Jobs

So I finally got around to watching Jobs. I got to say I heard about this movie and so many things was just about how terrible it was. I don't think it was as bad as every one made it out to be. The acting was average, the story is a documentary so it is what it is. If you have seen Pirates of Silicone Valley from wwwwaaaay back in the day, this movie is very much on par with it.

The movie follows Steve Jobs from his time in college up until his return to Apple. It mostly focuses on him as a business man. It only gives you glimpses into his personal life and struggles. As far as Ashton Kutcher as Steve Jobs, sigh.... while I think they could of found better. I will say it wasnt until the beard was shaved and he was sitting having a personal conversation that I was like "oh there is Ashton". So I guess he did a fairly decent job not being himself.

It's not a movie to run out and see but if you are a Apple fan boy or just a fan of Steve Jobs as a person then it's worth looking into. I hear the next Jobs movie is supposed to be 100 times better, we shall see!

Entertainment - 5/10
Visuals - 4/10
Story - 6/10

Gravity

Just got through watch Gravity and I'm writing this half asleep but... it really held up nicely to those high marks on Rotten Tomato. It stars just two characters. Sandra Bulluck and George Clooney. It takes place during what one would call that absolute worst day an astronaut could have while in space. Hard to talk to much about what happens in the movie with out giving up too much. As you can see in the trailers a space station is destroyed and our two characters are left adrift in space. If you have seen Open Water this is pretty much the space version of this.

Visually this movie was amazing. I watched it in 3D and if you have the ability to do so this is the way to go. It was amazing. This is a movie that as I watched it spent most the movie thinking about how they did it. They seamlessly switched camera angles from 1st person to 3rd person smoothly. They had a great many angles as you could imagine with the characters floating around objects. The special effects in this movie with be winning most all awards as will the acting.

Totally worth a watch. It's a must see movie and you'll be happy you saw it.

Entertainment - 8/10
Visuals - 10/10
Story - 8/10

My Week with Marilyn

My Week with Marilyn in a true story based on a diary kept by the lead actor and slight interest of Marilyn, Colin Clark. A rich kid that wanted to get out on his own and work in the film business. He got his break on the movie The Prince and the Showgirl with Laurence Olivier. It details his time on the set and the interactions he had with her. Colin quickly became sought after by Marilyn as some one she could trust and depend on, as she thought all the people in the movie was against her.

I'll admit it, some times a movie like this peaks my interest in trailers enough to make me want to see it. It's been out a while now, 2011, so it took a while to get around to. It kept my interest the whole way. The little I know of Marilyn Monroe, because of my age, the actress Michelle Williams, seamed to hit it just right. I saw lots of facial expressions that I do know I've seen the real Marilyn make in movies and clips I've seen.

I enjoyed the story. I liked the movie as well. The acting was pretty good I think when comparing it to a lot of movies I have seen lately. There were a few actors I recognized from smaller rolls but I didn't see any BIG stars in it other than Emma Watson and Judi Dench (James Bond).

After writing this I looked up Michelle Williams past movies and seems like she's had a pretty nice career.

Entertainment - 6/10
Visuals - 5/10
Story - 6/10

World War Z

World War Z was a very heavily anticipated movie. The graphic novel was huge. I never read it and heard of it many times just to give you and idea and chances are you did too. Also it fits the mold of what is hot now, zombies. Every thing is zombies.....better then seeing more teenage vampire movies in my opinion.

I thought this movie was absolutely great. I enjoyed the entire thing. There isn't as much action as I would have thought there to be but Im not sure exactly what I was expecting anyways. It centers on Brad Pitts character as he travels across the entire world trying to track down a cure to a zombie like infection that is taking over the world. These aren't the normal zombies you see in movies and shows such as The Walking Dead (must see!). These zombies run and climb over each other and any thing else to get to you.

