Plot
"Nick Fury is director of S.H.I.E.L.D, an international peace keeping
agency. The agency is a who's who of Marvel Super Heroes, with Iron Man,
The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow.
When global security is threatened by Loki and his cohorts, Nick Fury
and his team will need all their powers to save the world from disaster".
My Thoughts
Let me start by saying, I did not see the film on opening night or opening weekend but from the people I talked to about the film they all told me that in their opinion this was the best superhero film ever, To me X2:X-Men United is the best superhero film of all time. Taking that into consideration I will grade The Avengers on that scale. Let's start with the avengers team most people will be familiar with the actors portraying their characters Robert Downery Jr is tony stark he plays the role like no other could have and I have a hard time envisioning anyone else being capable of doing a better job he in my opinion was brilliant in this film he gave tony stark the right balance of seriousness,douchebagness and hilarity and for me was the show stealer I am looking forward to Iron Man 3 next year, Chris Hemswroth returns in his role as Thor the god of thunder, If you read my review of Thor from last year you ill know how I felt about the film overall it wasn't great and I felt Hemsworth while most likely doing the best with what he had didn't impress me, In this film Hemsworth actually did a good job and was right up there with Downey jr in terms of striking the right balance he did well in this film and I just wanted to mention that, Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johannson did solid jobs as hawk eye and Black Widow while I feel it is a slight to hawk eye and black widow to be surrounded by teammates with extraordinary powers and he being just a highly skilled marksmen and Black Widow being a skilled interrogator and close combat fighter they mix and well with the group, I will add that to me Scarlett Johansson just feels like eye candy and I have never been a huge fan of her acting and she does little here to change that. The biggest Casting change in this film was Mark Ruffalo he was replacing in my opinion the best actor I have seen portray Bruce Banner to current date in Edward Norton, when the change happened I felt the same when they switched Terrance Howard for Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2, while it wasn't a bad Movie as Cheadle is a great actor, I prefer franchises unless they are doing a reboot to keep continuity within the films. Ruffalo did a fine job as Bruce Banner and I could find no fault in his performance other than I wish it was Edward Norton instead other than that Good Job Mr.Ruffalo. The rest of the cast was mostly unchanged from previous Marvel films Samuel Jackson had a much bigger role in this film than in previous years and I hope the trend continues he makes Nice Fury "Cool". The special effects in this film were top notch which was to be expected of a film of this caliber and Budget ($220 million) and I could find no fault there I also thought it was pretty cool to actually face Map Mark Ruffalo's face to the hulk it gave the Hulk a better connection to Ruffalo.The setting and the pacing for this movie in terms of what it is was very good it kept you interested and rarely got boring there was always something going on or something was being set up to happen, there were some comedic aspects to the film as well that made em chuckle a couple a times (Thor and The Hulk). The only faults I could find with the film had to deal with Black Widow , she got into a lot of fights and this is what I dislike a bout a lot of films they make the woman unhittable they dodge everything and dish out so much pain yet take basically none, It seems unrealistic to me watching the film and seeing her dodge everything then breaking a guys neck in one move just rubbed me the wrong way if she is going to fight 10 vs 1 at least make the fight realistic, another grip I had with the film is Chris Evans as an actor, I have seen a few of his films and in every one the guy is just terrible he has no emotion makes the same faces in every one and to me he is just an all around bad actor and this is not the first time he has screwed up a marvel film (Fantastic Four 1 and 2 anyone?) and whatever movie I see him in the movie goes down in rating.Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 93% saying "With a script that never forgets its heroes' humanity and no shortage of super powered set pieces, The Avengers lives up to its hype -- and raises the bar for Marvel at the movies". Overall this was a very good superhero movie and If I had to make a top 5 superhero movie of all time list this film would be in but it would not be my number one and it is not in my opinion better than X2:X-Men United,I am sure a lot of people will disagree with me saying that The Avengers has bigger explosion, better CGI and all that stiff and I would say it should X2 came out back in 2003 almost 10 years ago The Avengers should look better and more polished, The Avengers is still very good Film.
My Rating
Very good superhero Film it is in my top 5 all time list for superhero films but not my Number one 8.5/10!!!!.
