Dual Review: Legion

Legion is the newest entry in the apocalyptic thriller genre. The film takes place at a diner in the middle of nowhere (I guess it's somewhere in the southwestern United States). Everything seems normal, you have your normal diner crew and a few passersby who have stopped there.
Suddenly things go haywire and a mysterious man shows up in a cop car. He tells those at the diner that the pregnant waitress's unborn child is the key to humankind's salvation, (That sounds awfully familiar). And so the adventure begins...

Jared's Take: Legion is a good movie theater movie. By that I mean that it is good to see with a group of friends. The movie has a few redeeming qualities, but I won't spoil them for you. The acting is what you would expect so there is no complaints about it. The CG is really good and it shows that considerable care was taken into making it.

Where Legion fails, in my opinion, is the fact that there is really no solid resolution to the conflict. This gripe deals specifically with the child and his (I'm assuming the child is a he) purpose. The rest of the story seemed mostly driven from one fight to the next and that made it seems as if there was no story.

Overall Legion was okay, but i say FX/TBS It.

Allan's Take:

Likes: One of the main things that impressed me about this movie was the good special effects. The fx were consistently well done and convincing unlike those of "Daybreakers". Also the acting was very believable. The dialogue was about things that are necessary in the given situation and, although there some mild comedic moments, it was pretty serious stuff.

Dislikes: Overall I wasn't incredibly impressed with how the story itself unfolded. It didn't really explain in any real detail why specific things in the movie were happening and certain characters.

RENT It!

We're Big in Indonesia

The AJ Movie Review has finally hit the big time! One of our videos (The Spring 2010 Movie Special) has been linked on an Indonesian-based site called ji-wang.org. Click on the link to view the video... or you could just click the sidebar if you want it to be less difficult (and far less cool).

The Spring 2010 Movie Preview Special

I've been on an editing spree this week, and to prove it, here's our video for the site's Spring 2010 Movie Special. The video is coming a little late though, so the first few movies (Daybreakers, Youth in Revolt, and The Book of Eli) are kinda out of date, but hey, you ain't payin' for this so back off alright? Anyway, click on the sidebar to watch the video or check out our YouTube page to watch this and many more wonderful videos.

End of 2009 Movie Awards Special

It's finally here! Check out the sidebar or our youtube account to watch the epic two-part end of the year award special/anniversary video. It may be a little late, but the Oscars aren't even for a couple of months now, so lay off.

The Book of Eli was one of the most suprising movies of the year (so far) as Denzel Washington brings a raw performance that will go down as one his best. It is tough to describe the plot of the film without giving away any spoilers, but just by the trailers, one can tell this was going to be a post-apocalyptic piece, much like Mad Max or the Road Warrior. We only get peices of information as to what happened to cause the world to be in shambles, but it seems as if some type of Nuclear War, or a "Flash" occured leaving the landscape scarred and barren. The time seems to be 30 years or so in the future. Again, it is tough to go through the plot without giving away anything, but I was extremely surprised by the way the movie progressed. It started off extremely slow, but built up to an amazing climax, with an incredible twist that left everyone in my theater (including me) with their mouths to the floor gasping.

The movie is rated R, for the obvious violence...err, i mean EXTREME violence. There is some comedic parts, though short lived, but was woven into the film very nicely. At one part, Eli (Washington) and Mila Kunis character comes across a couple in the desert in an old house which provides for some very brief funny parts. Gary Oldman, the dude that plays Gordon in the new Batman movies, is a fantastic bad guy.

The film, although violent and gorry, does carry a profound message of faith and obedience. Eli has been on a mission for 30+ years and has been faithful to all this time and when his faith is put to the test, his obedience seems to be rewarded by being protected. This movie's plot is heavily rooted in scripture and what it trully means to be able to have faith and hope.

I will be buying this movie on DVD when it comes out. It is that good. The action is incredible, the acting is decent, and the plot and story are all incredible. To this movie, one of the best so far of 2010, I give and SEE IT NOW!!!!

Dual Review: Youth In Revolt

Youth In Revolt follows Nick Twisp (Michael Cera), a somewhat socially awkward teen who finds Sheeni the love of his life. Fate conspires against the two from staying together. Nick vows that he will do anything that he can do to be with her. In order to do this he creates an alter-ego Francois, who is everything he is not. After that point the fun really begins.

Allan's Take:

This is an age old story that's been told ever since there's been an art form to express it. And even though we've seen it over and over again, it never seems to get old. It is always relevant. I love this movie. It is funny, true and honest. And in it's own quirky way it can be called a Romantic Comedy. The acting is well carried out by everyone in the film. Michael Cera is brilliant. I especially like how they brought in the whole idea of an alter ego. It adds a new depth of originality to comedy.

RATING: At least for the younger generation out there, Youth In Revolt may very well become a generational classic. It's a new twist on an age old story...GO NOW!

Jared's Take:

The story that Youth In Revolt tells is a classic. Sure, its been done before, but never quite like this. The acting was good and the movie had plenty of laughs. I suppose the overall goal of the movie was accomplished. I really have nothing else to say about this movie except I didn't feel as if it reached its full potential.

If you must, GO NOW, but if you can wait...RENT IT!

Dual Review: Daybreakers

Daybreakers takes place in a world where almost everyone is a vampire. Everything seems to be going well, except for the fact that those who are not vampires, but normal humans, are hunted and harvested for blood. To make things worse the "supply" of blood is running out and a blood substitute needs to be found quickly before things get out of hand.

Jared's Take:

The story for Daybreakers was put together very well. The premise is interesting and I never found myself bored of my mind wandering. The acting was par for the course and never over the top.

I was really only disappointed in the CGI that was used some of the time. Most of the time the CG was really polished and good. There were sometimes that the CG was downright shoddy. The ending was semi anti-climactic, but not anything I can really complain about.

Overall Daybreakers is not the best movie, but I put it up as a strong...RENT IT!


Allan's Take:

LIKES: I like the semi-original story. Although it's based on vampires, this is the first time I've seen a world completely controlled by them just like they're the "normal" people. However, it is easy to see that the same basic idea is also the basis for the 1950s classic Invasion of the Body Snatchers (which has been remade multiple times). Also most of the special effects and CGI were well done. The Spierig brothers have no problem showing blood in a realistic way.

DISLIKES: Although most of the effects were good, there were at least a couple moments were it was bad. So bad it made me cringe. So I can't say this is a great special effects movie. Also too, Daybreakers lacks that sense of 'yeah, I wanna see this movie again'. It was never boring, but once you've seen it...you've seen it.

RATING: This is a good movie, but like I said before there's no real reason to call this a classic...RENT IT.