Clash of the Titans (2010)

I think most people remember the original Clash of the Titans film, and for most people its safe to just assume its been seen like The Goonies or Willy Wonka, and so with a new remake which "is so rare in today's times", its automatically gotta stand up to comparison like all the remakes that came befor (like a week before or two IE Alice in Wonderland, and Fern gully's Avatar), but Clash of the Titans(2010) stands up to the original and in my opinion surpasses it. I myself rarely like remakes but i loved Clash of the Titans. The special effects really help to bring to life the vision of what the myths of the Greeks would look life in real life. The casting was exceptional and the stories alterations served to improve what some would say flawed the original. Sam Worthington, Perseus, leads a very talented cast into this new adaptation of a very old tale. Liam Neeson brings Zeus to life and Ralph Fiennes captures Hades terror filled intent to his despair filled depressed existence. The journey they go through in this movie combined with the acting the special effects of the creatures to the ending all come together to bring to life a cinematic journey i wouldn't mind taking again and again. Cant wait for the DVD sheesus.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

I can honestly say that I cannot recall seeing a movie with so much non stop action than Transformers 2. Way more intensity and action then the first movie, but I guess to compensate for the extra action they chose to fall back on the story line. The plot when its all explained out seems pretty weak and last minute and contradictory of the first movie as well as some inconsistencies from 1st to 2nd. In this installment Megatron is much smaller than his towering appearance was in the first movie and is no longer the leader but a follower of a character created for this movie. The fallen is the main villain and a character created by writers along with skidz and mudflaps. The two simeon looking auto bots with gold teeth, who can’t read or write, and only listen to hip hop music. Not saying they are suppose to be the black ones but they seem to bear a certain amount of ignorant stereotypes in their demeanor. Most of the main characters from the first movie make their return, Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson and so on and deliver great performances as they did in the first movie. This movie was very visually pleasing but not the summer movie I expected. I was expecting a movie that I could see maybe twice or more in the theater and never get tired of it. Sitting the Revenge of the fallen had great moments as far as effects but their were a few times I found myself thinking would they hurry it along and if it was almost over, and I don’t think I could sit through it again knowing what is going to happen now. See at your own risk and leave your expectations at the door.

The takeing of Pelham 123

Seeing a movie with Denzel and Travolta have to rank up there with great expectations of film, being that its somewhat rare to see huge screen legends collaboration on projects so when it happens it could signal the delivery of a classic, like face-off, or Ocean’s Eleven remake. Or in the case of Pelham 123 it could signal us getting to watch a pretty decent movie. The layout of the movie is pretty much set out in the previews and I think the previews might of set so much out that took away from any suspense or unpredictability that would have been obtained for someone who hadn’t seen the preview. Denzel Washington plays a civil servant who works for the transit authority as a dispatch worker, and just happens to be working on the wrong day when, antagonist Ryder and his minions hijack a subway train and hold it ransom with hostages on board. Ryder takes a liking to Denzel’s character Walter Garber and wants to only speak with him and this sets the stage for the movie. As we see in the previews it does escalate into an in person confrontation and has a pretty decent story line and you can never question the believable of the actor’s especial Travolta who delivers villain like few can do. The movie is really good and at no moment of the movie with the phrase when is this over, or I’m bored enter your thoughts. Not a bad movie at all.

The Hangover

I had no intention of seeing this movie. I had saw one or two previews but didn’t plan to go see it and ended up getting dragged into it by a friend. I am so glad I did because this movie is one of the funniest theater releases I have seen in years, probably since Wedding Crashers. I couldn’t stop laughing and the envelope is pushed in so many ways that take you to that “shooting milk out your nose” type of laughing. The movie follows for buddies in Las Vegas , for ones bachelor’s party. Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis play the three friends and stars of the movie, as the movie is based on the three friends searching for the groom after they celebrate his bachelor party and wake up with no recollection of what happened the night before and their search in following their footsteps take them all over the city of Vegas from gangster, to Celebrities, and so on in a hilarious epic journey. On a scale from 1-10 I would give this movie a 12. Its that good. The writers and directors and actors all come together to bring us a really great memorable comedy.

