REVIEW: Epic 3D

MOVIE
Epic

CAST
Amanda Seyfried,
Josh Hutcherson

RATING
PG

RELEASE
May 24, 2013

DIRECTOR
Chris Wedge

STUDIO(S)
20th Century Fox,
Blue Sky Studios

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 42 minutes







STARS
***









REVIEW:

There have only been two other animated films to have come out in 2013 so far, and only one of them, 'The Croods,' was worth going to see.  The fact that there have been very little animated/family movies to be released this year is disappointing, so to see that something like 'Epic' is coming out is both a nice sight and a bad one.  On one hand, the animation looks stunning and there is some decent talent behind it, including 'Ice Age' and 'Rio' director Chris Wedge and stars Colin Farrell and Christoph Waltz.  On the other hand, however, the jokes look terrible, the story looks like something we've seen before, and there are voice talents that have little to no acting experience, including music superstars Steven Tyler and Pitbull.  After seeing the film,  I can say that 'Epic,' while not perfect or an animation masterpiece, is a surprisingly enjoyable family movie that does have its moments of excitement and clever humor, despite a forced romance and a subplot that has no relevance to the film until the very end.

Teenager Mary Katherine, or MK as she likes to be called, is moving in with her father, a crazy man obsessed with finding the "little people" living in the woods behind his house, after her mother passed away.  It's clear that these two don't have the best relationship, since the father is too obsessed with his work and MK just wants to find some closure.  After MK stumbles upon a little flower on the ground, she is magically shrunken down and transported to the world of the little people her father has been going on about for years.  These tiny people, or "leaf men" as they like to be called, are on a mission to protect that little flower, which has taken a holding onto MK, from the rotting villains of the forrest, and make sure it blooms so it can become the new queen of the forrest.  If the rotting baddies get ahold of this queen to be, then it could become the dark prince of the forrest and destroy life in the forrest, and the world, as they know it.

Even if their movies aren't the greatest, it's hard to deny that the movies at Blue Sky look absolutely stunning.  Every character in this film has their own unique look, and some are designed more uniquely than others.  Even the most minor of characters have some type of trait that makes one just say "wow" while watching.  I even admire their use of 3D.  This is one of the very few time when a 3D kids movie never had a single moment where something pops out at the screen.  Instead, the audience just straps in and gets transported into this gorgeous world with a lot of depth and clarity.  It's about time animated movies didn't go all the way in terms of making a goofy kids film.  Sadly though, there are a fair amount of unfunny jokes that take away from the film overall. 

Whenever the film tries to strive in the humor department, the result is just about as mediocre as any unfunny kids movie can be.  For the most part, a lot of the jokes fall flat, especially when the film is trying to make a stupid pun or a bathroom reference.  The funniest stuff in the film actually comes from a three legged dog in the film.  That's mostly physical humor, but that stuff just made me laugh.  The film even lacks originality in terms of the plot.  There's an unneeded romance that's thrown in there for the hell of it, a subplot that has little to no significance in the film until the end, and a story that, in a way, has been done before.  Still though, the film manages to break past all of those errors to make a harmless and enjoyable enough animated flick worth seeing with the family.

The voice cast overall is just decent.  There are some good performances from the actors, and some forgettable and bland performances as well.  The actors who fall in the bland category include Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell, and even Christoph Waltz.  Sure, their roles were fine for what they were, but honestly, anyone could have played those characters and the film would have stayed exactly the same.  The four are all very talented overall, but their talents weren't taken full advantage of in this film.  The best performances overall came from Jason Sudekis, Beyonce Knowles, and surprisingly enough, Steven Tyler.  These actors actually seemed to have fun with their roles and did it because they wanted to entertain the children, and not entertain themselves with money.  Sure, there are a lot of talented actors in this film, but sadly very few of them show any passion in their performances.

