REVIEW: Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D

MOVIE
Katy Perry: Part of Me

CAST
Katy Perry

RATING
PG

RELEASE
July 5, 2012

DIRECTOR(S)
Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz

STUDIO(S)
Paramount Pictures,
Insurge Pictures, MTV Films

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 33 minutes






STARS
***1/4









REVIEW:

It seems that the trend in Hollywood these days is making concert documentaries on the latest top singers. It was only last year when Paramount released 'Justin Bieber: Never Say Never,' and that was only a mild success. Several months later, audiences were given 'Glee: The 3D Concert Movie,' but they decided to skip out on that entirely despite having such a huge following. Now we have been given a concert movie about Katy Perry, and the film is somewhat appropriately titled 'Katy Perry: Part of Me.' The typical formula of a concert documentary is followed as expected in this film.

In case you don't know what the formula is, it goes like so: footage of concert is shown, fans are filmed saying "oh Katy Perry was such an inspiration" and "we love you Katy Perry," as well as a synopsis on their life before the fame. However this movie does something that I've never seen a concert film do before, and that is focus on the artist at hand DURING the behind the scenes of the tour. That argument could be considered to be invalid since the Hanna Montana and Justin Bieber movies did show that type of stuff. The thing about this film is that it shows our center of focus, Katy Perry, in her weakest and rawest moments during the yearlong tour.

It was quite a bold choice to show Perry in her most depressing moments, which mostly involves her breakup from actor Russell Brand, but it actually makes 'Part of Me' an incredibly unique concert film. I'm not the biggest Katy Perry fan per say, but her music is very enjoyable and quite catchy. The 3D is used very well during the concert sequences, however anyone could see this in regular 2D and be satisfied just as much. If one is dragged to see this film by their young daughters, they may end up being very surprised at how entertaining this is. Of all of the subjects for concert movies, Perry is the most likable and the most tolerable to be with for the duration of a movie.

She seems like she'd be an awesome person to hang out with, and I rarely say that about someone who's in a documentary. Not only is she cool, but she gives back to her fans, which I found to be incredibly touching and awesome for someone to do. It's great to have a film with good music, a likable main subject, and a running time that's less than 2 hours. The film clocks in at a solid 93 minutes, which, in my opinion is short and sweet compared to some of the other concert movies that have been over 100 minutes. Even if you're not a 'Katy Perry' fan, you will appreciate this film to a certain degree. 'Katy Perry: Part of Me' is fresh, entertaining, and the best concert film since 'Michael Jackson's This is It,' and that really is saying a lot.



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Pitch Perfect


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REVIEW: Ruby Sparks

MOVIE
Ruby Sparks

CAST
Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan

RATING
R

RELEASE
July 25, 2012 (NY/LA)

DIRECTOR(S)
Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

STUDIO
Fox Searchlight Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 46 minutes







STARS
****






REVIEW:

Love is something very special in one's life, and sometimes that love can be so powerful that it brings things to life. That is the case for the main character in the new indie dramady 'Ruby Sparks.' This film is the follow-up for directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris to their breakout hit 'Little Miss Sunshine.' These two directors team up with their 'Sunshine' star Paul Dano to bring this original story about the power of love to the big screen. I love how the film takes such a creative premise and makes it feel like the audience is watching the relationship of two people who are madly in love with each other. 'Ruby Sparks' is a charming, original, hilarious, and surprisingly dark film (in the third act) that hopefully will stand out in the indie market as it expands on in the next few weeks.

Calvin is a guy who is having a very tough time writing his second novel. He has had writers block for over a decade after his first book, which he only wrote at 19, became a national bestseller. He's been seeing a therapist to talk about his struggles with writing, as well as his past relationships with other women. Through a spontaneous "epiphany" that he has, Calvin is given the inspiration to write more than he has previously, and his writing is about Ruby. Ruby is so vivid and so real to Calvin that he starts falling in love with her, despite only being a piece of fiction. Through unexplained reasons, Calvin finds Ruby, in the flesh, one morning making breakfast for him and acting as if they've been a couple for a very long time. Calvin goes along with it, and despite being in love with everything about Ruby, he does consider fixing some things he finds “wrong” with Ruby, which may not be the best thing for the girl he’s in love with.

