Saturday, September 4, 2010

Avatar: Special Edition


See it in 3D, still awesome……..9 more minutes, well worth it. 9.5/10

Dinner for Schmucks


We went and saw Dinner for Schmucks and thought it was pretty good. Steve Carell plays a misfit that latches on to the main character and is invited to a dinner where they make fun of weirdoes like him. Zac Galafanacis plays Steve Carell’s boss, and is hilarious. Jermain from Flight of the Concords plays an eccentric artist and is perfect for the role. There were a lot of funny people in this movie, and it did have a lot of funny parts, but it was also a very PG-13 comedy with a lot of raunchy humor that we could have done without. We enjoyed it, and we give it a 7/10.

Karate Kid


We went and saw Karate Kid (which should be called the Kung Fu kid because it takes place in China) in the dollar theater because neither of us wanted to pay full price for a movie that didn’t really need to be redone anyway. The original is so iconic that it’s hard to live up to. The main character is played by Jaden Smith; I just felt that it was really hard to feel sorry for the beautiful child of Will Smith. Sure he got picked on by all the Chinese kids, but he’s not nearly as pitiful and awkward as Ralf Machio. With that said, it was still entertaining because it’s basically the same as the original; so we did enjoy it, it just felt like, “what’s the point?” It was worth it just to see Jackie Chan in the role of Mr. Miagi. Though it’s impossible to top Pat Morita’s performance, Jackie Chan was definitely the best possible replacement. Although it is not as good as the original Karate Kid, it was still a good movie and we recommend seeing it once. 6/10

Despicable Me


We went and saw Despicable Me in 3D because I will give almost anything with Steve Carell a chance, and I thought it looked pretty good. Garr was a little more apprehensive, but he went with me anyway. We both enjoyed it a lot. Steve Carell voices a super-villain that takes in 3 orphan girls. It was very funny and entertaining, probably the best kids movie we have see this year so far. The humor isn’t annoying like it is in a lot of kids movies; it keeps you laughing most of the time. We highly recommend this movie. 8.5/10.

Inception

We went to see Inception in Imax, and it was worth it. Both of us had been looking forward to the movie, but we didn’t know if it was going to be pulled together very well or if we would just be confused the whole time. Well, we were confused most of the time. Garr summed it up pretty well when he said, “The whole movie I was like ‘I have no idea what is going on, but whatever it is, it’s awesome.’” The story is really well crafted, but it is definitely a movie that you won’t completely understand the first time you watch it. We definitely recommend this movie. The visuals are fantastic and the music is superb. The only problem with it is, with Christopher Nolan’s non-linear storytelling and the complexity of knowing what’s going on with being in a dream within a dream within a dream, it’s hard to be completely emotionally involved with characters and it’s hard to know which ones you should be rooting for. We give it a 9/10.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

The Last Airbender


We really like the animated series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" that this movie is based off of. And we love some of M. Night Shyamalan's other films, but unfortunately this movie was not perfect. There are a lot of things I could say about this movie...but long story short: There's a lot of things they did with this movie that I would've done differently and I don't blame anyone for not liking it, but I still enjoyed it. It really captured my imagination. If nothing else, it's a beautifully shot movie with a spectacular soundtrack. I just really hope that on DVD and Blu-Ray there is going to be an extended version released. That would be awesome because basically this movie just needs more of everything: more characters, more character development, more Appa and Momo, more flying, more bending, more action, more quiet moments, more explanation of certain plot points, etc. The only thing this movie needs less of is The Fire Lord who wasn't even seen in the 1st season. 7/10

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and in conclusion this is the longest title ever


I thought this was a pretty good kids hero movie, nothing spectacular. It's better than the crap that is Harry Potter, but not as good as the great Narnia movies. I don't think I will probably ever want to see this again, but I will probably want to see the sequels when they come out. 6.5/10

Iron Man 2


We saw Iron Man 2 in IMAX and it was pretty awesome. We thought it was really good, not quite as good as the original, but still a really fun movie. Garr liked Robin Hood better than this movie, but Sally thinks it's the best movie of the year so far (and she is always right). There were a lot of new characters in this one, but I think that they where incorporated well. The action was taken to another level, but the story might have been lacking compared to the first one. We both really enjoyed this movie and will buy it and watch it over and over. We have seen it twice already. We highly recommend it. 9/10

Toy Story 3


We went and saw Toy Sory 3 in 3D, and we really enjoyed it. We both thought that TS1 is better than TS2 and that TS2 was better than TS3. With that said, it was still a really good movie. TS3 has the best animation yet (obviously). There are a lot of the old characters and also a lot of new ones too. It is a really fun kids movie and definately worth watching. I'm sure everyone was probably planning on seeing it, but we recommend it anyway. 8.5/10

