don't quite understand what he was but I liked it.

Green Lantern - It's called courage

This review is on Green Lantern Starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, and Peter Sarsgaard. The director was Martin Campbell who also did Casino Royale and Goldeneye. This is one of the movies I have been hearing that a lot of people want to see. Before I get into this I have a real serious issue with superhero movies these days. They need to make a rule, only one actor per hero. Yes I am looking at you Ryan Reynolds and Chris Evans. For those of you who don't know Evans played Johnny Storm or better know as the Human Torch. But he is also playing Steve Rogers/Captain America. He was also in The Losers, Scott Pilgrim VS. the World, all comics. Come on dude get some diversity. But what happens when they do a major cross over such as the Civil War. In the marvel universe that was a pretty big thing and what are you going to do when the Human Torch and Captain America need to be in the same scene? Yeah its stupid and it needs to stop. But I digress. The Green Lantern starts the movie off with Hal Jordan being reckless and mouthy, typical for a Reynolds character. Thank god he is reprising his role in the upcoming Deadpool film in 2014. Jordan is a pilot whom is flying fighter jets with his partner played by Blake. Against two unbeatable jets completely unmanned controlled by A.I.. Well Hal taking this as a challenge and does something stupid and this whole Topgun thing kicks in. An event that happened in his past triggers in his mind causing him to freak out. Sure it has a little relevance to the lesson in this movie but I honestly didn't give a rats ass about it. So skipping ahead and Jordan obtains his powers and is left with the struggle in his mind if he is worthy of such a gift. Will he let his old self get in the way of him becoming the hero the universe needs him to be? There is another major thing that I didn't really care for and that's his suit. It was completely CG, really? You couldn't make a decent Green Lantern costume? His suit was very distracting to me, and the almost cartoony CG at times took me out of the experience. But in a nutshell this was a good movie, I liked the growth of the characters. I felt a sense of urgency when the protagonist was causing its mayhem. Plus it kinda creeps me out. Reynolds did a good job playing sort of the same role he always does. But I truly think he was meant for Deadpool. I have mixed feelings about this movie. It was very fun to watch but flawed in ways that I felt I was nitpicking. I give Green Lantern a 2 1/2 out of 4. It was good and I really wanted to love this movie but we could only be friends...don't call me I'll call you. It was a nice first try on a DC comic going to film. Super Man and Batman can't be the only heavy hitters. Oh, stay after the first batch of credits there is a little surprise. Maybe a little teaser for a sequel?

Super 8 - That was mint

This review is on Super 8 starring Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, and Riley Griffiths. Super 8 was directed by J.J. Abrams who also did Lost and Armageddon. When first approaching this film for me there was only two ways out. It was either going to be complete shit or it would be amazing. There would be no middle ground, and very little room for error in story and character development. Also at first look this movie seemed like a cross between E.T. and the Goonies, which isn't a bad thing. Well I'm glad to say that this movie did not disappoint. These children could do great things in the acting world. Each of them did a spectacular job playing their roles. This movie was set back in 1979 and this group of boys were making a zombie film for the Super 8 contest. To make the script a little deeper they add a female character as a love interest. They all sneak out at midnight to film a dramatic scene at a small train station when opportunity strikes and a train is coming. Seeing this increased production value they hurry and shoot the scene as the train passes. Behind them a truck drives up onto the tracks and crashes head on into the train derailing it. But amidst all the destruction something escapes the train thus beginning our story. The effects and explosions were very nicely done. I really can't give this movie enough compliments. The story was fantastic, the growth of the characters showed their experiences and how they learned from them. This movie had a very wonderful rhythm not missing a beat through out the film. I felt a certain nostalgia watching Super 8 as if it reminded me of the Goonies and E.T. and other such movies of the 80's. I left the theater not being able to help myself but smile. But there was one thing, this one thing. And I honestly wouldn't know how to properly end a movie like that. But the ending I saw was a little ridiculous but at the same time kind of reminded me of the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. After watching the movie I realized my first analogy was correct with Goonies and E.T., but throw in a little Cloverfield and you got Super 8. I loved this movie, I cared about the characters and the story which is very rare for me. There was built tension and relief when it settled, this movie had almost everything. The ending flop didn't even matter to me. I give Super 8 a 4 out of 4. If the ending would have been better I may have found another one of my so called unicorns. But regardless I would pay to see this movie in the theater again and maybe again. This is my favorite movie so far this summer.

X-men First Class - We are the better men

This review is on X-men First Class starring James McAvoy, Micheal Fassbender, and Bill Milner. This movie was directed by Matthew Vaughn who also did Kick Ass, and Stardust. I have always been a fan of Marvel even since I was a kid. But what got me into Marvel and kept me into it was the X-Men so naturally I had to go and see First Class. This movie is very different from the rest of the franchise, it took a different approach. At least to me it did, I felt a different pattern in this movie. The direction it took wasn't your basic hey there's a bad guy lets go get him. It ran a little deeper than that, not much but deeper. It was actually quite nice to see how such a strong relationship formed, and the amount of respect Charles Xavier and Magnito had for one another. The bond itself though within the movie didn't feel quite real to me. These two men are the definitions of best friends and old enemies. The movie to me did not find a good way to share this experience with the audience. But Mystique and Xavier on the other hand, their relationship with one another I really enjoyed. Maybe its the sheer fact that it was unexpected or maybe I just didn't know about it in my comic book adventures. But none the less the story starts off exactly as the first X-Men started accept with a little more. A child Magnito is in a German concentration camp during World War 2 and is separated from his family causing him to realize the existence of his powers. In another part of the world Xavier is living in a mansion care free. In the concentration camp you meet the antagonist Sebastian Shaw played by Kevin Bacon. And let me just say that Kevin Bacon did a great job playing Sebastian Shaw. Kevin, I don't think I will find myself saying this about you again but it was a pleasure. First Class was a better film than the others in the franchise. The acting wasn't spot on and the time lines seemed to be a bit off but none the less I liked it. I give X-Men First Class a 3 out of 4. I got a soft spot for the X-Men.