While 'Epic' has its fair share of flaws, it is a somewhat enjoyable family film.  It has all the elements of a bad kids movie present, including a useless subplot, a forced romance, and very weak comedy.  However, it does have outstanding visuals, clever ideas about the forrest and the motion of humans and tiny insects, a decent enough cast, and some fun battle sequences.  The pros of this film luckily outweigh the cons ever so slightly enough to give this movie a mild recommendation.  It's nowhere near as good as the original 'Ice Age' flick, but it is far superior to 'Continental Drift,' so that alone is a good thing.  While this isn't the most original and most spectacular animated movie anyone will see, this is definitely passable entertainment that will make parents happy that their kids are happy.  Plus, parents may even get a few chuckles out of this.  If your kids want to see a movie, and you think 'Iron Man 3' might be a little too intense, then 'Epic' has the perfect amount of humor, adventure, and heart to satisfy any family with small children.




PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Turbo

Rio 2

REVIEW: The Great Gatsby 3D

MOVIE
The Great Gatsby

CAST
Leonardo DiCaprio,
Tobey Maguire

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
May 10, 2013

DIRECTOR
Baz Luhrmann

STUDIO
Warner Bros. Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 23 minutes







STARS
***1/4









REVIEW:

Baz Luhrmann is like a man on an acid trip: he sees pretty colors and imagines glossy and stylistic things happening all around him in a spectacular fashion.  He portrays that in practically all of his movies, from the crazy "Young Hearts Run Free" sequence in 'William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet' to the first 30 minutes of 'Moulin Rouge.'  Now Luhrmann is back with his take on an adaptation of what's considered to be THE great American novel, 'The Great Gatsby.'  Instead of this film being a deadly serious and strict retelling of the book, the style of Luhrmann takes the story and turns it into a glossy, stunning, and exhilarating party film... for the first 45 minutes.  After that, the film does turn into a stylish yet serious drama that is captivating, but not as spectacular as the first 45 minutes.  Still though, the film is well acted, well directed, fascinating to watch, and overall an entertaining movie that brings the roaring 20's back in style.

The year is 1922.  The music is jazz.  The city of New York is jumping with parties and technology.  Nick Carraway has just bought a home in New York for the summer to spend time with his cousin Daisy and her husband John.  Next door to Nick is a huge mansion with lights flashing, music booming, and party's happening every single night.  The host of those parties is a man named Jay Gatsby, who is so mysterious that nobody knows who he really is, until Nick meets him.  From there, the two form an interesting relationship that also connects Nick's cousin Daisy, who shares a deep and intimate history with Gatsby.  Tales of love, friendship, partying, and adultery all fold out from there.

The acting in this film overall is top notch.  Leonardo DiCaprio I don't think has ever done a bad performance at all in his life.  With the character of Gatsby, DiCaprio loses himself and literally becomes the character so much so that we don't see Leo the actor, but we see only Gatsby.  It's not his best performance, but it does show how much range Leo does have and how he is without a doubt one of the best actors working today.  Tobey Maguire also delivers a strong performance as Nick Carraway. 

I believe that Maguire is one of those actors that, if given the right opportunity, could pull off an Academy Award worthy performance.  His performance as Carraway isn't deep, but there is emotion and it does show off a side of Maguire that was never featured in the 'Spider-Man' movies.  Joel Edgerton is also great playing the main antagonist of the story.  Ususally shown as a protagonist, Edgerton really shows his rangte in acting and proves that he can play more than just the likable hero.  Everyone else in the film, including Carey Mulligan and Isla Fisher, are all great.  It's the three main guys of the cast that really bring in the scene-stealing moments.

Baz Lurhmann does indeed have a certain style with his movies.  Even if one of his films stinks, it's hard to ignore how gorgeous and lush it looks, and how much the soundtrack pops.  With this movie, the first 45 minutes are the gorgeous, soundtrack-inducing montage that Luhrmann is known for, and damn is it a fun time.  The 3D is spectacular, and the soundtrack from producer Jay-Z is electric and works on so many levels.  Once we're introduced to the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy, though, the film slows down and becomes a compelling drama.  This is where the film gets weaker in quality.  The film doesn't get bad, per say, but it gets dull and a little boring.  It didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the film, but I wish that the film as a whole was as fun as its first 45 minutes.

