The first film for the month of January is Underworld:Awakening Starring Kate Beckinsale, Micheal Ealy and India Eisley the film opened on the 20th.
Plot
"When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrioress Selene leads the battle against humankind".
My Thoughts
I am a big fan of the Underworld films (except for Rise of the lycans) and was eagerly awaiting to see this film when it was announced, regardless of the plot I was going to see this film but just to have an idea of what the film would be about and not going in blindly I read up on the plot and was intrigued on the direction they decided to go with this film. Rotten Tomatoes currently has the film rated at % 30 saying "There's more vapid action and less story in Underworld Awakening than previous installments, making the whole affair feel inconsequential". The film followed the usually dark and dreary setting of the other films in the series. Before I continue I will say I was disappointed by the fact that Scott Speedman (Micheal) was not in this film for a large role, he had become one of my favorite character over the first two films but there is always the chance he comes back in the fifth installment. The acting was solid for what the movie needed them to do, i will make special note that India Eisley (Ashley for for those who watch Secret Life of the American Teenager) did a good job in her theatrical debut and I look forward to seeing more of her on the silver screen. I will say the one knock I had going into this film regardless of anything else was the fact that the film was only 88 minutes, me personally I find it hard to say a movie was good when it is short, a good film length for me is around 100 minutes anything less and I feel short changed anything more is a plus, this was odd for me when the film was over it actually felt longer than 88 minutes which was good and presently surprised me as well. The special effects where hit or miss for me while they where great for the fighting sequences the CG wolves looked a little to fake for my tastes and I wished they had used the effects for the first three films in this regard as the wolves looked much more natural. lastly in a decision I still question,especially after seeing this is making this a 3D film I feel that this film could only be worse with 3D being used and after watching it I stand by my assumption, you rarely even notice the 3D except fora few scenes other than that you could watch the film without the glasses and not notice the difference, I feel that they only added 3D just to make a little more money towards the gross which plenty of Movie studios are doing more and more these days. Overall this was a good film and a welcome addition to one of my favorite franchises if you are a fan of the previous underworld films you will not be disappointed here.
My Thoughts
Good film welcome addition to the underworld franchise 7.3/10!!!
The second and final movie of the month is "The Grey" Staring Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney and Frank Grillo the film opened on the 27th.
Plot
"In Alaska, an oil drilling team struggle to survive after a plane crash strands them in the wild. Hunting the humans are a pack of wolves who see them as intruders".
My Thoughts
Before I go into my review I must say that Liam Neeson is a great actor and he deserves an Oscar nomination or some form of recognition for his role in this film. Now that I got that out of the way onto the film itself, I had not heard much about this film but when I feasted my eyes on the trailer It intrigued me very much this film had very realistic approach to it and that is what caught my eye, you do not see many films like this anymore and I took the chance to see this as soon as possible, http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_grey_2012/ is currently at 78% on rotten tomatoes with this being said "The Grey is an exciting tale of survival, populated with fleshed-out characters and a surprising philosophical agenda". The setting of this film fits perfectly for what this movie is about it really feels like Man Vs Wild and how when stripped of everything that we have in civilization we revert to our primal selves an do what is needed to survive. The supporting cast in this film was also very good, what I really liked about this film was that they actually allowed you to get in touch with the characters and you felt as if you had an idea of who they where not just some guy trying to survive in the wilderness.The wolf aspect of this film was a part that I am very happy they put in here without this aspect I felt the movie would not have worked as well as it did, this aspect of the film was done so well that you actually felt as if you got inside the mind of a wolf and learned that they are more than a wild animal and in their own sort of way protect their family. In a movie like this you would think every scene would be very tense and have no comedic spots at all that is not the case there where a couple of spots that made you chuckle to yourself and lightens the mood in a otherwise intense film. Overall this was so far the best movie I have seen this year and I cannot really complain about much if at all the length of the film was perfect as well, if i had to nitpick the ending for me left a lot to be desired and may turn others off, I will add stay after the credits for a bonus scene.
My Thoughts
Great Movie, not many moves of this type coming out anymore, Great Acting, Great Setting, Liam Neeson needs to be nominated for something pertaining to this film 8.4/10!!!.
