Review - Sherlock Holmes

Robert Downing, Jr and Jude Law co-star as Sherlock and Watson in the latest retelling of the adventures of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous literary character Sherlock Holmes. The movie, simply titled Sherlock Holmes, features a detective story covering everything from black magic to secret societies that threaten to take over the world. It also features performances by Rachel McAdams (Irene Adler) and Mark Strong (Lord Blackwood...the villain).

The film contains a perfect balance of comedic elements and serious, genuine drama. The story is not very obvious and I couldn't really predict what was going to happen next. The atmosphere is well captured and typical of Victorian London like you've seen in earlier Sherlock and Jack the Ripper movies. The actors do a very good job in bringing the characters to life. I was in particularly impressed with Robert (as I usually am). Many people have been concerned that Sherlock Holmes was going to basically have the same formula as Pirates of the Carribean trilogy. It most assuredly does not. Although both are made by Disney they have separate identities.

The main problem I have with the movie probably has more to do with me than the film itself. I had a bit of difficulty following the story in certain parts because I couldn't understand what was being said all the time. Alot of times people would laugh at something funny I completely missed it, only hearing fast mumbling. I guess it's just me.

Overall this is a pretty good movie. I never got bored and when I got lost I found my way again without missing too much. I don't feel it's a classic just yet but it could become apart of classic trilogy (there'll be others).....for now...RENT IT.

Avatar is James Cameron’s latest film and comes highly anticpated by his fans and movie fans in general. It tells the futuristic story of handicapped US Marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) and his involvement in an operation to cultivate a valuable rock mineral from the planet Pandora. However, to do this he undergoes a new procedure to live through a body identical to the indigenous race of people. They are tall, blue, have tails and sometimes act like wild animals. During his time as an avatar he tries to be accepted by the natives, develops a love interest and finds himself struggling to maintain and understand his identity. The film’s supporting cast includes Sigourney Weaver (Grace Augustine), Zoe Saldana (Neytiri), Stephen Lang (Col. Quaritch), and Giovanni Ribisi (Parker Selfridge).

ALLAN'S TAKE

THE LIKES: The best thing about this movie was the CGI special effects. It was easy to tell that a lot of time and effort went into this movie to make it look good. A lot of attention was paid to detail. Sometimes it was quite difficult to believe that, apparently, everything on Pandora was generated by CGI. My favorite visual effects were visible during the night scenes. Seeing how the natives lit up their environment and the way it looked was very impressive to me.

THE DISLIKES: However, there are a lot of aspects I couldn’t get on board with. I felt the movie was too long and drawn out in similar fashion to 2012. It lasted about 30 minutes longer than it probably should have. Also it didn’t really care for the political overtones throuhgout the movie. The natives are obviously based on the American Indians with the theme of their civilization being overun by an outside people. Also the US Marines in the film were not represented in a positive way for the most part. Usually for me, political overtones of any kind from any viewpoint are a turn off. One reason I watch movies is to get away from all that kind of stuff.

The overall story development seemed too obvious and too predictable as it follows the usual basic formula with the obligatory love story. Though I will say I think this movie has a better story than 2012. Also the dialogue was not always that good and the acting by the supporting cast didn’t seem consistent.

RATING: This is not a horrible movie but it’s not a classic either. It’s certainly a very well made film from the perspective of CGI and visuals. But story wise it’s just not on the same level as Cameron’s scifi movies Terminator and Terminator 2.

…RENT IT

JAMES' TAKE

AVATAR is trully one of the most amazing films I have seen in a long time. If you have read any reviews of the movie, this will not be any different than what people are calling the film, "Visually Stunning." What enhanced the experiece, was seeing it in 3-D. This was the first 3-D movie I have seen for a major motion picture and was simply blown away. Besides the incredible CGI, the story and characters are well done and they do not get lost in the CGI, like some movies end up (Star Wars 1-3). What i was particularly intrigued by was the terrain and landscape and how it seemed to flow naturally into the story. Jim Cameron had written the movie over a decade ago, if i am not mistaken, and wanted to wait till the technology was ready to make such a film. Well, it was definitely worth the wait Mr. Cameron. Lastly, a lot of blockbuster movies are leaving the films open at the end for sequels, prequals, spin-offs, etc. Without giving away any spoilers, this movie began strong and had an brilliant ending. You almost do not want to ruin a franchise of any kind (Terminator 3) by beating a dead horse. As much as we would love to see the lives of 10 foot tall navu's talking to mother earth and pinning their tails on every thing on Pandora all day, this should be probably left for a one time movie deal.

So here is my rundown:
THE GOOD: Characters, CGI, 3-D is only way to see it!
THE BAD: Too Much Tree-Hugging/Mother Earth references. Also, I wish they would have told us how Pandora was found?
THE UGLY: Sorry, no complaints here.

Final Verdict: GO NOOOOOOOOWWWWWW...and see it in 3-D, and use the bathroom before the movies starts (run time - 2 hrs, 42 minutes). But be sure and recycle your 3-D glasses, for Eywu's sake (Pandora reference...have to see it to get it)!

Review: Armored

Armored follows Ty Hackett, an rookie armored truck guard for the Eagle Shield Armored Truck Co. We learn early on in the film that Ty has been taking care of his younger brother because their parents have recently died. We are soon introduced to Mike Cochrone, a co-worker who has an almost brotherly relationship with Ty. A little later on in the movie we learn that Ty is having trouble paying all of the bills and that the bank wants to take his parents house that he and his brother live in. As things go from bad to worse a seemingly perfect answer to all of Ty's problems arise. Mike tells Ty that he and a group of armored truck guards he knows are planning to steals a large shipment of money they are to be transporting soon. Reluctantly Ty agrees to be part of the plan, as the plan is carried out things go from good to catastrophic in a matter of minutes.

Armored is a very good heist movie. It has action, a good story and good acting. I always found myself anxious to find out what would happen next. The film was very realistic an never felt over the top. There wasn't a lot of special effects and to be honest this movie did not need them. This movie excels at showing how doing something wrong for good reasons can soon backfire. I also like the fact that it shows to us the power that greed has over some people.

I really can't think of anything negative to say about this film. I loved it.

If you have a chance to see Armored I definitely say that you should....

GO NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Review: Ninja Assassin

Let's get to it. Ninja Assassin follows Raizo an orphan who has been taken in by an ancient and mysterious clan of ninja. Through flashbacks that are woven in with the present we are witness to his rise as a top ninja. The present day story follows Raizo and Mika Coretti, the latter is a Europol agent who has stumbled upon the existence of the ninja. We soon learn that this is not taken lightly and her life is immediately placed in grave danger. From their the story begins....

Ninja Assassin is a top notch action movie. Within the first five minutes people die in such creative ways that put the Saw movies to shame. The movie follows a very thin plot. It is never heavy, but I wished that the dialogue could have been better. Ninja Assassin excels at being an action movie, there is rarely a time when someone isn't getting cut up. The action sequenced were top notch. It's about what you would expect from the Wachowski brothers.

Ninja Assassin fails in the story which I talked about earlier. The story itself just serves as a bridge between the times that Raizo is kicking peoples behinds. That's all I have to say about the negative aspects.

This is an action movie with some of the coolest deaths scenes ever. I will readily admit that this movie is not for everyone. But, if you're ready to see bloody ninja on ninja action then you should definitely.....

GO NOW