The Losers


We hadn't heard a whole lot about this movie, but we were bored on a Saturday night so we went and saw it. We saw it after the A-Team, and we were amazed at how much better this relatively unknown movie was. It is based of a DC Comic, and it is a much more of a solid action movie than the A-Team. The plot was decent, the characters were interesting, and the action was good. What more can you ask for from an action movie? It even had some good funny parts in it. We would probably give this movie the award for best underrated movie of the year so far. Definitely go see it over the A-Team. 7.5/10

The A-Team

It seemed like there was a lot of hype for this movie, and we were excited to see it. We even watched a few episodes of the old 80's tv series on Netflix to prepare. Unfortunately we didn't feel that it lived up to all of the hype. There were some decent action scenes, but it wasn't anything too impressive. What do you think of when you think of the A-Team? I think of building ridiculous weapons like turning a school bus into a tank or making a hearse with a pop out coffin that has a man in it shooting a machine gun. There was planning and building, but nothing like that. And the other thing I think of when I think the A-Team is helping other people out which they did none of. The whole time they were just helping themselves out. And the A-Team van was in the movie for like 5 minutes. You might say that this movie is a prequel to the TV show, so it’s not supposed to have all that stuff. Robin Hood was also an origin story that is very different than the original story, but it still managed to have some robbing from the rich to give to the poor. And I could forgive all of the differences from the TV show if like Robin Hood, at the end of the day, it was a great movie, but it’s not. I hated how franticly this movie was edited. There was no need to go back and forth between the plan and the mission. That was just annoying. There was no need for BA to act like he's peaceful. That was so stupid when he took his hat off. We already knew he cut his hair. And Gandhi said violence is ok so it must be. Dumb. And why did Bradley Cooper need to have his shirt off the whole movie? And why was it necessary that his character, Face, need to do the plan at the end of the movie? Liam Neeson's character, Hannibal, can't come up with a plan that actually works, but Face does. Why? Because Bradley Cooper is the hot young actor. And Liam Neeson was way too serious for this role. The only good thing about this movie is the guy who played Murdock. He was great; in fact, I thought he was better than the original. If you want to see a very similar movie that's more fun and much more well done, go see The Losers. The old 80's show was cheesy and over the top, but we still didn't think that this movie compared to the old show. We would say at the most redbox it. 5/10

The Ghost Writer


We went to see this in the Dollar Theater because it seems like Garr is willing to give almost any movie with Ewan McGregor a chance. We should have skipped this one. Nothing happens in this movie. It's like watching paint dry. There is a part in the movie where Ewan McGregor's character follows a GPS to a mysterious place. They show pretty much every turn of the GPS, like its so amazing. As if none of us have ever used a GPS before. The pace of the movie is so excruciatingly slow. You are waiting for something to happen the whole time, and it never really does. The most exciting part of the whole movie was when they showed a squirrel in the woods (for no apparent reason) and a guy in the the theater said really loud "A Squirrel!" Unfortunately that guy will probably not be with you if you watch this movie. That would be the only reason to watch it. Please do not see this movie. It is a complete waste of time. 1/10

Date Night


We went and watched this without any real expectations. We just wanted to see a fun movie. It is really nothing spectacular. It makes you laugh and its worth redboxing or netflixing, but its nothing to write home about. If you are looking for a decent comedy with funny people in it, give this one a shot. Tina Fey and Steve Carell do a good job, but you get the felling that they could be so much funnier. We give it a 6.5/10.

Robin Hood


We were both shocked and excited when we found out that Robin Hood was going to be rated PG-13. From the previews it looked like a Robin Hood version of Gladiator because both were directed by Ridley Scott and the main star of both is Russel Crow. Needless to say we were excited for this movie. It wasn't exactly what we were expecting. It's more of an origin story of Robin Hood, whereas the previews make it look like the typical robbing from the rich to give to the poor. There were so many good things about this movie. The score is spectacular. We already bought the soundtrack. The acting is great. The action is phenomenal, and it's a really good story. It did get a lot of negative reviews from critics, but I think that was mostly because the story wasn't what they were expecting. We really enjoyed this movie. It is fairly violent, but if you can take that then we highly recommend it. Garr says it's the best movie of the year so far (And he is always right.) We saw it twice in the 1st 2 weeks and want to see it again now that it's in the dollar theater and want to own it on Blu-ray. 9.5/10

When in Rome


This movie was a kind of funny in parts, but mostly stupid. It was a mediocre romantic comedy at best. 5.5/10


The Spy Next Door


The Spy Next Door is not a great movie, but it is a fun little kids movie. It is one of the worst Jackie Chan movies that I have ever seen, but I still enjoyed it. I have to say though that it's probably the best movie in its genre: that of an action hero taking care of kids. 6/10

