"Alice fights alongside a resistance movement in the continuing battle against the Umbrella Corporation and the undead".
My Thoughts
I want to start by saying that I am a big fan of the resident evil Films (I never really got into the games) and I was highly anticipating this film when I heard about it going into production. A lot of people I talk to are not huge fan of the films whether it be they prefer the storylines of the games or the fact that the main character in the film series Alice is not an actual character in any of the games and is only in the films. I honestly do not look at it in either of those aspects I take the films for what they are, and enjoy them for that aspect. The last film in the series "Afterlife" for me was not very good and left me underwhelmed for the most part, once I started reading into the background for this film and I heard about the big news that they where bringing back some major character from past films in the series (Michelle Rodriguez and Sienna Guillory) my min was made up from that moment. Anyone that has seen any of the films in this series will know what to expect, cheesy acting skills, lots and lots of action, great CGI, and over the top zombie killing monster madness. In this aspect "Retribution" does a great job it follows the vein of its predecessors and does a great job at entertaining the viewer. Michelle Rodriguez's "Rain" character was my favorite in this first film and I have waited and waited for her return which was finally granted 10 years after the first film (I want to point out that this film series has been going on for 10 years which was boggling to me, I never thought about that until the day I saw the film) But I want to say that I was disappointed in the way that her character's (I will not say much more about that) where portrayed I would have much preferred if they brought her back in her old role an the Solider with the tough as steel mantra and had her fight at Alice's side, sadly this was not the case, I can hope for a return in the inevitable sixth installment that this will come to fruition.The CGI which is like I mentioned earlier usually top notch fell flat to me, I saw the film in 3D ( I would not recommend to see it in 3D) and the CGI looked "cheap" this film had a pretty sizable budget and to me this was a huge disappointment that took away from some of the more important scenes in the film as a whole. the acting like I mentioned earlier in these films are not known to up to scratch and this film was no different, I do not see these films for their acting, I will say for this film the acting was passable if this where not a "Resident Evil" film I would be much more critical. There is really no need to go into the story it is the same as the previous four films, basically Alice continues her quest to fight back against the evil Umbrella Corporation that is all I feel that is needed to know to understand what is going on in the film. there was a lot about this film that I did not like to start off the length I felt was not long enough, the way this film was billed in the trailer and the information that I was reading I was expecting an Epic resident Evil movie and to me it fell flat especially in the length department the film ran about 98 minutes which to me it should have been closer to 120 minutes, I felt it would have a gave a better chance to flesh out certain aspects of the film I felt where rushed (which was a lot). Also certain characters death( I wont mention who) felt unseeded and forced, A character I really like died in the film for no apparent reason and it did not sit well wit me, others who see this film may not care but I did not like it one bit nor understand the need for it. I could mention more but I feel I would be bashing a film on aspects of the film I knew where going to be shaky going into viewing it. RottenTomatoes gave this film a 29% saying "Another predictable entry in the Resident Evil franchise that seems to get more cynical and lazy with each film.".
Rating
Was what I expected for the most part, there where some parts that I really did not like that really stuck with me from this film 6.9/10!!!!
The second Movie for the month of September is "Dredd:3D" starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headley, the film opened on the 21st.
My Thoughts
I want to start by saying that I am a big fan of the resident evil Films (I never really got into the games) and I was highly anticipating this film when I heard about it going into production. A lot of people I talk to are not huge fan of the films whether it be they prefer the storylines of the games or the fact that the main character in the film series Alice is not an actual character in any of the games and is only in the films. I honestly do not look at it in either of those aspects I take the films for what they are, and enjoy them for that aspect. The last film in the series "Afterlife" for me was not very good and left me underwhelmed for the most part, once I started reading into the background for this film and I heard about the big news that they where bringing back some major character from past films in the series (Michelle Rodriguez and Sienna Guillory) my min was made up from that moment. Anyone that has seen any of the films in this series will know what to expect, cheesy acting skills, lots and lots of action, great CGI, and over the top zombie killing monster madness. In this aspect "Retribution" does a great job it follows the vein of its predecessors and does a great job at entertaining the viewer. Michelle Rodriguez's "Rain" character was my favorite in this first film and I have waited and waited for her return which was finally granted 10 years after the first film (I want to point out that this film series has been going on for 10 years which was boggling to me, I never thought about that until the day I saw the film) But I want to say that I was disappointed in the way that her character's (I will not say much more about that) where portrayed I would have much preferred if they brought her back in her old role an the Solider with the tough as steel mantra and had her fight at Alice's side, sadly this was not the case, I can hope for a return in the inevitable sixth installment that this will come to fruition.The CGI which is like I mentioned earlier usually top notch fell flat to me, I saw the film in 3D ( I would not recommend to see it in 3D) and the CGI looked "cheap" this film had a pretty sizable budget and to me this was a huge disappointment that took away from some of the more important scenes in the film as a whole. the acting like I mentioned earlier in these films are not known to up to scratch and this film was no different, I do not see these films for their acting, I will say for this film the acting was passable if this where not a "Resident Evil" film I would be much more critical. There is really no need to go into the story it is the same as the previous four films, basically Alice continues her quest to fight back against the evil Umbrella Corporation that is all I feel that is needed to know to understand what is going on in the film. there was a lot about this film that I did not like to start off the length I felt was not long enough, the way this film was billed in the trailer and the information that I was reading I was expecting an Epic resident Evil movie and to me it fell flat especially in the length department the film ran about 98 minutes which to me it should have been closer to 120 minutes, I felt it would have a gave a better chance to flesh out certain aspects of the film I felt where rushed (which was a lot). Also certain characters death( I wont mention who) felt unseeded and forced, A character I really like died in the film for no apparent reason and it did not sit well wit me, others who see this film may not care but I did not like it one bit nor understand the need for it. I could mention more but I feel I would be bashing a film on aspects of the film I knew where going to be shaky going into viewing it. RottenTomatoes gave this film a 29% saying "Another predictable entry in the Resident Evil franchise that seems to get more cynical and lazy with each film.".