It was unknown to me prior to seeing the film that Zoe Kazan, the adorable and charming lady who plays the title character of the film, actually wrote the movie on her own. The dialogue is not only well written, but it's also very funny at times. The story, while a romantic comedy at its core, went into places I didn't expect it to go, and that to me was great. I could tell that this movie came from her heart and from the love of her boyfriend, co-star Paul Dano, because the chemistry between the characters in the film felt so realistic, despite Ruby not being a real human being at all. Having never seen her act before, Kazan had such a pure presence in the film, and I absolutely fell high over heels for Ruby.

Paul Dano is another actor who I've never really seen prior to have seen the film. I had only had my first real experience with him when I watched 'Little Miss Sunshine' for the first time a few hours prior to the screening. Dano gives a fantastic performance, going from a man just looking for love, to a man who becomes a mad scientist of sorts. Dano and Kazan are irresistible together, but even the scenes when it's just them acting are nothing short of great. The rest of the supporting cast is also great, which includes Antonio Banderas and Annette Benning. However, as funny as the supporting cast is here, they don't match the charm and realism of Dano and Kazan in this movie.

One of the first things that came to my mind after I walked out of 'Ruby Sparks' was the Maroon 5 song 'Payphone.' In the chorus, the lyrics are "If "Happy Ever After" did exist, I would still be holding you like this. All those fairy tales are full of it, one more stupid love song I'll be sick." The film's main character, Calvin, is a real romantic when he chooses to be. That could explain why he makes Ruby, the fictional girl who comes to life miraculously, essentially the perfect woman for himself. It could be said that the comparison between a payphone and a typewriter in today's society is that they aren't really seen much anywhere anymore. But then again, that could be the reason why they can be so useful to get women. Sure, the song is about getting back a girl and the movie is about being with a girl, but the thing that connects them, aside from the fact that the objects aren't used a lot anymore, is that they're both about being in love. That's what I love the most about 'Ruby Sparks.'

Everyone wants to find the essential perfect woman to spend the rest of their life with. The thing about finding a perfect woman is that you can live with her imperfections, rather than have the urge to change them. 'Ruby Sparks features top notch acting, a great script, and a story that becomes darker and more realistic than the trailers suggest. I am hopeful that this will become the indie surprise of the year and connect with many audiences out there. While this isn't exactly an Oscar film, it is a feel good romantic dramady that has the ability to strike chords with the romantics out there. If anyone has ever been in love or is looking for love in any shape or form, chances are they will fall for Ruby's charm, humor, and realism, just like I did.

REVIEW: The Amazing Spider-Man: The IMAX 3D Experience

MOVIE
The Amazing Spider-Man

CAST
Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
July 3, 2012

DIRECTOR
Marc Webb

STUDIO(S)
Columbia Pictures, Marvel

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 16 minutes





STARS
***1/2









REVIEW:

It was only a mere five years ago when the mediocre 'Spider Man 3' came out and disappointed critics and fans everywhere. In my opinion, it really wasn't very necessary for Sony and Marvel to reboot 'Spider-Man' in the first place, since the series is too young to be remade. However I'm actually glad that Sony got an entirely new cast and crew to make this movie now, because it's more than just a plain old good superhero film. This is probably a bit too much to say, but here it goes: if 'Batman Begins' and 'Iron Man' were combined together but were placed in a high school setting, then one may have this movie. 'The Amazing Spider-Man' exceeded every one of my expectations, and it was funny, action-packed, stunning, and overall fantastic.