The film shots were great. There were plenty of "epic" style shots. Such as when the helicopter was over Jerusalem and the zombies where at the wall (seen in the trailer). Which I think goes hand in hand with the special effects of this movie. Amazing! They did a great job with the mobs. As a 3D Artist I can tell you it's no easy task to make a crowd that big look like they belong in the scene. They did a terrific job across the board.

Entertainment - 8/10
Visuals - 7/10
Story - 8/10

Hancock

I recently got to see this movie and I still think this movie was very under appreciated. I think it's a pretty good movie, it's original and the story was pretty good. Not sure why it didn't do so well at least as far as word of mouth. It did make over $600 million though. It's a Will Smith movie that came out during the 4th. He's the 4th of July kid after all.

Like I said I think the story was pretty original. With out giving too much away, it's a movie about a modern day super hero. Only he is not a very well liked one. He isn't a criminal....not really, he just screws things up in the way he tried to help. As seen in the trailer. He throws a whale back into the sea only to hit a boat in the distance. It's basically about a man finding his was and learning about who he is. I think that's what most people had a problem with the most. They were expecting an action movie and instead they got more of a coming into their own type movie.

Visually it was shot really well. I enjoyed the camera work and the special effects looked great and still holds up very well, not that it's all that old, 2008. It's worth a watch for sure but not in the must watch category but it is very close to it.

Entertainment - 6/10
Visuals - 7/10
Story - 7/10

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

This is the second go around for the new Sherlock Holmes franchise. Looking back at the first one and the success it had it was easy to see this one was going to do just as well and at over $500 million world wide I would say it did just that.

This go around revolves around the marriage of Dr Watson and is what brings the two together and sets them on their journey in this story. I still see this franchise as taking the playbook away from the Pirates franchise. Pretty much the same formula. Smart but quirky main character with smart side characters to help him and push him in the right direction.

The look of the movie was fairly average. Nothing really jumped out at me and wowed me. To me it's a pretty average action flick and is some thing to try to see if you are a fan of the Holmes universe. Plenty of good acting and the story isn't so bad.

Entertainment - 6/10
Visuals - 5/10
Story - 5/10

Elysium

Elysium is a movie that has been heavily promoted. I've seen many mixed reviews on this movie and after finally seeing it I can understand. The trailer does make it out to be pretty epic. It's not quite on the same scale a District 9, which was directed by the same man, but it's still a very good movie.

When it comes down to it this is a movie about a boy and a girl. Matt Damon plays the boy part, neat twist right? He grows up with one of his close friends played by Alice Braga. He's an ex convict that is living on Earth, like most people. How ever there is a disc in the sky called Elysium where the rich and the "citizens" live. They have machines that can fix any medical issues. They allude to the fact that it may even keep you alive indefinitely. I really didn't have any issues with the story. It makes good towards the end and finishes in a way that is predictable.

As far as the look of this movie. If you have seen District 9 it's looks almost exactly like it. That is why there has been so many comparisons and why people have been bringing up a District 9 sequel. In many parts of the movie you could easily say hey, this is the sequel. The ships were great, Blomkamp seems to know how to make a world and make all things mesh and look believable.

I really enjoyed the movie but find my self on the edge as far as slapping my "must see" tagging to this movie. I really want to but then when I look at other movies I've added it to I think it falls juuuuuust shy, but, I'm going to give it a must see but only by a hair.

Entertainment - 6/10
Visuals - 8/10
Story - 6/10

The Woman in Black

So we get to see the young Potter in action chasing ghosts around instead of lil golden Quidditch balls. The trailer gave the impression that this was a scarey movie. I will tell you there were points that will absolutely make you jump. The problem is that most of these points were generally because of a loud noise and not because of something popping on the screen. It happens, just not that often.

One thing this movie has going for it is the DP did an amazing job. The movie was shot extremely well, like....rrrreally well! So many shots had me thinking how well it was framed.