Rating
Was what I expected for the most part, there where some parts that I really did not like that really stuck with me from this film 6.9/10!!!!
The second Movie for the month of September is "Dredd:3D" starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headley, the film opened on the 21st.
Plot
"In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO".
My Thoughts
I am sure most people who are interested in seeing this film saw the original Judge Dredd from 1995 starring Sylvester Stallone, I may be in the minority on this, but I actually thought that this film was decent and worth watching, I had no idea about the comics or anything of that nature when I saw the film, which may have been a blessing as it seems most people who saw the comics and knew of the source material vehemently disagreed with what was going on in that film. The previous film has no bearing for my review of this film as this is mroe of a reimaginaing than a sequel of its 1995 counterpart, I will keep this review short and sweet, this film was very good, it has all the makings of what you want in a action film. Urban awesome as dredd, the rest of the cast do great jobs in their roles,. The 3D was very well used and was some of the best I have seen RottenTomatoes gave the film a 77% saying "Fueled by bombastic violence and impressive special effects, rooted in self-satire and deadpan humor, Dredd 3D is a rare example of a remake that actually work"., this is one of the few times I disagree with rotten tomateos as I would have gone higher.
Rating
If you lie action films combined with good 3D see this, was actually one of the best films I have seen this year 8.3/10!!!!
The third Movie for the month of September is "House At The End Of The Street" Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Elisabeth Shue and Max Theriot, The Film opened on the 21st.
"A mother and daughter move to a new town and find themselves living next door to a house where a young girl murdered her parents. When the daughter befriends the surviving son, she learns the story is far from over".
My Thoughts
It is not often that I say a movie is bad and people should ksip it completley, but in this case that holds true.I do not have a lot to say about this film other than the story is not very original, the acting I will say is passable but not enough to carry this film (I know a lot of people say Jennifer Lawrence is a great actress, but I am not one of them) Rotten Tomatoes had this to say about the film "Poorly conceived, clumsily executed, and almost completely bereft of scares, House at the End of the Street strands its talented star in a film as bland as its title". I agree the film was bad in basically all facets, and I will nto spend anymore time talking about it.
Rating
Pass this film unless you literally have nothing else to do for 140 minutes 5.0/10!!!!
The 4th and final movie for the month of Speedometer is "Looper" Starring Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon.Levitt and Emily Blunt.
Plot
"In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self."
My Thoughts
When I first read about this film, last year when compiling my list for 2012, it immediately caught my attention just with the premise of the film, and adding Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis as the two main characters of this film where really good choices in my opinion. Let me start by saying this film does excellently and I have to congratulate the director for a fantastic Job with everything done with this film, I had high expectations for this film and I can say that this film surpassed my expectations in almost every way, the setting of the film works great with what the film is trying to get across, there is not much CG in this film but what is used is done perfectly and blends in with the film without making it look cheesy, the pacing of the film works together also some of the images in this film stick with you just for the power that the images conveys to the viewer that is something that not many movies for me have done especially in recent times. the acting n this film was top notch in my opinion Levitt and Willis are superb in playing the same role albeit at different ages they work well together, this was one of the few films that Brice Willis actually impressed me with his acting chops, I also want to add that Jeff Daniels was great in this film playing the bad guy of sorts I haven't seen him in a film in a while and it was good to see him in something of this caliber. Emily Blunt was the one odd pick for me with the cast, her acting was fine but I felt that they could have chose an American actress and a more attractive one at that, this is just my opinion and she fit in fine in the film but if I had to make a change to the main cast it would have been her. I do want to point of that the child who played the very important role of :Cid" did a phenomenal job and not only with his acting but with the emotion that he made with his facial expressions this was one of the more impressive performances I have seen by a child in a long time and I will have an eye on this kid down the road to see where his career goes from here. As of right now I would have to say this was one of the best films I have seen this year without a doubt it was superbly done and my only concern is that a lot of people will pass over this gem of a film and if they do, All I will say is that they are missing out on a great film and of of the years best. Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a 93% saying "As thought-provoking as it is thrilling, Looper delivers an uncommonly smart, bravely original blend of futuristic sci-fi and good old-fashioned action". I agree thsi was a great film.
Rating
8.9/10 Great film one of the best of the year!!!!.