Believe it or not, I have never read the actual 'Gatsby' novel prior to seeing this film.  In a way, I purposely chose to do this so I could be surprised with the twists and turns the book/film take.  I can imagine that the book is superior to the film, but having spoken with people who both saw the film and read the book, they said that this was an accurate enough adaptation of a once believed to be "unfilmable" book.  As a whole, the film is very enjoyable, but does drag on a little.  The acting is superb, especially from Leo DiCaprio.  Jay-Z's soundtrack sparks the film up and makes the parties shown in the film a lot more fun than they would with old-school jazz, not that old-school jazz is bad.  Luhrmann's direction is very good as a whole, but it does drag the film on a little too long and sometimes make you very antsy in your seat.  Overall, 'The Great Gatsby' may not be an ideal summer flick, but it is a very enjoyable, fun, and moving movie that you won't regret seeing, especially in 3D.




PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Before Midnight

Rush

Captain Phillips

The Hangover Part III

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Epic

Gravity

REVIEW: Iron Man 3

MOVIE
Iron Man 3

CAST
Robert Downey Jr.,
Gwyneth Paltrow

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
May 3, 2013

DIRECTOR
Shane Black

STUDIO(S)
Marvel Studios (Disney),
Paramount Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 10 minutes






STARS
***3/4










REVIEW:

In terms of the quality of their movies, Marvel Studios has really been kicking some serious ass in the past couple of years.  Though 'Thor' and 'Captain America: The First Avenger' weren't up to par with 'X-Men: First Class' (this was a Fox movie, Marvel only co-produced it) back in 2011, the iconic superhero brand still generated two solid movies that led up to 'The Avengers' last year, and that film was a superhero masterpiece.  Now it's 2013, and Marvel has decided to end the trilogy that started the "Avengers initiative" with 'Iron Man 3.'  Robert Downey Jr. of course returns as Tony Stark/Iron Man, who is starting to face new problems involving panic attacks, the love of his life Pepper Potts, and a new villain under the name of "The Mandarin."  This is the first Marvel film to come out after 'The Avengers,' so of course there is a lot of expectations considering how 'Iron Man 2' was a disappointment to many who saw it.  While this film isn't as great as 'The Avengers,' it is, without a doubt, a lot better than 'Iron Man 2.'  Hell, it's even better than the first 'Iron Man' movie!  Phase 2 of Marvel's Avengers plan has started off fantastically, as 'Iron Man 3' is funny, exciting, and overall an awesome superhero movie.

Tony Stark cannot get over what went down in New York.  Ever since he came hurtling out of that space wormhole, he hasn't been the same.  Stark can't sleep, only wants to work, and recently has started having panic attacks.  It doesn't help him when a new terrorist under the name of "The Mandarin" comes onto the scene and starts killing innocent lives and destroying buildings all over the world.  Then, it becomes personal for Tony, as The Mandarin, and a face from the past named Aldrich Killian start destroying the things he loves the most, including the love from his girlfriend Pepper.  Now Tony must decide what is most important to him: the suit or the man.

It's pretty safe to say that Robert Downey Jr. is a full fledged movie star altogether.  He is one of those guys who not only delves deep into his characters, but also has fun while doing it.  His portrayal of Tony Stark is always the best thing in the 'Iron Man' films, whether the moment's supposed to be serious or comedic.  Downey Jr. said that he may not want to come back for another 'Iron Man' or even the second 'Avengers' movie in the future.  While I can respect his decisions, he is still undoubtedly perfect for the role, and nobody could step in the shoes he's filled since 2008 and give the same superstar-type performance.  While RDJ was the best thing about the film, the rest of the cast was also great in the film as well.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, and Jon Favareu are among the group of actors who are returning to the series as Pepper Potts, Jim Rhodes, and Smiley respectively.  All are great in there roles, and there's not much else to say after that.  The real guys to talk about are Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin and Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian.  Without getting into any spoilers, Ben Kingsley is both sinister and hilarious as The Mandarin.  Honestly that's all that can be said without going into any spoilers, so let's move on to the main villain of the film, Guy Pearce.  Surprisingly enough, Pearce is great at playing a man holding a grudge on Stark, and he's really good in the film overall.  There are scenes that make the audience love to hate the bad guy in this film.  In a superhero movie, those are the best types of villains to have.  Overall, everyone is great in the film, with Robert Downey Jr. stealing the show as always.