Fantastic Mr. Fox


More like the Craptastic Mr. Fox. We had heard good things about this movie, but still waited to see it in the dollar theater. We were not impressed at all. The stop motion animation was worse than Gumby. Being able to see different expressions on the character's faces is a big part of comedy that is missing from this movie. We were also expecting a kids movie, but it was way too adult. The director of this movie before this had only directed rated R live action comedies. This movie would have been rated R too except that every cuss word was replaced with the word "cuss" and there was no blood when characters got shot. I felt like half the jokes went over my head, but really they just weren't very funny. We saw this in a packed theater, and no one was laughing. There were a few token funny parts, but not enough to save the movie. We just thought it did not live up to the hype. The worst thing about this movie is the main character is a complete evil tool/jerk/douchebag and he never gets better. The moral of this movie is keep stealing, keep ignoring your wife, and keep doing whatever is pleasurable to yourself even if it's ruining everyone's life because eventually everything will fix itself and be just fine. We give it a 3/10

Saturday, April 17, 2010

How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon might be the best movie that has come out this year so far. It has a really good story that keeps you interested. Its pretty funny, and it is also heartwarming. Its exciting and not completely predictable. The voice actors are excellent, and they fit the characters well. Gerard Butler voices the main character's dad, and it is probably his best role ever. Craig Ferguson voices another one of the Vikings, and he did a really awesome job. It was just a really solid movie that's great for everyone. Garr and I both agree that the title is kinda lame, but the movie is pretty awesome. We saw it in 3D, and we're really glad we did because the flying scenes are amazing. We give it a 9/10.

Clash of The Titans

So we went and saw Clash of The Titans opening weekend, and we really enjoyed it. It has gotten some pretty bad reviews from critics, but we thought it was pretty cool. If you have seen the old Clash of the Titans, this is absolutely amazing compared to that. But if your in love with the old one, you may not like this one. You shouldn't go into it expecting the greatest movie of all time. What you should expect is some awesome monster killing action, and that's what you get. The fight scenes were pretty spectacular, so if you like a movie with a lot of action that is pretty clean other than a lot of violence then this is the movie is for you. We happen to be those kind of people. We give it a 7.5/10.

Alice in Wonderland

We saw Alice in Wonderland in Imax 3D. It was pretty weird. Not that I didn't expect it to be a little bazaar but wow. It was just a little hard to follow, and there was a lot to take in. The story was ok, but I started to get a little bored. Johnny Depp was decent, but he switched between two different accents throughout the movie for no apparent reason and it got a little old. The best part of the movie was definitely the Red Queen played by Helena Bonham Carter. She was really funny and perfect for the role. Overall we thought the movie was decent and maybe worth seeing from redbox. We give it a 6/10.

Sherlock Holmes

We saw Sherlock Holmes a few months after it came out in th Dollar Theater. We had heard good things, but I'm glad we didn't full price. It was a pretty big disappointment. It seemed really long, and that is never a good thing for a movie. We just felt that it didn't live up to all of the hype. There where a lot of unresolved issues, and the plot seemed way too similar to the movie Young Sherlock Holmes which is also really horrible. We don't recommend it and give it a 4/10.

The Blind Side

We ended up seeing The Blind Side in the dollar theater after everyone else had already seen it and Sandra Bullock had won Best Actress for her role. So we already knew that it was a really solid movie that everyone loved. Fortunately, We really enjoyed it too. It's just a really awesome story, and it's really hard not to get invested in it and love it. I would suggest this movie to anybody. We give it a 9.5/10.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Extraordinary Measures


Extraordinary Measures was a solid feel good movie. It doesn't blow your mind, but it leaves you feeling uplifted. Both Brenden Frasier and Harrison Ford did an awesome job and played off each other well. The only criticism of the movie that we heard was that it was like a really good made for TV movie. For me a movie is a movie and if it's good it's good. We really enjoyed it and think anyone who does not like this movie must hate terminally ill children. Get it from redbox its pretty good. We give it a 7.5/10.

Twilight New Moon


We went and saw New Moon in the dollar theater, and it was hilarious. Before the movie started we decided to count the number of guys that were shirtless for pretty much no apparent reason. We were not disappointed. The grand total was 25. You could pretty much look at the picture above and you have seen 2/3 of the movie. Half way through we realized we should have been counting the number of "slow motion walk toward the camera shots" there were as well. Maybe next time. But lets face it, we won't be seeing this movie again. If you want a good laugh, go and see New Moon. We give it a 1/10.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

The Princess and the Frog

We went and saw The Princess and the Frog over Chistmas break and thought it was ok. The beginning was good and the ending was too, but the stuff in the middle seemed to drag on and seemed fairly pointless. It would have been much better as a 20 minute short than as a feature length film. Avatar was almost 3 hours, and this movie seemed twice as long as Avatar did. There just isn't much to the story of The Princess and the Frog, and the way they lengthened it wasn't exciting or interesting to us. Little girls will probably love it, but it just didn't seem as good as past Disney movies. If you want to see a good Disney movie rewatch Snow White or Robin Hood. We give it a 6.5/10.