Film Reviews of 2012

Dark Shadows

noreply@blogger.com (Garrett Stamper) — Mon, 14 May 2012 17:44:00 +0000

‘Dark Shadows’ was quite different from the original television show. Rather than being serious, this film attempted to be comedic. It was pretty much all over the place.

The film begins with Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) being turned into a vampire after he refused to be with a witch, Angelique (Eva Green). Centuries later he is accidentally resurrected and goes to live with the Collins family of 1972. Unfortunately, Angelique kept herself alive for a few centuries herself and owns a rival fishing business near the Collins Manor. Barnabas is determined to make the family business successful again and does everything in his power to restore his family’s former glory.

This film is very corny. It tries too hard to be funny and usually the humorous scenes aren’t funny at all. The cast was all pretty good and the music and atmosphere worked very well together, but the script was just poorly written.

The film starts well enough and gives the audience an idea that it’ll work, but just goes downhill from there. Johnny Depp performed very well, and Michelle Pfeiffer was pretty good, but the film just didn’t bring many laughs and was done very sloppily. Unfortunately, this Burton/Depp film will be forgotten quickly. 2/5.

The Avengers

noreply@blogger.com (Garrett Stamper) — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:33:00 +0000

The Avengers is, quite simply, the best superhero film of all time. It is action-packed, has great acting, and great writing. The film deals with six different superheros: Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), The Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). They must band together to defeat Loki, who was also the main villain in the Thor film. All this overseen by the head of S.H.I.E.L.D, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

This film was one of the most highly anticapted movies of the year. It delivered everything that was promised. I really enjoyed how the director (Joss Whedon) was able to bring all of these superhero's together and did everything perfectly. The argument was one of my favorite scenes because it felt very realistic and showed that these superhumans had big flaws as well.

Every one of the six superheros was given good screen time in order to showcase their awesomeness. Even Hawkeye, who was absent for the first half of the film, was given ample screen time. The final act is the most powerful, not just because it was a huge battle, but because it showed a lot of what these superheros can do and how they work together. R56J2H5Q8ZG8

Nothing like this film has been done before where characters from other superhero films are brought together. There are so many things in this film that could have gone wrong but didn't. 5/5.

"The Hunger Games" Film Review

noreply@blogger.com (Garrett Stamper) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 03:43:00 +0000

“The Hunger Games” is a film based on the best selling book of the same name by Suzanne Collins. The film begins with the annual Hunger Games selection. Each of the twelve districts must provide a boy and a girl to compete in the Games. Each of the contestants must fight to the death in order to “win” the game. It is broadcasted live throughout the districts. Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) are chosen for their district. What ensues is a struggle for survival in which only one can survive.

This film had some pretty good acting. Jennifer Lawrence played her role very well. Some parts when she is looking around were a little slow, but scenes like when she volunteers for her sister felt really deep. I didn’t expect her to do as well as she did, but some of her scenes totally made you feel something for her character.

I did not really like how they took all of the violence away. I’m not saying put in a ton of blood and gore, but they were sometimes confusing. Instead of following through, they cut away to the audience. Instead of seeing people’s faces, you would see their pants and it kind of took a little of the reality out of the film.

I think this film was pretty good. The acting was good all around. Even though it was 2 hours long, some of the scenes made up for it. However, I think this film needed a stronger director because I didn’t like some of the action shots. Despite some flaws, fans of the book will not be disappointed. 3 ½/5

"The Grey" Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Garrett Stamper) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 05:12:00 +0000

Liam Neeson has once again proven that he is one of Hollywood’s strongest actors. He plays a suicidal, depressed man who works as a sniper who protects oil riggers in the Alaskan wilderness. He recently lost his wife and almost commits suicide.

He is headed home along with the other oil riggers, when the plane suddenly crashes in the middle of nowhere. Only a handful of the men are left alive, and they somehow have to survive the freezing temperatures and deal with the lack of food. As if that weren’t bad enough, they crashed near a huge pack of wolves that don’t care for trespassers.

These aren’t just wolves. These creatures are otherworldly. They are truly terrifying and the howls sounded so frightening, that it makes you feel like you’re watching a horror film instead of an adventure. When they kill someone, it’s very sudden and unexpected, and that makes it even scarier.

I thought this was an excellent film. It kept me at the edge of my seat for the most part and the acting was superb. Many of the scenes, especially the plane crash, made you think that you were there with the characters. Director Joe Carnahan didn’t turn this into a mindless slaughter movie either. He gave each character their own personality and their own way of accepting death. When someone died, it was felt.

Many people will no doubt dislike the ending, especially if they were the ones going in with certain expectations based on the trailer. It did move a bit slow at times, and while the flashback sequences were effective, it felt as though some of them were unnecessary.

Nevertheless, I highly recommend this film. It has an excellent cast, great cinematography, and the wolves were downright chilling. Definitely shouldn’t miss this one, as it will keep you on the edge of your seat. 4½/5.