'Iron Man 3' is overall a superb superhero spectacle that is action-packed, hilarious, and shockingly deep at times.  There are so many twists and turns in the film that one would have to go in expecting the unexpected.  Director Shane Black really brought out his passionate fanboy side with this movie, giving even Chris Nolan and Joss Whedon a run for their money.  I didn't see the film in 3D, due to the negative buzz surrounding it.  I will tell you though, regardless of the format you see it in, this is one hell of a summer flick that you will regret missing in theaters if you do.  'Iron Man 3' is everything a superhero, or summer in general, sequel should be, and much much more than that.



PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire


Star Trek: Into Darkness


Fast and Furious 6


White House Down


Thor: The Dark World


The Wolverine


The Lone Ranger

REVIEW: Pain & Gain

MOVIE
Pain & Gain

CAST
Mark Wahlberg,
Dwayne Johnson

RATING
R

RELEASE
April 26, 2013

DIRECTOR
Michael Bay

STUDIO
Paramount Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 9 minutes






STARS
*1/2









REVIEW:

Moviegoers love Michael Bay movies, plain and simple.  No matter how awful they are, they still make a crap ton of money and many people out there like the racist jokes and non-stop explosion fiestas that he brings to even his non-science fiction films.  Take 'Pain & Gain' here, for instance.  This is a movie that constantly tells its audience that it's based on a true story, and by that I mean they literally say on screen that this movie is based on a true story three times throughout its 129 minute running time.  Even though Bay expects us to believe that everything in this film is true, there are too many comedic elements and not enough dark material to make people fully invest in the film.  From the trailers, this film looked like a pretty fun hard R popcorn experience.  The overall result was anything but, and that's coming from someone who actually likes all three of the 'Transformers' movies, including 'Revenge of the Fallen' to an extent.  'Pain & Gain' takes the potential greatness it had and instead gives the audience bad jokes to laugh at, asshole characters that are hard to root for, and too much going in a film that could have been 20-30 minutes shorter.

The year is 1994, and Miami local Daniel Lugo lives for fitness.  By that, I mean he literally lives for fitness, as he is the buffed out manager at Sun Gym, where business has tripled its customers thanks to Lugo.  After seeing a man named Johnny Wu talk about being a "do-er" instead of a "don't-er," Daniel decides that he wants to live the American dream.  The only problem with that is the "American Dream" costs a lot of money.  That's where Victor Kershaw comes in.  He's a snobby rich guy who could care less about guys like Daniel.  So Lugo, teaming up with his co-workers Paul and Adrian, tortures Kershaw into signing away all of his money and property.  Now Kershaw wants revenge on these three men.  Now it's a cat and mouse game between the Sun Gym Gang and Kershaw as murder, drugs, and undercover work all develop into a story so insane, it has to be true.

Many are going to blame Michael Bay for this film because of the fact that he directed it.  In all honestly I don't blame Bay for the mediocrity that this movie is, because as a director, he does a solid job.  Sure he can't direct his actors properly, but on a visual stand point, he does a good job presenting this crazy crazy world.  The editing might be strange, but in a way it works here, adding to the dark insanity that's being presented on screen.  As for the people who should be ridiculed for this film, it should be the screenwriters.

This film might have been Bay's baby from the start, but he didn't write the film at all; Christopher Markus and Stephen McFreely are the masterminds behind the screenplay.  This screenwriting duo have been responsible for films such as 'The Chronicles of Narnia' trilogy and 'Captain America: The First Avenger.'  Despite not necessarily having an awful track record, I ponder why and how they transitioned from sci-fi/fantasy films to this hard R dark comedy.  This film is trying to be a comedy, yet there aren't any laugh out loud moments present.  When the movie tries to be funny, it's pretty bland.  When it's trying to be dark, it becomes as dark as an over cooked burger on a hot summer day.  There are really pointless things in the script as well, ranging from unneccesary voiceovers to cards that literally pop up and remind its audience that the film is still a true story.  When a movie does something like that, it's never a good sign.  As for the writers themselves, they should just stick to the sci-fi/fantasy genre where they belong.