The story was some thing I had problems with. Really it wasn't the stories fault but it was just very, very slow at the beginning. I purposely looked at the timer when I felt it pick up and it was well into an hour (95 minute movie) from the start. The second part of the movie is much better than the first. So if you can make it through the first hour the pay off is there. I didn't exactly expect the ending to go the way it did but it kind of made some sense. I felt like there was a few ending points to the movie. I just looked up the box office and it was $127,730,736. My guess is a lot of Potter fans ran out to see it. Not a movie to avoid but not one to run out to get to be scared by either.

Entertainment - 5/10
Visuals - 8/10
Story - 4/10

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

If you saw the major full length movie of the same guy and fell asleep give this one a go! I hear this one more closely represents the real Abraham Lincoln anyways. This movie is very entertaining. If follows Abraham Lincoln through his life but it shows us a side that we were never told about. He was trained to fight vampires. Our Civil War? It was just one big vampire battle...of course. It was based off of a book not to many years ago I believe, 2010?

It's a Tim Burton movie so if you are a fan of his you will like this one. It's shot very well, it's dark. It very much fits the Burton mold. The action sequences were spot on from Honest Abe swinging his axe to the many different action sequences that I rather not give away.

I never knew of this movie until I saw the trailer since I didn't know there was a book, since I never read, and I was very excited to see it. I saw this some time ago and just came across it again today while watching the free HBO weekend and stopped to watch the whole thing. Very enjoyable movie! I'd recommend a look see whenever possible. You'll be thoroughly entertained by the action and the dialog is just fine.

Entertainment - 7/10
Visuals - 6/10
Story - 6/10

Ted

Ted is a movie about a man who wish for his teddy to come to life and had it happen! They grow up together and now at the age of 35 is in the midst of having to choice between his best friend and a future with his girlfriend of 4 years. It's a movie by the creator of Family Guy and pretty much follows a lot of what makes that show so successful.

The story is pretty straight forward to many rom-com type movies only this is more for the male audience for obvious reasons. The charm of this movie is in the stupid one liners and jokes. Flash Gordan even makes an appearance!

The filming is pretty standard and they integrated Ted very nicely into the scenes. As great and funny as this movie is it's hard to say too much with out giving the movie away. It's all jokes, no one wants to ruin a good joke. Take a look into this movie. I have a feeling this is a movie that'll end up playing many nights back to back on some network station.

Entertainment - 8/10
Visuals - 7/10
Story - 6/10

Savages

Savages is a movie by Oliver Stone. Its a very nicely shot movie. The story was pretty interesting as well. There are a number of actors in the movie that are easily identifiable. Del Toro, Hiyak, Trivolta, and a new favorite of mine from John Carter, Taylor Kitsch.

The story follows two Cali guys and their mutual girlfriend in the business of pot growing and distribution. Their stock was so good that it drew attention of others in the business and sets the two main characters off on their journey. It's a story driven movie so don't expect a bunch of explosions. It has it's moments of heavy action just don't go into this expecting it. The story and acting holds it's own well enough that it doesn't need all that.

I enjoyed the movie and the story as a whole. It was a fun watch and if I were to see it on I'd definitely stay tuned in to watch it again. The wild west type stand off at the end of the movie was a great caper!

Entertainment - 7/10
Visuals - 6/10
Story - 6/10

Star Trek Into Darkness

To me it was no secret that Star trek into darkness was bringing back one of the biggest evil names of the Original movie series. From the tone of the voice alone I had it nailed. Into Darkness was a perfect sequel to one of the best movies I have ever seen, I'm not Trekkie by any means. I watched The Next Generation growing up and even most of the other shows but never more then a passer by. J.J. Abrams is a freaking genius in my opinion. My love affair for this man started with LOST. Practically any thing he touches turns to gold. To bad he wont be doing the new Star Wars movies.

The story of Into Darkness continues on the original timeline only with it/s new screwed universe thanks to the new rebooted Star Trek universe. This time it finds the Enterprise out in deep space pitted against a familiar foe and each other. The story was stellar as per Abrams norms. His now classic lens flairs have made a triumphant return and camera style holds firm to the original reboot.

