Coming soon! I will be posting a movie review on The Odd Life of Timothy Green. Stay tuned!
Pianoman 21
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Step Up Revolution-MOVIE REVIEW
"The MOB is a dance group from the streets of Miami,
Florida. Their one goal? To become the most famous dance group in the world and
reach enough hits on YouTube to win the $100,000 prize. However, things are
about to change when a hotel owner, Mr. Anderson, threatens to destroy a section
of Miami (where The Mob hangs out) to build a luxury hotel in its place. It’s up
to The MOB to fight for their home and start… a revolution." (taken from my OTHER movie review at http://christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2012/stepup2012.html).
To be perfectly honest, the main reason I wanted to see Step Up Revolution was because the other movie review website I volunteer for needed someone to review the movie. So I said, "Alright, let's see how good this movie is." While the movie starts off interesting Summit Entertainment didn't propel the story enough to make the movie better. The dancing is good, but as I said in my other review, that's pretty the only thing that is good. The acting? Not that good. The story? Too thin and unfortunately they spent WAY too much time on development of the characters for the first hour. Yes, a film needs to have character development but if you put in TOO much, it leaves the audience member bored and wondering when the story will propel further. At once point I even wondered how far into the movie I was in. NOT a good sign. The story is nice but nothing firm or substantial to make it worth the price of admission.
In terms of objectionable material there is a lot of suggestive dancing as the rating suggests, some of it VERY inappropriate. There is a moderate amount of language and some kissing scenes and some other things that aren't for children's eyes so parents leave the children home for this one.
So yeah, this is a short movie review because there's not much else I can say about the movie other than it's just average for it's genre. The dancing was very impressive, as I said, but that's it. I couldn't find anything else. It's the hard truth and maybe I was a little harsh with this film. But I knew the reputation of the other Step Up movies and expected a little better than what I paid for. Sorry Hollywood keep trying.
My Grade: C
Stars (out of 5): 3
To be perfectly honest, the main reason I wanted to see Step Up Revolution was because the other movie review website I volunteer for needed someone to review the movie. So I said, "Alright, let's see how good this movie is." While the movie starts off interesting Summit Entertainment didn't propel the story enough to make the movie better. The dancing is good, but as I said in my other review, that's pretty the only thing that is good. The acting? Not that good. The story? Too thin and unfortunately they spent WAY too much time on development of the characters for the first hour. Yes, a film needs to have character development but if you put in TOO much, it leaves the audience member bored and wondering when the story will propel further. At once point I even wondered how far into the movie I was in. NOT a good sign. The story is nice but nothing firm or substantial to make it worth the price of admission.
In terms of objectionable material there is a lot of suggestive dancing as the rating suggests, some of it VERY inappropriate. There is a moderate amount of language and some kissing scenes and some other things that aren't for children's eyes so parents leave the children home for this one.
So yeah, this is a short movie review because there's not much else I can say about the movie other than it's just average for it's genre. The dancing was very impressive, as I said, but that's it. I couldn't find anything else. It's the hard truth and maybe I was a little harsh with this film. But I knew the reputation of the other Step Up movies and expected a little better than what I paid for. Sorry Hollywood keep trying.
My Grade: C
Stars (out of 5): 3
Friday, July 27, 2012
Ice Age: Continental Drift MOVIE REVIEW ***
They're baaaaaaaack! Manny, Sid, Diego, and all the gang are back in Blue Sky's fourth installment, Ice Age Continental Drift. When Manny, Sid, Diego, and Sid's Grandmother drift away on an iceberg away from land, it's up to the gang to find their way home to Ellie and Peaches before they're lost forever.
Blue Sky studios is not a name everyone knows too much about. They are a small company, but a company that continues to prove their mastery over the art of cinematography and just overall good movie making. Ice Age Continental Drift is no exception to this statement. I had seen the first film, when I was kid (don't ask when), I saw the second movie on my birthday (Ice Age: The Meltdown), the third I caught glimpses of on HBO (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, probably the worst one in the series in my opinion), so I knew to finish things off right I had to see Ice Age Continental Drift.