The Second movie for the month of May is "Dark Shadows" starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfieffer and Helena Bonham Carter, the film opened on the 11th.
Plot
"An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection".
My Thoughts
Let me start by saying that I am not a huge Tim Burton fan, I have seen a number of his films and while I appreciate the creativity and uniqueness he puts into all of his films, they sometimes can be hard to watch and follow. This film caught my eye just for the fact that I was intrigued by seeing how Tim Burton could do a vampire film especially when the vampire is Johnny Depp who in my opinion is a very good actor for the most part especially in the roles I have seen him in. I did not when I first saw the trailer know that Dark Shadows was a series, I did some briefing background info into the series to have an idea of what to expect when I went to see the film. My first gripe with this film was the setting, I would have much preferred it to have been made in modern times then in the 1970's, it was a fine setting for the film but I feel upgrading the setting to the 2000's would have made the shock for Barnabas even more shocking, Imagine what his face would have done when he was shown an MP3 player or a Flat screen television or a hybrid car, I am not saying the 1970's theme which I am sure was kept for it to be as similar to the show as possible Which I understand completely. I was shocked when I looked up the budget for this film that it was $150 million, I do not know where the budget for this film was spent the special effects where nothing the special the setting was nothing spectacular and overall the film didn't seem to rely heavily on CGI. The cast had a few big names other than Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Lee Miller, Jackie Earl Haley and Chloe Grace Moretz for the younger crowd are the bigger names but in all honesty none of them impressed me at all, the entire cast to me was flat emotionless and rather forgettable and that for me was disappointing considering the amount of talent that was available on screen, Even Helena Bonham Carter who usually gives solid performances was flat in this film, I don't know if it was the script or that was how Tim Burton wanted the lines to be delivered by his cast but it did nothing for me. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 43% saying "The visuals are top notch but Tim Burton never finds a consistent rhythm, mixing campy jokes and gothic spookiness with less success than other Johnny Depp collaboration". Overall this film for me was a disappointment whether it was the decision to stay true to the show by going with a 1970's theme, the acting, the setting, all of it amounted to a bad movie which I didn't expect going into I was really hoping for more from Burton,Depp and the cast but I guess I expected to much.
My Rating
I expected a lot from this film and left very disappointing, bad acting, bad theme/setting, ad plot as well 6.4/10!!!!.
The third movie for the month of May is "Battleship" Starring Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson and Brooklyn Decker, the film opened on the 18th.
Plot
"A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals".
My Thoughts
It is rare that I say a film is truly bad, this is one of those rare cases , this film was TERRIBLE, I do not know where to start. The acting was bad by all who where involved (Rhianna stick to making bad club songs). I don't want to put it all on the actors it could have something to do with the script but there was not one good performance (Taylor Kitsch this is the second movie of the year I have seen you in and again a sub par performance) Brooklyn Decker was horrible and not needed in the film, she to me was just in there to give Taylor Kitsch;s character some sympathy from the audience which did not work in my opinion, I was even surprised that even Liam Neeson who is usually brilliant n most films I see him was was also terrible and wonder if he just did this film for the paycheck. The CGI was top notch but with a film where the budget is over $200 million it should have top notch visuals so no bonus points there. There basically was no story to think of it was basically aliens arrive start blowing stuff up and that is the theme for 2 hours and 30 minutes which brings me to another gripe about the film, the length which was entirely to long for a film that is so linear there was no need to make the film this long and it made the film actually worse than if the film had been lets say 1 hour and 45 minutes,, the extra lengthiness add to character development or the story and was filler to me. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film 34% saying "t may offer energetic escapism for less demanding film goers, but Battleship is too loud, poorly written, and formulaic to justify its expense -- and a lot less fun than its source material". I do not want to add much more to this film it was bad in all aspects except for the CGI which was expected.
Rating
I do not want to comment on this film bad acting, no story, too long 5.5/10!!!! Skip It unless you have 2 hours and 30 minutes to waste.
The Fourth movie for the month of May is "Men In Black 3' Starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin.
Plot
"An alien criminal kills the young Agent K in 1969, altering the timeline, changing the Agency and placing the Earth in danger. Veteran Agent J (Will Smith) must travel back in time to 1969 to before the murder and work with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save him, the Agency, the Earth and humanity itself".