Peter Parker lives the life of a modern high school nerd. He's picked on by jocks, takes pictures for the paper, and has a crush on a girl named Gwen Stacey, whose father is the captain of the NYPD. To top that off, his parents abandoned him when he was a young boy, so he's lived with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben ever since. While trying to learn more about his parents, Peter is accidentally bitten by a radioactive spider, giving him the powers of a spider. At the same time, Dr. Curtis Conners is trying to develop a way to regrow his missing arm, only becoming a giant lizard instead, which starts terrorizing New York City. It's up to Peter, who now goes under the name "Spider-Man" to stop The Lizard and save New York City from any trouble it has.

Way to go on the casting department’s behalf, because they chose THE perfect Peter Parker to not only replace Tobey Maguire, but even surpass him in every way possible. Peter Parker is supposed to be that awkward, back-of-the-classroom type guy who just doesn't know how to fit in, and Garfield pulled that off perfectly. When Peter Parker put on the suit in the comics, he became this wise-cracking and sarcastic vigilante who messed around with his victims before webbing them up. The previous films didn't show this Spider-Man very much, so I'm glad that the writers decided to get that aspect of the vigilante in this film.

I loved how Garfield's Parker could relate to any teen out there seeing the film, and I loved how his Spidey was essentially THE superhero that anyone would want to be. It kind of reminds me of the 1994 film 'The Mask,' in which Jim Carrey plays an average-joe who puts on a magical mask and becomes the guy anyone would want to be. I hope they keep Peter and Spider-Man this way when the sequel comes out. Garfield might have stolen the show, but that doesn't mean that his co-stars weren't bad. In fact, I loved these co-stars a whole lot more than the co-stars from the previous three movies.

In the original 'Spider-Man' movies, Kirsten Dunst played a rather annoying damsel to Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker. Her name, of course, was Mary Jane Watson, and for those who never read the comics it would be assumed that she was always the main girl in the original sources. However the thing is that she only came in to the picture AFTER the comics were done with Gwen Stacey, portrayed briefly in the third film by Bryce Dallas Howard.  I felt that Stone's chemistry with Garfield was so touching and sweet, that it almost reminded me of the chemistry between Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning in 'Super 8.' I love it when characters can become so down to earth and so relatable to the audience, so and so that it just makes me feel right at home. The rest of the cast, including Rhys Ifans and Martin Sheen, were all good for what they were given, but they did not compare to the two main leads of this film.

The only problems that were present were from the screenplay and the editing.  There were characters that were under-developed, and there were characters who just disappeared from the movie for no reason.  Some things in the final story were left unexplained, which could lead others to be confused with things.  I'm guessing that the original cut of the film was much longer, but it had to be cut down in order to fit into a sustainable length.  Hopefully there will be a director's cut of this movie, because set and official photos, along with some footage and lines used in the promotional material, have shown that a huge part from the movie was taken out for no reason.  I blame the studio for letting this happen, but to me that really was only two little flaws while watching the film.

'The Amazing Spider-Man' does live up to its title well. Sure there are flaws in the storytelling department, and some moments with poor writing, but this movie tells a great origin story, shows off a fantastic cast, and features some of the best 3D I've seen all year. Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone are the perfect hero/damsel couple for these types of movies, and I hope Sony keeps them on for the next movie. Some people are blaming Marc Webb's direction for the less than great reception that came out of this movie. I blame the screenwriters for that, because they were the ones writing the entire story, while Webb was just the guy telling everyone what to do. I hope Sony keeps him on as well; otherwise this might go in the direction of the bad 'Batman' movies, despite only being one film into the series currently. You probably can't see it in IMAX anymore (due to 'The Dark Knight Rises' coming out) but if you did see it on that big screen, hopefully you agree that when the aspect ratio changed for the movie to fill the entire screen, it was pretty spectacular. Overall, 'The Amazing Spider-Man' is a spectacular superhero movie that hit many of the right notes, but not all of them. Hopefully the sequel will go in the direction of 'The Dark Knight' and be an incredible movie.