For the most part? I was very impressed. The acting was well done, especially by Ray Romano and the rest of the crew. Very impressive. The story was just right for this movie. No suprising twists, no "aww I shoulda seen that coming" moments. Just a nice story to take the kids to, which is fine. Parents need not be weary of this this one, as this movie only contains a SLIGHT amount of inappropriate content. Since the third movie (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs) was marked with A LOT of coarse humor, I was thinking that there would be a good amount of it in this latest installment. Not so. All it came down to? Some language (no swear words) and some action scenes. That's about it.
I'm not sure what else I can say about this movie (is that a GOOD thing or a BAD thing?) other than I hope, at the rate they're going at, that they make an Ice Age 5. If not, well, it was a good series while it lasted. I can recommend this film for kids and preteens (teenagers probably wont find this amusing) and happily give it 4 stars out of 5 and a B. Thanks Blue Sky. Keep showing us what GOOD animation looks like
My Grade: B
Stars (out of 5): 4
Blue Sky studios is not a name everyone knows too much about. They are a small company, but a company that continues to prove their mastery over the art of cinematography and just overall good movie making. Ice Age Continental Drift is no exception to this statement. I had seen the first film, when I was kid (don't ask when), I saw the second movie on my birthday (Ice Age: The Meltdown), the third I caught glimpses of on HBO (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, probably the worst one in the series in my opinion), so I knew to finish things off right I had to see Ice Age Continental Drift.
For the most part? I was very impressed. The acting was well done, especially by Ray Romano and the rest of the crew. Very impressive. The story was just right for this movie. No suprising twists, no "aww I shoulda seen that coming" moments. Just a nice story to take the kids to, which is fine. Parents need not be weary of this this one, as this movie only contains a SLIGHT amount of inappropriate content. Since the third movie (Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs) was marked with A LOT of coarse humor, I was thinking that there would be a good amount of it in this latest installment. Not so. All it came down to? Some language (no swear words) and some action scenes. That's about it.
I'm not sure what else I can say about this movie (is that a GOOD thing or a BAD thing?) other than I hope, at the rate they're going at, that they make an Ice Age 5. If not, well, it was a good series while it lasted. I can recommend this film for kids and preteens (teenagers probably wont find this amusing) and happily give it 4 stars out of 5 and a B. Thanks Blue Sky. Keep showing us what GOOD animation looks like
My Grade: B
Stars (out of 5): 4
Friday, July 20, 2012
The Dark Knight Rises-MOVIE REVIEW***
After being blamed by the public for the death of Gotham D.A. Harvey Dent, Batman (aka Bruce Wayne) goes into hiding. Eight years goes by until he is called into action once again when a new villian Bane terrorizes Gotham. It will take every ounce of strength and determination to out manuveur this new breed of villian.
After 4 longs year of waiting, the wait is finally over. The conclusion of the Batman trilogy has come to a close. And on a good note I might add. Christopher Nolan is a genius. He took the Batman comics, molded them, and turned them into the greatest film trilogy this turn of the century. Sure there were Batman movies WAY before Christopher Nolan came around. I think we can all agree though that none even came close to the trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and finally the Dark Knight Rises) that Mr. Nolan formed. I went to a Dark Knight Marathon at a local theater followed by the midnight premiere of the Dark Knight Rises.
To be honest, I had never seen the first movie, only Dark Knight. Its a good thing I did though. If I hadn't (and I dont mean to spoil it for everyone) I would not have been able to understand parts of the Dark Knight Rises, which makes MANY references to the first movie and, disappointingly, not the second (although there were a couple references made). My advice is to rent Batman Begins again if it's been a while since you've laid eyes on the film for it will definetely help fill in the pieces to the third movie. Just saying.
Cinematically? Every aspect of the film was perfect. The acting was superb. The special effects, including ALL of the action scenes were very well done, as only Christopher Nolan can produce (and he never produces anything less). My only objection, and this is a small one, is that some of the plot didn't seem to make sense. For the sake of not giving any spoilers away I cant mention them here but let's just say that you might be asking some questions as you exit the theater.
Content wise? There were scenes of "sensuality," as the MPAA likes to call them. There was a heavy amount of violence so parents think twice before taking children younger than 12. No language as I recall. Other than that this was a pretty clean film by today's standards.