My Thoughts
I do not have much to say about this review, If you have seen the other two Men in Black films you know what to expect, Will Smith provided the funny moments and kept the film from being to dry, it was great to see him back in another film after so many years away from the big screen and he showed why he is still one of the best actors around, Tommy Lee Jones was at his stone faced best and played Agent K to the best of his abilities, Josh Brolin did a great Job playing agent K at the age of 29 and he has further cemented his place in my opinion as one of the better actors around today, The special effects where as outlandish,weird and over the top as the first two films, they had some very creative ways to explain that aliens have been around for a long time and how they have overt the years hidden themselves in the most obvious places which where very creative. I did not have much negative to say about this film other than the story while not a great one did work with the film ,but for me it was a little cliched the way it tied together but it was a good story for the film. This was a good film and a welcome addition to the franchise and I look forward to another entry into the series, and hopefully it doesn't take as long as this one did to make.
Rating
Welcome addition to the series, if you are a Will Smith fan you must see this film 8.5/10!!!!
The fifth and final movie for the Month of may is "Chernobly Diaries" starring Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Dimitri Diatchenko and Olivia Dudleythe film opened on the 24th.
Plot
Six tourists hire an extreme tour guide who takes them to the abandoned city Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. During their exploration, they soon discover they are not alone.
My Thoughts
I will not say much about this film, I honestly dd not expect much going into the film, I only saw the trailer during my viewing of "The Avengers" and decided to see it, I did no prior researching or background info checking into the film like I would normal. The bases of this film is a group o friends go to Ukraine and decide to visit the Chernobyl disaster area, Without giving to much of the film away once the "beings" are found out the movie looses a lot and for me it caused me to lose interest along with that, the film had relatively unknown actors other than Jessie McCartney and the cast actually did good jobs and I had no complaints there, The only complaints that really bothered me would have been the script and the writing, the film had a good setting and spacing but it just didn't click for me, which isn't entirely a knock a s for some viewer say find the story and plot fine an fitting well with the film, honestly other than that I didn't have a real gripe wit the film it was decent and worth viewing if you are in the mood for a quasi horror.suspense film that will leave you feeling unsatisfied at the end.
Rating
Decent film, nothing spectacular, and the script left me filling unsatisfied 7.2/10!!!!
Let me start by saying, I did not see the film on opening night or opening weekend but from the people I talked to about the film they all told me that in their opinion this was the best superhero film ever, To me X2:X-Men United is the best superhero film of all time. Taking that into consideration I will grade The Avengers on that scale. Let's start with the avengers team most people will be familiar with the actors portraying their characters Robert Downery Jr is tony stark he plays the role like no other could have and I have a hard time envisioning anyone else being capable of doing a better job he in my opinion was brilliant in this film he gave tony stark the right balance of seriousness,douchebagness and hilarity and for me was the show stealer I am looking forward to Iron Man 3 next year, Chris Hemswroth returns in his role as Thor the god of thunder, If you read my review of Thor from last year you ill know how I felt about the film overall it wasn't great and I felt Hemsworth while most likely doing the best with what he had didn't impress me, In this film Hemsworth actually did a good job and was right up there with Downey jr in terms of striking the right balance he did well in this film and I just wanted to mention that, Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johannson did solid jobs as hawk eye and Black Widow while I feel it is a slight to hawk eye and black widow to be surrounded by teammates with extraordinary powers and he being just a highly skilled marksmen and Black Widow being a skilled interrogator and close combat fighter they mix and well with the group, I will add that to me Scarlett Johansson just feels like eye candy and I have never been a huge fan of her acting and she does little here to change that. The biggest Casting change in this film was Mark Ruffalo he was replacing in my opinion the best actor I have seen portray Bruce Banner to current date in Edward Norton, when the change happened I felt the same when they switched Terrance Howard for Don Cheadle in Iron Man 2, while it wasn't a bad Movie as Cheadle is a great actor, I prefer franchises unless they are doing a reboot to keep continuity within the films. Ruffalo did a fine job as Bruce Banner and I could find no fault in his performance other than I wish it was Edward Norton instead other than that Good Job Mr.Ruffalo. The rest of the cast was mostly unchanged from previous Marvel films Samuel Jackson had a