It looks amazing. Crisp, clean, lens flairy! I enjoyed the looks of the movie just as much as the story. They did an excellent job with bringing the cities up a thousand years while making it look life like. The enterprise looked just as good under water as it did in the original movie series.

I enjoyed this movie 110%! It's absolutely a movie every one should watch at least once if not multiple times. It's filled with old catch phrases that will bring up memories of days ol' and even shows us an original character, Leonard Nimoy one more time! What's not to love about that? Oh and Tribbles! Every one loves a Tribble!

Entertainment - 9/10
Visuals - 10/10
Story - 8/10

Last House on the Left

I wasn't aware of this movie at all until the other day watch Breaking Bad. Aaron Paul is in it so I guess they were looking at doing some cross promotion for the movie. It came out in 2009 after all. Its a movie about a group of criminals that just broke their leader out from a police ride to a local prison. The families daughter ends up getting caught up with them which eventually leads them to a lake house her family was staying at for the summer. The acting leaves a lot to be desired. There are some glimpses of good acting though. They say bad writing means bad acting to maybe the writing was a bit poor as well.

It's one of those movies that wasn't all that terrible but its still pretty bad. Aaron Pauls death scene is one to watch! Its the prettiest bloody death you'll ever see in a movie. Visually it wasn't shot all that badly. again the movie kept my attention unlike a great many other movies. I found my self routing for the family and even the girls. By the end of the movie the tables flipped and it showed the family taking back what was theirs. after all you can't have a movie with out a happy ending now can you? All in all it was a fun watch but nothing to go crazy over to see.

Entertainment - 6/10
Visuals - 5/10
Story - 5/10

Dredd

OK so I was asked my thoughts on this movie, Dredd. The first one was done way back in the day using Sylvester Stallone. This new one was done using an actor I really enjoy in Karl Urban. I first became aware of Urban during his role in The Chronicles of Riddick. As I remember it, the older version of Dredd wasn't something people rushed out to see. It was in the Stallone heyday so that helped it but I enjoyed it. I have not seen it since I was a younger man but I remember I liked watching whenever it was on TV. This newer version looked nice, the story was decent but I had no feelings for any of the characters whatsoever. If you didn't get told that was Karl Urban as Dredd you'd have never known.

The story takes place pretty much entirely inside a highrise building of the future which pretty much has nothing but thugs and lowlifes running it. Dredd entered the building do to a homicide and eventually uncovers drugs that slow your reality down. A part of this was when they would inject some one then push them off a balcony. The entire event would feel like it took for ever and you would feel every bit of pain when you hit the floor.

The look of the movie wasn't terrible. It didn't make me run out and tell my friends, guess what I saw last night, it didn't turn me off either. It was very bland and just....blah. It was there, again it didn't wow me at all.

This isn't a movie people need to run out to see. It will eventually show up on TV for free and you can check it out that way. I can't think of a movie I'd ever tell people not to see since everyone has different tastes but this isn't worth a purchase. If you were a fan of the comics or the old movie it's cool to take a look at, which is why I did. If you are looking for a movie to keep you entertained for the entire length, this isn't the movie for you. The movie was, what is was, and that was just a basic movie, that could have done so much more if the script or story was done differently. If it helped you feel for the characters. That's what I look for in a movie. Make me care about the people in it. The one character I felt a bit for was the women cop Olivia. She had a back story of growing up in one of these places and getting it out to "make good". Other then that, not much there for me.

Entertainment - 5/10
Visuals - 5/10
Story - 5/10

Oblivion

Oblivion got me from the trailers because of it's looks, much like women have all done to me. Only in this case I enjoyed my time! It's about a guy named Jack that is left on Earth to mine the planet of its salt water for use on the new colony out on the moon Titan, or are they? I have always been very good at picking out what the true story is and what direction the movie will shift in but not this one. Not till a key moment in the near middle of the movie. So for that alone it gets a thumbs up.

