It's not about taking the movie too seriously. It's about the movie being SO predictable, and SO by-the-numbers that there is zero dramatic tension, and never any doubt about who was going to win or how. In a dramatic masterpiece or in a popcorn robots-vs-monsters movie, it's not good. I liked the movie, but it could have easily elevated itself above 'meh' by having a more competent story and characters which were more than static cardboard cutouts.
I give Pacific Rim a 6.5/10 and all 6.5 of those points come from the action sequences which were pretty awesome. Disappointed by the lack of action by other Jaegers. Nero's already covered the story and character part (and I'd just like to add that it was probably made by written by a high schooler in 2 days). If they do make a sequel, I hope it'll give more screen time for other Jaegers. Also They could probably make the monsters more badass as well. And I hope Idris miraculously rises up from the dead and puts on his Heimdall uniform.
The Conjuring - 7/10 Definitely a quality horror film, but it really was nothing you haven't seen before. I have to say I left the theater being SLIGHTLY disappointed, mainly just because it didn't really live up to the crazy hype it was getting (which is expected, I guess). But it was definitely scary, and definitely worth seeing in a packed theater, and I definitely had a good time seeing it, so overall I was happy, but just didn't live up fully to the expectations I had for it, but still a good movie.
Before Midnight 9/10 Strong end to a great trilogy. Beautiful Greek setting, very absorbing dialogue and Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy have stellar chemistry.
Cabin in the Woods Not your standard horror movie. Had some pretty good humor, nice sci-fi\fantasy twist, gruesome action and played off all your basic horror movie cliches. 7/10
The Conjuring- 7.5/10. Yes scary, but I was expecting to literally **** my pants so I wore Depends. I never shat my pants, but I did conveniently let beer pass through without having to leave my seat. I jumped more from the people jumping around me than the actual movie, and the place was crazy packed. Very spooky I guess, always tension waiting for the next scene, but it didn't live up to the hype I was expecting. Still a quality horror flick though, some scenes will give you chills.
i don't think they are gonna quit making them till linklater kicks the bucket. guy is a great, great, severely under appreciated filmmaker. bernie was my favorite film of 2012 by far.
RIPD 7.5/10 Very surprised by this one. This movie was not screened for critics, which is almost NEVER a good sign. You can tell that the studio did not believe in this movie - very little spent on marketing it, and what little there was did almost nothing to make it appealing.. for example, totally ignoring Kevin Bacon's part in it, along with Bridges and Reynolds. I went into it expecting a shoddy MiB ripoff, and instead got a movie that MiB wished it could have been. Without getting into too much spoilery territory here.. First of all, the performances were actually very good all around. The on-screen chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges was fantastic. It's fun when you have actors who are willing to let loose and really enjoy playing off of each other, and this aspect of the film was by far the biggest and most pleasant surprise for me. Mary-Louise Parker and Kevin Bacon also have strong roles in this as well, and both carry them off well. Not going into spoilers on this one yet - and there definitely are some spoilers, so instead I will just say, I do recommend it, it was a lot of fun and there were some genuinely funny moments, mostly because of the banter between Reynolds and Bridges, and also because of some of the running gags throughout the movie. Haven't seen Red 2 yet, so I can't say yet which I would pick between them, I may see Red 2 tomorrow, and I can tell you better, but Red 2 would have to be pretty good to beat RIPD.
Up in the Air - 8/10 Never got around to seeing this one, but it was very enjoyable. Clooney kills it. He's fantastic.
Battle Royale - 5.5/10 It wasn't horrible, but there wasn't anything especially good about it. As for those of you who compare the story to Hunger Games, givemeaf***ingbreak. Yes, the gubmints make the kids kill each other, but that's it. The why and how are different, and the characters have nothing in common. Also, the larger story of THG is completely different. Batman: Year One - 7/10 Good DC cartoon. Bryan Cranston played a different kind of Jim Gordon then the one I'm used to. In fact, the movie was more about Gordon than Batman.
Been on a bit of a horror kick on Netflix streaming so here are a few quick reviews; Dead Girl – Quit watching it about a third of the way through it, too much raping for my taste – Incomplete House of the Devil – It has a cool little 80’s vibe to it but it takes way too long to get on with the story which is painfully predictable. - C The Innkeepers – A fun little movie with a good sense of fun and good chemistry between the leads. It seems to remember it’s a horror movie in the last act resulting in an abrupt shift in tone. – B- Session 9 – Really strong bit of atmosphere taking advantage of the locations but it kind of falls apart in the last act. – C+ Lovely Molly – A really impressive take on the haunted house tropes with a turn midway through the film that you’ll either love or hate, personally I thought it worked well. Strong performances throughout but in the final 10 minutes the film seems unsure about where it wants to go, committing to nothing and everything. B-
MIBIII I was very much surprised how good this was, especially after the horrid second one. In fact, I enjoyed this just as much as the first. Only knock on it would be the cartoonish effects. Brolin was awesome as a young Tommy Lee Jones. 7/10
The Ice Harvest steamed on Netflix. 6.5/10 Not bad at all. Cusack at tolerable level, a little bit of Billy Bob Thornton, and Oliver Platt who's great in this movie.