Overal I give this film 4.5 stars and a A-. I give it the A- due to some of the plot holes that did occur. As for the rest of it though? Spot on! And so ends the Batman trilogy of Christopher Nolan. Rest in Peace Batman Trilogy. Rest in Peace.
My Grade: A-
Stars (out of 5): 4.5
After 4 longs year of waiting, the wait is finally over. The conclusion of the Batman trilogy has come to a close. And on a good note I might add. Christopher Nolan is a genius. He took the Batman comics, molded them, and turned them into the greatest film trilogy this turn of the century. Sure there were Batman movies WAY before Christopher Nolan came around. I think we can all agree though that none even came close to the trilogy (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and finally the Dark Knight Rises) that Mr. Nolan formed. I went to a Dark Knight Marathon at a local theater followed by the midnight premiere of the Dark Knight Rises.
To be honest, I had never seen the first movie, only Dark Knight. Its a good thing I did though. If I hadn't (and I dont mean to spoil it for everyone) I would not have been able to understand parts of the Dark Knight Rises, which makes MANY references to the first movie and, disappointingly, not the second (although there were a couple references made). My advice is to rent Batman Begins again if it's been a while since you've laid eyes on the film for it will definetely help fill in the pieces to the third movie. Just saying.
Cinematically? Every aspect of the film was perfect. The acting was superb. The special effects, including ALL of the action scenes were very well done, as only Christopher Nolan can produce (and he never produces anything less). My only objection, and this is a small one, is that some of the plot didn't seem to make sense. For the sake of not giving any spoilers away I cant mention them here but let's just say that you might be asking some questions as you exit the theater.
Content wise? There were scenes of "sensuality," as the MPAA likes to call them. There was a heavy amount of violence so parents think twice before taking children younger than 12. No language as I recall. Other than that this was a pretty clean film by today's standards.
Overal I give this film 4.5 stars and a A-. I give it the A- due to some of the plot holes that did occur. As for the rest of it though? Spot on! And so ends the Batman trilogy of Christopher Nolan. Rest in Peace Batman Trilogy. Rest in Peace.
My Grade: A-
Stars (out of 5): 4.5
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Jeff Who Lives at Home MOVIE REVIEW
Jeff Tompkins is just your average guy, who happens to still live with his mother at the age of 30. When his mother, Susan, calls his brother Patrick, and tells him to spend more time together, as good brothers should, the two will end up bonding together in a brand new way they never thought possible.
Paramount Vantage, a small side company of Parmount Pictures I believe, doesn't make a lot of big time films that one would expect. I wanted to rent a comedy and thought, "Eh what the heck! Why not laugh a little right?" Well guess what? I didnt laugh much at all. It was marketed as a comedy and, yes, there were some comedic moments but all of the movie was just plain CRUDE and UNACCEPTABLE. Okay I know what you're thinking. At this point you're probably thinking, "Well hey! What do you expect with comedic movies these days? Especially ones that are rated R right?" Well I'm sorry. As a Christian, and a human being, most of this film was just 1) not funny, 2) not appropriate for anyone. There was a lot of sexual references as the rating suggested AND there was a lot of inappropriate language, language you dont even here much even on the streets.
Don't get me wrong. The performances by Jason Segel and Ed Helms were really good and they did make me laugh at certain points. However, the content is what I look at as a movie reviewer and the offensive content was just too overwhelming to appreciate what this movie had to offer. Yes, it had a nice story. Yes, it had some hysterical, and I do mean hysterical, moments. Overall though? Not a comedy, unless you like that kind of humor in which case some of you may find this film amusing. I, however, did NOT.
Like I said, in terms of profanity, there was a lot. A LOT of cussing, sexual talk, innuendos, and even, unfortunately, alcohol consumption and drug use (which may be the least of the problems with this movie). There was very little violence (one fight scene and one case where Patrick is so drunk he starts driving wrecklessly).
Overall, I don't recommend the film. Jason Segel is a great actor and so is Ed Helms, so at the end I was kinding wondering what the 35 uses of the f-word and the sexual language was for. Even the drug use was unnecessary. As I stated in my other movie review (which you can follow by visiting www.christiananswers.net/spotlight) there was just too much off-color content to recommend this movie to teens, Christians, or adults for that matter. Sorry Paramount Vantage. Try again.