The story is different. I can't really think of a movie off hand that it closely follows. So it that case in my book it makes it a new original story. Basically its about a guy as mentioned before working on his final days on Earth with a boss in the sky he has never met in person. He makes sure the drones are in working order as they fend off the "Alien" visitors that destroyed the planet. He has vivid dreams of his past living in NY and a women he has never met. He spends his time alone out on the planet grasping at the past and even making a collection of things he felt a connection to. Eventually the story turns he learns what the real plans are and Morgan Freeman is introduced and turns Jack's whole world upside down. There are plenty of twists in the plot and not one of them made me go, well that can't happen!

Visually wow, it's looks awesome! There is a great difference between the home Jack lives in and the mechanical devices and that of the underground Aliens. Think of the new Tron movie as far as how clean Jack's ship and living space were and you'd have a nice picture.

I enjoyed the time I spent to watch this movie, two times now. I would absolutely watch it if I ever came across it on TV. To me I can see this as a TBS, TNT movie they play countless times back to back. Absolutely worth watching if you like Sci-fi or not.

Entertainment - 8/10
Visuals - 8/10
Story - 8/10

Man of Steel

So I went into this movie thinking OK, just don't mess this up. I had no want or desire to see this movie. Months before it was released they were showing small trailers that really did nothing for me. As the release date began to get closer the trailers got longer and started to look better. It got to the point where I thought why not?

The movie looked amazing! The old Superman movies are so outdated because of this reboot it's just not fair. The world of Krypton was crazy beautiful. The ships, the creatures, the landscape, everything was amazingly rendered. I think the over all shooting of the movie was shot great as well. I don't think the movie got any credit for the look of the film and why would it? No comic book movie will ever win any Oscars or best movie awards. I have now seen this movie 2 times and The Avengers 2 times. If I were to choose my favorite it'd be this movie, The Man of Steel. I went into in not expecting anything and within minutes I was wondering what the 2nd movie would be like. Which we now know will have Ben Affleck as Batman, hope it works out! I'm a big time Affleck fan.

The story is very similar to the original movies. I am not a comic book reader so I can not say which is the one that follows the comic the best but the new one follows the same familiar arc but the goes off-roading here and there. Does it hurt the story? No, I don't think so but it was awkward to watch. Not in a bad way. It's like you are use to having your eggs sunny side up then they give you scrabbled......why? huh? OK fine it's still eggs.

Totally worth watching and I think it's a fun ride. it was one of the most noisey, loudest movies I have ever sat through. There is almost non stop action from nearly the beginning of the movie. So if you enjoy action, camera movement, visuals then this is a watch.

Entertainment - 8/10

Visuals - 10/10

Story - 8/10

This is the End

Loved it! Seth Rogen can almost do no wrong in his movies. It follows a bunch of actors we all know in real time, in their real lives. Jay flies in to visit Seth and after smoking plenty of weed end up at James Franco's house party. Looooooooots of cameos in this movie. Some only for a few seconds. Soon after getting to the party all hell breaks loose, literally. The ground opens up and fire rains down. Most of the people are beamed into heaven while the characters in this movie are left on hell of Earth. They set up a camera so they can do confessionals, which are split up between the characters and are great as they go through what is happening in the house. One of the characters gets rapped by a VERY large penised deamon then goes crazy after being possessed. We get to see what Pineapple Express 2 would look like as well!

Visually for a comedy, it looked really good. They certainly made me think they were being chased by a real life demon dog. I liked the way the movie was filmed and the overall look of it was excellent. The downside of this movies visuals is that Seth Rogen has to make a movie after this and not let us down.

This is the End was seriously, crazy funny. I enjoyed the jokes. I enjoyed watching Michael Cera get all coked up. This movie is 100% worth a watch if you enjoy raunchy comedies and Seths movies. Its nice to have a choice other than Adam Sandlers buddies movies now.