Drag Me to Hell

Drag me to hell was what I would call a so so movie. I’m partially biased because I love horror movies and I find that they don’t measure up to what they use to for me for a few reasons. I think as a society we are desensitized because there are more and more horror flicks and we are exposed to so much that we get over the shock of it which is why I think directors are utilizing the gore special effects, we are so aware of the unrealistic of it and don’t fear em as much, also all the scary stuff has been done already, and also the horror aspect has worn off with adulthood. Back to the movie, the concept was originally and possible based in real culture lore being that the enemy is a dark spirit of gypsy conjuring which to my knowledge hasn’t been done like that before. The main star is Allison Lohman who is the cursed and target of the spirit, and supported by boyfriend played by Justin Long, and Lorna Raver who plays the gypsy who puts the plot in motion. Lohman who has given great performances in movies such as Beowulf and White Oleander, stayed with the movie overall in given a so so performance, at some points she isn’t believable as an innocent bank teller fearful of literally dragged into hell for all of eternity. The supporters outshined her Justin longs final scene truly makes you feel what his character is feeling, and Lorna Raver blew me away with her portrayal of a vengeful sickened bitter gypsy. The movie overall though was mediocre as a horror flick but as a movie in general wasn’t bad at all Sam Raimi put in a lot of humor and really nailed it along with some slapstick scenes that really have you ROFL. The special effects are pretty good in what you would expect if this had actually happen. I would def say compared to what’s in the box office now that this would be a good bet on watching a movie that u don’t want to regret later.

Terminator Salvation

The long awaited fourth installment of the terminator franchise has finally come and it may be possible the wait made me expect too much. It was a good movie with a good story that ends the movie pretty much were you expected to start and pretty much where it started unlike the Terminators before that were filled with action but made u feel something and moved the destiny of John Connor, played by Christian Bale, a little bit further. From beginning to end John Connor's story moves sideways in relation to the destiny of John Connor. This is the beginning of story that has been hinted on for over twenty years by different variations of Terminators, portrayed by Cali’s governor Mr. Schwarzenegger, and yet the story didn’t really unfold much, just kind of presented a problem and resolved it; I guess the next installment is where it really begins. There are cool special effects but the fight scenes don’t compare to the previous movies, which seemed to always take movie carnage to the next level, The Salvation didn’t ascend with this movie. The movie is set in a futuristic wasteland of the west coast after machines have raided and destroyed the LA area and its surrounding area up to the NW are of the country or continent, wasn’t really specified in the movie, and have turned the land into desert waste similar to the last resident evil except this is mostly at night, and its machines not zombies trying to kill the Alice, I mean John. It wasn’t bad just wasn’t movie with groundbreaking, acting, story, or special effects, more like grass growing. Not what i'd expect in the summer, the season of great movies and blockbusters, this was more of a winter movie.

Angels & Demons

In the first movie Ron Howard brought to life Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code to life in a masterpiece that took the world by storm and had many questioning their belief in organized religion. In the sequels intense mystery shrouded thriller, Angels & Demons, he delivered a piece that once again has the audience left with questions. Some of the questions that came to mind were: (As it relates to the antagonist of the story) how is that even possible? Is this suppose to be science fiction, fantasy, or am I suppose to be ignorant to the plot holes and the unrealistic probability of the possibility of these actions. Now let me say I am not speaking of the story as it relates to the Vatican which is where this movie is suppose to be taking place because I believe anything is possible but while the Da Vinci Code had a story based on a secret the church has been keeping that can undermine all organized religion, Angels and Demons is simply a thriller that takes place at the Vatican, which could have easily been substituted for any organization and have the same plot holes. The movie wasn’t bad at all it is fast paced, intellectually stimulating, and constantly turning with heart pounding suspense… until the conclusion when the overall villain to, Tom Hank’s Robert Langdon (a character that has spent most of his early to adult life studying symbols, history, facts, and legends), is revealed and is suppose to have nearly outwitted Langdon with subpar knowledge in Langdon’s area of expertise, as well as other areas (i.e.=car), and was able to set up this entire plan in a time frame that you can decide if it was probable. Over all the action excitement and mystery was good and it’s a good movie that I don’t regret seeing; it’s just not a great movie and did not fill the shoes of its predecessor.