My Grade: C+
Stars (out of 5): 3.5
Paramount Vantage, a small side company of Parmount Pictures I believe, doesn't make a lot of big time films that one would expect. I wanted to rent a comedy and thought, "Eh what the heck! Why not laugh a little right?" Well guess what? I didnt laugh much at all. It was marketed as a comedy and, yes, there were some comedic moments but all of the movie was just plain CRUDE and UNACCEPTABLE. Okay I know what you're thinking. At this point you're probably thinking, "Well hey! What do you expect with comedic movies these days? Especially ones that are rated R right?" Well I'm sorry. As a Christian, and a human being, most of this film was just 1) not funny, 2) not appropriate for anyone. There was a lot of sexual references as the rating suggested AND there was a lot of inappropriate language, language you dont even here much even on the streets.
Don't get me wrong. The performances by Jason Segel and Ed Helms were really good and they did make me laugh at certain points. However, the content is what I look at as a movie reviewer and the offensive content was just too overwhelming to appreciate what this movie had to offer. Yes, it had a nice story. Yes, it had some hysterical, and I do mean hysterical, moments. Overall though? Not a comedy, unless you like that kind of humor in which case some of you may find this film amusing. I, however, did NOT.
Like I said, in terms of profanity, there was a lot. A LOT of cussing, sexual talk, innuendos, and even, unfortunately, alcohol consumption and drug use (which may be the least of the problems with this movie). There was very little violence (one fight scene and one case where Patrick is so drunk he starts driving wrecklessly).
Overall, I don't recommend the film. Jason Segel is a great actor and so is Ed Helms, so at the end I was kinding wondering what the 35 uses of the f-word and the sexual language was for. Even the drug use was unnecessary. As I stated in my other movie review (which you can follow by visiting www.christiananswers.net/spotlight) there was just too much off-color content to recommend this movie to teens, Christians, or adults for that matter. Sorry Paramount Vantage. Try again.
My Grade: C+
Stars (out of 5): 3.5
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Madea's Witness Protection MOVIE REVIEW
Eugene Levy plays George Needleman, a CFO of a major coporation, who just realized his company (a company supposedly taking money and giving it to various charities) was embezzling money and now all the blame falls on him. The "feds" decide to relocate him and his family until trial at the home of a crazy woman named Madea (Tyler Perry) and her family. Will George and his family be able to stand living with Madea? You'll have to see the movie to find out.
Okay, I'll be honest with everyone. I have never seen Tyler Perry's other films. I may be one of the only people who honestly has never seen any of the other films. I wanted to give this film a try. I wanted to see a comedy so I decided to drag my father to this film. For the MOST PART? This film was funny. Tyler Perry delivers in his comedy, putting the funny moments where they needed to be. However, the sexual humor? Over the top and just not necessary. I know, what else are you to expect in a Tyler Perry film if not sexual humor right? Well yes, there's that. Somehow I felt there was a little TOO much. The rest of the movie, minus the sexual humor, was funny.
Cinematically speaking, the acting was good. The best performances however were by Eugene Levy and Tyler Perry. They were HYSTERICAL. Without them, this film would have failed and so I commend their performances. In terms of objectionable content, there's the sexual humor, so parents beware. There's some language you have to deal with that they forgot to mention when the MPAA gave it's rating. There is, also the fact that Madea is played by a male in a female outfit, so there's crossdressing involve (me I found this the most offensive part).
Like I said, overall the movie was good. Good performances. Great humor. Just too much sexual humor. Overall I enjoyed it and I look forward to Tyler Perry's future endeavors and so I give this movie 4 stars. Congrats Tyler Perry.
My Grade: B-
Stars (out of 5): 4
Okay, I'll be honest with everyone. I have never seen Tyler Perry's other films. I may be one of the only people who honestly has never seen any of the other films. I wanted to give this film a try. I wanted to see a comedy so I decided to drag my father to this film. For the MOST PART? This film was funny. Tyler Perry delivers in his comedy, putting the funny moments where they needed to be. However, the sexual humor? Over the top and just not necessary. I know, what else are you to expect in a Tyler Perry film if not sexual humor right? Well yes, there's that. Somehow I felt there was a little TOO much. The rest of the movie, minus the sexual humor, was funny.