much bigger role in this film than in previous years and I hope the trend continues he makes Nice Fury "Cool". The special effects in this film were top notch which was to be expected of a film of this caliber and Budget ($220 million) and I could find no fault there I also thought it was pretty cool to actually face Map Mark Ruffalo's face to the hulk it gave the Hulk a better connection to Ruffalo.The setting and the pacing for this movie in terms of what it is was very good it kept you interested and rarely got boring there was always something going on or something was being set up to happen, there were some comedic aspects to the film as well that made em chuckle a couple a times (Thor and The Hulk). The only faults I could find with the film had to deal with Black Widow , she got into a lot of fights and this is what I dislike a bout a lot of films they make the woman unhittable they dodge everything and dish out so much pain yet take basically none, It seems unrealistic to me watching the film and seeing her dodge everything then breaking a guys neck in one move just rubbed me the wrong way if she is going to fight 10 vs 1 at least make the fight realistic, another grip I had with the film is Chris Evans as an actor, I have seen a few of his films and in every one the guy is just terrible he has no emotion makes the same faces in every one and to me he is just an all around bad actor and this is not the first time he has screwed up a marvel film (Fantastic Four 1 and 2 anyone?) and whatever movie I see him in the movie goes down in rating.Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 93% saying "With a script that never forgets its heroes' humanity and no shortage of super powered set pieces, The Avengers lives up to its hype -- and raises the bar for Marvel at the movies". Overall this was a very good superhero movie and If I had to make a top 5 superhero movie of all time list this film would be in but it would not be my number one and it is not in my opinion better than X2:X-Men United,I am sure a lot of people will disagree with me saying that The Avengers has bigger explosion, better CGI and all that stiff and I would say it should X2 came out back in 2003 almost 10 years ago The Avengers should look better and more polished, The Avengers is still very good Film.
My Rating
Very good superhero Film it is in my top 5 all time list for superhero films but not my Number one 8.5/10!!!!.
The Second movie for the month of May is "Dark Shadows" starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfieffer and Helena Bonham Carter, the film opened on the 11th.
Plot
"An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection".
My Thoughts
Let me start by saying that I am not a huge Tim Burton fan, I have seen a number of his films and while I appreciate the creativity and uniqueness he puts into all of his films, they sometimes can be hard to watch and follow. This film caught my eye just for the fact that I was intrigued by seeing how Tim Burton could do a vampire film especially when the vampire is Johnny Depp who in my opinion is a very good actor for the most part especially in the roles I have seen him in. I did not when I first saw the trailer know that Dark Shadows was a series, I did some briefing background info into the series to have an idea of what to expect when I went to see the film. My first gripe with this film was the setting, I would have much preferred it to have been made in modern times then in the 1970's, it was a fine setting for the film but I feel upgrading the setting to the 2000's would have made the shock for Barnabas even more shocking, Imagine what his face would have done when he was shown an MP3 player or a Flat screen television or a hybrid car, I am not saying the 1970's theme which I am sure was kept for it to be as similar to the show as possible Which I understand completely. I was shocked when I looked up the budget for this film that it was $150 million, I do not know where the budget for this film was spent the special effects where nothing the special the setting was nothing spectacular and overall the film didn't seem to rely heavily on CGI. The cast had a few big names other than Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Lee Miller, Jackie Earl Haley and Chloe Grace Moretz for the younger crowd are the bigger names but in all honesty none of them impressed me at all, the entire cast to me was flat emotionless and rather forgettable and that for me was disappointing considering the amount of talent that was available on screen, Even Helena Bonham Carter who usually gives solid performances was flat in this film, I don't know if it was the script or that was how Tim Burton wanted the lines to be delivered by his cast but it did nothing for me. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 43% saying "The visuals are top notch but Tim Burton never finds a consistent rhythm, mixing campy jokes and gothic spookiness with less success than other Johnny Depp collaboration". Overall this film for me was a disappointment whether it was the decision to stay true to the show by going with a 1970's theme, the acting, the setting, all of it amounted to a bad movie which I didn't expect going into I was really hoping for more from Burton,Depp and the cast but I guess I expected to much.
My Rating
I expected a lot from this film and left very disappointing, bad acting, bad theme/setting, ad plot as well 6.4/10!!!!.