REVIEW: Prometheus 3D

MOVIE
Prometheus

CAST
Noomi Rapace,
Michael Fassbender

RATING
R

RELEASE
June 8, 2012

DIRECTOR
Ridley Scott

STUDIO
20th Century Fox

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 4 minutes





STARS
***1/2






REVIEW:

It seems that it is tradition now in the summertime to release a movie that is a mind numbing experience. In 2010, Christopher Nolan brought audiences into the dreams with 'Inception.' Last year Terrence Malick really confused many people with 'The Tree of Life.' The thing about those two films is that they both were highly praised and were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. This year, Ridley Scott has returned to his sci-fi roots with 'Prometheus,' a possible prequel to the 'Alien' films. I personally didn't want to see any of the 'Alien' movies prior to seeing this film to see if my opinion would be different from others who have seen the adventures of Ripley and her crew prior. While the film does raise some questions at the end of the film, it is a pretty basic story with some fantastic visuals and a spellbinding cast. Scott clearly knew what he was doing on this film, because 'Prometheus' is thrilling, exciting, and brilliance at its finest.

After a discovery that they found in a cave, Dr. Elizabeth Shaw and Charlie Holloway talk their way into getting a funding to go into space and explore a long distance planet. With an intelligent android and a loyal ship captain among other crew members on the ship, Shaw and Holloway embark on a journey to discover where the origins of mankind really are from. While crew members are suspicious at times, the two scientists know that there is something special about this planet that they're going to that could explain what created humans in the first place. However when they get to the planet, they soon realize that there are things that should not have been disturbed in the first place. What they went looking for on the planet might be the very thing that terminates their lives, as well as jeopardize the lives of many others as well.

Noomi Rapace is coming off of her first English role since the disappointing sequel 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows.' Compared to that film, she is great here in 'Prometheus.' It's fun to see likeable characters who are trying to search for the answers to things that are way over their heads, with the audience just as curious as these characters, which also includes the equally as good Logan Marshall-Green, who plays Rapace's boyfriend/co-explorer. For a first time actor, Green delivers some very impressive work, which could hopefully lead to him learning new techniques in acting and improve his talent even more. The rest of the cast, which includes Charlize Theron and Idris Elba, were all very good in their roles, aside from these two annoying guys who *SPOILER* are the first ones to die in the film. *END SPOILER* However the performance that really shines in this film is Michael Fassbender, who plays the android David.

David is a robot programmed to be more understanding of human emotions, despite not feeling them, while being efficient to anything that it's commanded to do. The thing about David is that he is such a complex and interesting character, that you have no idea whether or not he's on our side or not. Michael Fassbender gives a beyond stellar job at playing the most interesting robot since HAL 3000 from '2001: A Space Odyssey.' I love how David is such a curious robot that he will do ANYTHING to find the answers to his questions. I wouldn't even be surprised if Fassbender gets a Supporting Actor nomination this year, because he simply blew it out of the park. It is ironic how in a movie that's about humans trying to survive against aliens that a robot is the best character in the movie.

'Prometheus' will have people scratching their heads by the time the credits roll. Hell, my own father didn't understand anything that was put on screen for the 124 minute duration. However if you are able to follow the story and get into the flow that was created by the genius mind of Ridley Scott, then chances are you will enjoy this movie. It's a well-acted, visually stunning, and beautifully written movie that will capture the imaginations of anyone who puts their mind in the right place. Sure this movie is a bit hard to follow at times, and some of the characters are really weak for what they have to do, but this is definitely a must see for hardcore Ridley Scott, 'Alien,' and all-around sci-fi fans. If this movie is still playing in 3D, then I'd say definitely check it out in the third dimension, mainly because it makes the film look crisper, deeper, and so damn stunning! If there is one sci-fi movie that will be the talk of the summer because of how controversial it is, it's probably going to be 'Prometheus.' There really are a lot of secrets in 'Prometheus' that cannot be spoiled, so hop on the ship and take this spellbinding trip for yourself.



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(exclusive 3D scene only in theaters)