Cinematically speaking, the acting was good. The best performances however were by Eugene Levy and Tyler Perry. They were HYSTERICAL. Without them, this film would have failed and so I commend their performances. In terms of objectionable content, there's the sexual humor, so parents beware. There's some language you have to deal with that they forgot to mention when the MPAA gave it's rating. There is, also the fact that Madea is played by a male in a female outfit, so there's crossdressing involve (me I found this the most offensive part).
Like I said, overall the movie was good. Good performances. Great humor. Just too much sexual humor. Overall I enjoyed it and I look forward to Tyler Perry's future endeavors and so I give this movie 4 stars. Congrats Tyler Perry.
My Grade: B-
Stars (out of 5): 4
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
The Amazing Spiderman Movie Review
Peter Parker is just your average kid...who happened to get bitten by a genetically enhanced superspider while taking a tour of Oscorp Industries. It's a movie about courage and determination in which Peter Parker must come to the realization of who he must become...The Amazing Spiderman.
Reboots are tricky to make. You never know how the audience is going to react to the story, the acting, etc. I'll admit that I wasn't really looking forward to this film...at all. I figured, "No way this movie will be as good as the 2002 blockbuster Spiderman (starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst). It's just not going to work. Why fix something that isn't broken in the first place?" I had heard they were going to be making a reboot about a year in advance from a friend who heard about it through the Internet.
My mother really wanted to see this movie and I was interested enough to see this movie in not just 3D but in IMAX 3D. So I went. I sat in the theater. The first half hour of the movie is SLOW but necessary to help develop the plot (just thought I'd point that out there). Suprisingly (and I don't mean to spoil it for anyone) there wasn't as much action as the first three blockbuster films. That suprised me considering that's the entire purpose of GOING to a Spiderman movie. Yet, somehow it still worked. Somehow I was still impressed without a doubt that this movie was as good as it was.
Congrats to the cast and crew for impressing even ME.
In terms of objectionable content there wasn't much. One person swore. There was one scene of partial nudity (very partial). Some scenes are a bit frightening, including Dr. Connors turning into the super lizard. Other than that the violence was pretty tame for a Spiderman movie, or for any PG-13 movie for that manner.
So like I said, I didn't have high hopes for this movie in the beginning but as it progressed it turned out better than I thought. And for that I give it 4.5 stars out of five. Thankyou Columbia Pictures. You made a good impression.
My Grade: B+
Stars (out of 5): 4.5
Reboots are tricky to make. You never know how the audience is going to react to the story, the acting, etc. I'll admit that I wasn't really looking forward to this film...at all. I figured, "No way this movie will be as good as the 2002 blockbuster Spiderman (starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst). It's just not going to work. Why fix something that isn't broken in the first place?" I had heard they were going to be making a reboot about a year in advance from a friend who heard about it through the Internet.
My mother really wanted to see this movie and I was interested enough to see this movie in not just 3D but in IMAX 3D. So I went. I sat in the theater. The first half hour of the movie is SLOW but necessary to help develop the plot (just thought I'd point that out there). Suprisingly (and I don't mean to spoil it for anyone) there wasn't as much action as the first three blockbuster films. That suprised me considering that's the entire purpose of GOING to a Spiderman movie. Yet, somehow it still worked. Somehow I was still impressed without a doubt that this movie was as good as it was.
Congrats to the cast and crew for impressing even ME.
In terms of objectionable content there wasn't much. One person swore. There was one scene of partial nudity (very partial). Some scenes are a bit frightening, including Dr. Connors turning into the super lizard. Other than that the violence was pretty tame for a Spiderman movie, or for any PG-13 movie for that manner.
So like I said, I didn't have high hopes for this movie in the beginning but as it progressed it turned out better than I thought. And for that I give it 4.5 stars out of five. Thankyou Columbia Pictures. You made a good impression.
My Grade: B+
Stars (out of 5): 4.5
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