Of all of the actors in the film, the most enjoyable performance by far was Ed Harris.  Harris plays the man hired by Tony Shalloub's character Victor Kershaw to hunt down the Sun Gym Gang and get Kershaw's money back.  It seemed that Harris was the only actor trying to give a performance that people would like and root for, so to speak.  In fact, Harris is the only relatively likable character in the film.  Everyone else in this film is an ass.  Mark Wahlberg was really trying to hard to be a douche, and he succeeds at it, but overall doesn't give a good performance.  Dwayne Johnson is somewhat likable up until the attempted murder happens.  From there, he becomes a full fledged coke addict that makes you really despise the performance and the character.  Same goes for Anthony Mackie, who also gives a mediocre performance, and his worst performance in his career so far.  As for Tony Shalloub, despite his character being an asshole, the audience is actually rooting for him after we're supposed to root for the Sun Gym Gang.  The actors overall are trying to hard to be the biggest douches and most unlikable characters imaginable, and they're successful at doing just that.  The only thing is, there's no payoff to their douchey performances.  It just makes the audience hate them as actors in general.

As somebody who enjoys all three 'Transformers' films and thought this was going to be a good movie, I have to say that 'Pain & Gain' was a huge disappointment.  There are no moments that are laugh out loud funny, rather there are one or two chuckle worthy moments present throughout the movie.  The editing is strange, and there are too many voiceovers.  The actors tried to make these characters as vile as possible, while at the same time not giving any good performance whatsoever.  The screenwriters failed at making this dark comedy funny or interesting for the most part.  Michael Bay has talent as a director, and it's clearly shown here in the way he directs certain scenes.  Overall though, 'Pain & Gain' brings the pain, however there's nothing to gain from it at all.  If this movie had been 20 minutes shorter and much darker, then this would have been a much better experience.  Sadly it wasn't, and this is what we were given.

REVIEW: Oblivion

MOVIE
Oblivion

CAST
Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
April 19, 2013

DIRECTOR
Joseph Kosinski

STUDIO
Universal Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 5 minutes





STARS
**1/2








REVIEW:

When 'Tron: Legacy' first came out back in December of 2010, moviegoers including myself were blown away at how great the visuals were and how awesome it was to see this then 28 year old film spawn a sequel. Over two years have passed, and now director Joseph Kosinski brings his sophomore effort 'Oblivion,' to the big screen. This is also the latest action Sci-Fi flick to show that 50 year old megastar Tom Cruise can still be an awesome action hero. Sadly though, the film doesn't live up to the directorial debut of Kosinski, as 'Oblivion' is brilliant in the first half hour, but dwindles down despite some very intriguing ideas and some interesting twists. The film is still somewhat enjoyable and a fun theater experience overall, but it had so much potential which it didn't live up to, which makes it an average flick overall.

In the year 2017, Earth was attacked by a group of aliens called scavengers, or "scavs" for short. A full on battle between the humans and the aliens commenced, which the humans eventually won. Unfortunately, the Moon and Earth were so destroyed that the humans had to colonize on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. 60 years later, a select few sets of humans are left on Earth to clean up and repair the sets of drones that are stationed all over Earth. Jack Harper is one of these humans, who, with his partner/lover Victoria successfully repair the drones and keep the planet the way it was left before the evacuation. Things are going smoothly for the two, as they're about to be sent to Titan to live in peace and harmony. That is, until a mysterious stranger who for some reason recognizes Jack comes crash landing from a ship. From there, a series of strange and shocking events start occurring, which makes Jack ponder about his own life and what he's been told about it.