Plot
"A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals".
My Thoughts
It is rare that I say a film is truly bad, this is one of those rare cases , this film was TERRIBLE, I do not know where to start. The acting was bad by all who where involved (Rhianna stick to making bad club songs). I don't want to put it all on the actors it could have something to do with the script but there was not one good performance (Taylor Kitsch this is the second movie of the year I have seen you in and again a sub par performance) Brooklyn Decker was horrible and not needed in the film, she to me was just in there to give Taylor Kitsch;s character some sympathy from the audience which did not work in my opinion, I was even surprised that even Liam Neeson who is usually brilliant n most films I see him was was also terrible and wonder if he just did this film for the paycheck. The CGI was top notch but with a film where the budget is over $200 million it should have top notch visuals so no bonus points there. There basically was no story to think of it was basically aliens arrive start blowing stuff up and that is the theme for 2 hours and 30 minutes which brings me to another gripe about the film, the length which was entirely to long for a film that is so linear there was no need to make the film this long and it made the film actually worse than if the film had been lets say 1 hour and 45 minutes,, the extra lengthiness add to character development or the story and was filler to me. Rotten Tomatoes gave the film 34% saying "t may offer energetic escapism for less demanding film goers, but Battleship is too loud, poorly written, and formulaic to justify its expense -- and a lot less fun than its source material". I do not want to add much more to this film it was bad in all aspects except for the CGI which was expected.
Rating
I do not want to comment on this film bad acting, no story, too long 5.5/10!!!! Skip It unless you have 2 hours and 30 minutes to waste.
The Fourth movie for the month of May is "Men In Black 3' Starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin.
Plot
"An alien criminal kills the young Agent K in 1969, altering the timeline, changing the Agency and placing the Earth in danger. Veteran Agent J (Will Smith) must travel back in time to 1969 to before the murder and work with the young Agent K (Josh Brolin) to save him, the Agency, the Earth and humanity itself".
My Thoughts
I do not have much to say about this review, If you have seen the other two Men in Black films you know what to expect, Will Smith provided the funny moments and kept the film from being to dry, it was great to see him back in another film after so many years away from the big screen and he showed why he is still one of the best actors around, Tommy Lee Jones was at his stone faced best and played Agent K to the best of his abilities, Josh Brolin did a great Job playing agent K at the age of 29 and he has further cemented his place in my opinion as one of the better actors around today, The special effects where as outlandish,weird and over the top as the first two films, they had some very creative ways to explain that aliens have been around for a long time and how they have overt the years hidden themselves in the most obvious places which where very creative. I did not have much negative to say about this film other than the story while not a great one did work with the film ,but for me it was a little cliched the way it tied together but it was a good story for the film. This was a good film and a welcome addition to the franchise and I look forward to another entry into the series, and hopefully it doesn't take as long as this one did to make.
Rating
Welcome addition to the series, if you are a Will Smith fan you must see this film 8.5/10!!!!
The fifth and final movie for the Month of may is "Chernobly Diaries" starring Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Dimitri Diatchenko and Olivia Dudleythe film opened on the 24th.
Plot
Six tourists hire an extreme tour guide who takes them to the abandoned city Pripyat, the former home to the workers of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor. During their exploration, they soon discover they are not alone.
My Thoughts
I will not say much about this film, I honestly dd not expect much going into the film, I only saw the trailer during my viewing of "The Avengers" and decided to see it, I did no prior researching or background info checking into the film like I would normal. The bases of this film is a group o friends go to Ukraine and decide to visit the Chernobyl disaster area, Without giving to much of the film away once the "beings" are found out the movie looses a lot and for me it caused me to lose interest along with that, the film had relatively unknown actors other than Jessie McCartney and the cast actually did good jobs and I had no complaints there, The only complaints that really bothered me would have been the script and the writing, the film had a good setting and spacing but it just didn't click for me, which isn't entirely a knock a s for some viewer say find the story and plot fine an fitting well with the film, honestly other than that I didn't have a real gripe wit the film it was decent and worth viewing if you are in the mood for a quasi horror.suspense film that will leave you feeling unsatisfied at the end.
Rating
Decent film, nothing spectacular, and the script left me filling unsatisfied 7.2/10!!!!
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