Entertainment - 9/10

Visuals - 8/10

Story - 8/10

The Wolverine

I really want to like these movies. Growing up The Wolverine was my favorite X-men character. If I ever wanted a power it was always to have what he had. Schnick-schnick!! The Origins movie was all that bad. The Deadpool fight at the end was fun to watch and the same with all the other characters we find and all knew of. This movie is a bit different. Takes place in the future after the 3 X-men movies. He has been in hiding and has been dreaming of Jean Grey and of killing her with his blades. It does some callbacks to his life during World War 2 where he saves a young Japanese soldier.

The story was decent but not great. They billed this as the Wolverine movie we all wanted only I didn't get wowed or pushed away. I honestly don't know what they should be doing with his character at this point other than just stop making movie and to deal with another character. Maybe Gambet? That could be an interesting movie. The story basically brings you on a small bumpy ride over to Japan where he loses his healing powers and has to fight off Viper and to save the day.

Visually I found it lacking. I think because they went crazy in the first one with lots of explosions and the final scene, they got scared and cut way back? There are no big massive sets in this movie that I can recall. The last scene as “big” as it was wasn't anywhere near the final scene in the previous movie. I honestly don't know what to say visually on this movie. It was like all other X-men movies only on a much smaller scale.

It was a fun watch. It didn't ruin 2 hours of my life and it didn't change my life. I enjoyed it for what is was….another movie where The Wolverine complains about helping someone but grows a heart then saves the day.

Entertainment - 6/10

Visuals - 5/10

Story - 6/10

Django Unchained

It’s a Quentin Tarantino movie so it’s obviously bloody, has lots of dialog, cursing, and great! OK well maybe not every movie is great but most of his movies are very entertaining even with what seems like pages of dialog thrown out at you within seconds. This movie follows a slave that has been freed by a bounty hunter. The bounty hunter ends up training him and as long as Django helps him then at the end of the job he would be set free. The story is great. It takes place during the point in American history of slavery and Plantation owners. There are more than enough big named actors in this movie.

Visually it looks like the old American days. The camera work easily points to that of Tarantino as well. As soon as the blood begins to not just sprinkle out after a gunshot but waterfalls out you can again tell its a Tarantino movie. If the room or wall behind the person that has been shot does not had pure red behind him then it means he didn't use enough.

The bad rap on this movie came from the use of the terrible “N” word. That word was used in that point in time and if you are making a period piece like this is and dealing with that subject matter then it’d be disingenuous to not use it. It doesn't take you out of the movie or ruin it. You don't even realize it was said most of the time. This movie won lots of awards so for me to review it is almost a worthless thing to do but nonetheless it is a movie well worth watching.

Entertainment - 9/10

Visuals - 8/10

Story - 9/10

Mama

I love my horror movies but I'm a bit strange when watching them. I only do so during the Halloween season…...don’t ask! Just seems right. So goes to show you i really wanted to see this movie since I saw this many months before October. I was very thoroughly entertained during this movie. If you watched the internet short on youtube then you pretty much know what the movie was going to be about. 2 kids, one ghost, see what I did there?

The story was pretty great. It’s about two kids that end up in a house in the woods at a young age. Much like bears or is it wolves? that will take care of young children a ghost ends up adopting them and taking care of them by feeding them berries. The kids change in their new dark surrounding and are eventually found by a family member and brought home, only the ghost follows them. From there on the scary stuff happens and yes, it is scary. Think Paranormal Activity type stuff.

Visually it was like any other horror movie so not much to really say about the looks. If you’ve watched a horror movie you can pretty much guess how this one looks. It’s well worth a watch! Maybe a good date movie if you know your girl jumps a lot….you’re welcome fellas!