The most satisfying thing about the film is the cinematography and the visual effects. One of the big highlights on 'Tron: Legacy' was how gorgeous the 3D world looked, and the same can be said here. While not revolutionary or groundbreaking, all of the effects, from flying ships to swimming in a pool thousands of feet above the surface, look incredible. Hell, this movie would have looked incredible if it was filmed in 3D. The cinematography by Claudio Miranda, who most recently won an Oscar for his work on 'Life of Pi,' looks gorgeous. Each shot of Tom Cruise looking over the ruins of Earth makes the audience feel like we're right there looking with Cruise at the catastrophic aftermath. If there is one way to see this movie, it's on the big screen. Seeing it on a TV or computer would not give the look of the film enough justice. Sadly though, these are the only great things about this film. Everything else is either good, decent, or mediocre.

Of all of the actors in the film, Tom Cruise gives the best performance as Jack Harper. Of the performances I've seen of Cruise recently, this is my least favorite of his, and that's mainly because it felt like anyone could have played this character. Sure his character is likable and pretty cool, but we've already acknowledged that Cruise is a full fledged movie star, so this just felt like that message was repeating itself. Despite getting top billing, Morgan Freeman (aka the voice of god) is only in the film for like 10 minutes and is just phoning it in during his presence. He was fine, I guess, but honestly his character and the entire subplot revolving around his character could have easily been cut out with a few script revisions. Melissa Leo was also good, but it felt she was phoning her performance in as well, just constantly repeating the same exact lines she said 20 minutes prior. As for the other two female leads, they were the weakest part of the cast.

Olga Kurylenko was fine, but her character was written to do two things: 1.) Add more conflict to the story 2.) Do practically nothing other than be the damsel to Cruise. I saw talent in her performance, but there wasn't a lot of substance to her character. Andrea Riseborough was the weakest member of the cast because she just felt like that whiny woman character you'd see in any movie with two females for one man. This tidbit is purely a nitpick because it was bothering me to an extent; her pupils were dilated throughout the entire movie, which kept making me think she was on acid or something. Either way, she reminded me of a carbon copy of a bitchy character played by Laura Linney. Overall, Tom Cruise was good, but everyone else was either phoning in their performance or were just plain mediocre. I don't blame it on the actors, though. I actually have Joseph Kosinski to blame for this.

Joseph Kosinski is a guy who really needs more practice when it comes to directing his actors, as well as writing screenplays. His visual style is great, and he clearly has a vision for what he's making, but he directs his actors to be flat characters who spew out cheesy lines. What's funny about this is that this movie is based on a graphic novel of the same name, which Kosinski wrote with Arvid Nelson. The script was co-written by Kosinski and Karl Gajdusek, with 'Toy Story 3' screenwriter Michael Arndt doing script revisions. The main problem with the script is that they have too many things going on and are trying to do something groundbreaking with this film.

In truth, this film has most of what's been seen before in sci-fi films, with elements coming from films like 'Star Wars,' 'A.I.,' and '2001: A Space Odyssey.' There were a handful of things that could have either been talked about more or not been there at all. For example, the story with Morgan Freeman and his "resistance" could have easily been taken out and replaced with simpler things. They talk about aliens still scavenging the planet, yet these aliens are never shown! I get that the filmmakers were trying to have deeper meanings with this film and have genuinely great twists along the way, but the result was sadly a mediocre script with extra style and less substance.

I purposely avoided any footage from 'Oblivion' because I knew it would be a challenge to do. I thought that by going into this blank, maybe I would love the living hell out of it. Since I knew nothing of the film prior to seeing it, I felt a little ripped off in the end due to the fact that what I was seeing didn't feel new. The friend who I went with to see it really enjoyed it, and I can see why people in general would like this film overall. I might have been expecting a lot from seeing so little, so that might have affected my opinion. If you want a visually stunning big screen experience, then this is the perfect eye-candy for you. If you can get pass the bland script and unoriginality, then this may be a movie you will fall in love with. I just couldn't do that. Despite fantastic visuals, stellar cinematography, and a good performance from Tom Cruise, 'Oblivion' just felt like a movie trying to be unique and original, yet in the end was something that's been done many times before.




PREVIEWS YOU MAY SEE:

Now You See Me

Star Trek: Into Darkness

Man of Steel

Elysium

R.I.P.D.

The Heat

Fast and Furious 6