Entertainment - 7/10

Visuals - 6/10

Story - 7/10

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Sigh…..where to begin? I watched the first movie when it came to Bluray, same for this. The first movie was pretty terrible. Retaliation realized this and pretty much rebooted for a sequel. One way I judge how I feel about a movie is how well it keeps my attention….the entertainment bit I mention, this one didn't. Much of the movie I looked up and didn't have a clue how they got to where they got to.

Some of the pluses. I actually really loved the fact that in Retaliation I saw all the great vehicles that I knew and remembered from the cartoon of the 80’s. They were all there, THAT was cool! The story wasn't completely horrible. It definitely made me think that it could have been a special 3 part cartoon back in the day.  

The bad, most everything else. I didnt feel for the characters at all. Storm Shadow switches over to help Snake Eyes and I really don't remember why? Also….why did they mention both Cobra Commander and Destro but I don't remember ever seeing Destro? I was really just not into this movie at all. I found myself checking my fantasy baseball team often as you can tell. One of the main names in the movie dies within 30 by the way but don't worry they replace him with a bigger name soon after. When the character died I didn't feel a thing. I didn't even realize it was him at first.

That’s enough on this movie. I'm finding myself drifting off as I write this review even.

Entertainment - 4/10

Visuals - 3/10

Story - 3/10

Orange is the New Black - Season 1

This is a Netflix only series. This show started a bit slow. First 2-3 episodes are all about the characters like so many shows seem to do, which is great. As long as enough is happening to them while you are getting to know them it is the way to go. This show follows Piper Chapman as she enters prison by giving her self up. It is full of flashbacks as it follows various female inmates lives by giving you the backstory of what got them into their new lives behind bars. Some characters you will feel for more than others and even the really nasty ones you will find your self backing and hoping for them because of the great character development in this series.

The story only takes place during the first few months of Pipers time as she goes from soft new girl “Dandylion” to a somewhat harder version of herself that she slowly develops into. She makes friends, enemies and even runs into people from her past that help shape her into the person she will become while her time in prison. Jason Biggs is her husband to be on the outside. He is not in this show as much because of this but it follows his story as well as he tried to cope with his new fiance now in prison.

The story is great! They make sure to fill it with plenty of drama but lots of laughs are still in here. Don't get me wrong you won't have tears from the one liners but plenty of tongue in cheek moments will keep you entertained

Entertainment - 9/10

Visuals - 6/10

Story - 9/10

John Carter

Now when I watch movies I go in wanting to be entertained. I wanted to review this movie for my blog because it got a major bad rap in my opinion. Yes it’s now in textbooks as how not to market a movie. I saw enough in the trailers to make me run out and watch it so I'm not totally sold as that being the main reason. Whatever the reason may have been I think the critics got it completely wrong.

When you go to a movie you want to be entertained and this movie had boatloads of it. Yes there was sections of long drawn out dialog but you do need it at times to get the story moving. The movie was beautiful. The ships in which the people of Mars flew on were well created and the city the evil doers were in was amazing. It moved around on legs like an insect, destroying everything below it. So looks wise I think the movie nailed it on the head.

Story wise is where many people I know have complained. I think it;s just silly. How people can watch Die Hard and not go...wait, wait,, wait….he does this all on his own? but watching a movie where a guy from the ol’ West heads to Mars, no that can't happen! The movie was based on a book written in the early 1900’s if I remember correctly and honestly, who cares? It’s a movie! Star Wars didn’t really happen (as far as we know) so why couldn't this? I did find parts of the story somewhat lacking. I don't want to give much away but the story is told a la The Princess Bride in some respects. Our here is voicing over as a kid reads. You only get this during the parts you see the kid so no worries, there is no narration in this movie.

This movie was great and got nailed way before it ever had a chance. Much like the animation Titan A.E. did. If you want a fun movie with lots of action, great looking visuals, and sorry but yes, I believe a great story, then this is well worth the watch.

Entertainment - 7/10

Visuals - 9/10

Story - 8/10