Rated: Rated PG for mild thematic elements, some adventure action and brief language.

Genre: Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Release Date: 16 October 2009

Runtime: 101 min

Director: Spike Jonze

Cast: Max Records, Catherine Keener, Pepita Emmerichs, Mark Ruffalo, Steve Mouzakis, James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Chris Cooper, Forest Whitaker, Catherine O’Hara, Paul Dano, Michael Berry Jr.

Max (Max Records) is a lonely boy with an active fantasy life. When his sister Claire’s (Pepita Emmerichs) friends carelessly crush his snow fort in a snowball fight, and she doesn’t do anything about it, he goes into a rage and makes a mess of her bedroom. When his mother Connie (Catherine Keener) invites her boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) to dinner, Max throws a tantrum in which he bites her, and runs out of the house, still in the wolf costume he likes to wear. At the nearby seashore, he finds an abandoned sailboat, and sets out in it.

He eventually reaches an island, where he finds several large talking wild things, vaguely humanoid in shape such as watery off-white colored eyes and snotty noses left un-wiped, with features resembling those of various animals . Carol (James Gandolfini), Ira and Judith (Forest Whitaker and Catherine O’Hara), Alexander (Paul Dano), Douglas (Chris Cooper), The Bull (Michael Berry, Jr.). Max convinces the wild things that he is a King with magical powers and claims he can ‘fix things’ within the group which begins with a ‘wild rumpus’. Like all things in life, the good things come to an end resulting in an increase in tension between Carol and the others in the group.

Eventually, Max admits to Alexander that he is neither a king nor does he have magical powers. Alexander warns Max to never let Carol know. But Max’s secret is exposed to the whole group, and Carol goes wild. Max is saved by K.W., who hides him from Carol in her stomach, then explains to him that their lives are already difficult, with Carol’s tantrums only making it worse. Hearing this, Max finally understands what his mother is going through, and decides that it is time to leave the island.

My initial reaction to the movie was “wow this is slow”, however once Max enters his imagination you see the story about being a child begin to unfold, from random tantrums, jealousy, anger, attention seeking…all emotions playing a role in the film. The personalities of the characters soon begin to clearly portray true life characters in Max’s life, even though we had only a moment to meet them at the beginning of the story. The audience is able to see how individuals become exaggerated in the mind of a child especially individuals who play an important role in that child’s life. As an observer you cannot help but feel the sadness of the characters in the film, and in some cases you cannot help but recall moments in your life that you felt the same way some of these wild things felt. The tagline of the movie really is as true as it gets, There’s one in all of us.

carole Adventure, Family, Fantasy

Rated: PG-13

Genre: Animation, Adventure, Fantasy

Release Date: 9 September 2009

Runtime: 79mins

Director: Shane Acker

Cast: Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, John C. Reilly, Crispin Glover, Jennifer Connelly, Fred Tatasciore, Elijah Wood, Alan Oppenheimer

When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they’ll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them.

A truly gripping film that includes personalities that are familiar to us. #1 (Plummer) the elder leader, stubborn and stuck in his ways.  #2 (Landau) an older individual who inspires and has been around a long time, however younger in his mindset and in search of new things. #5 (Reilly) a younger male stuck between wanting to follow the rules and wanting to rebel, knowing that he can guide the others in the right direction. #6 (Glover) slightly off the ball, however is able to lead the others to the source of their problems. #7 (Connelly) macho woman, the savior and most skilled at combat there to defend. #8 (Tatasciore) the bodyguard and ‘pet’ of #1, does as is told. Last but not least #9 (Wood) the youngest of the group, the rebel looking for a better life, refusing to accept things as they are, insisting he can save the group from extinction.

The film is rated 13 for a reason, it was definitely not made with children in mind, it was genuinely scary at parts. Truly another winner in the animation world. Acker, with the help of animation superstar and creative genius Tim Burton, have managed to create a film (initially a animation short) that will appeal to mass audiences, including the not-so-into-animation movie watchers out there.

carole Adventure, Animation, Fantasy

Rated: R

Genre: Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Runtime: 162 mins

Released: March 6, 2009

Director: Zach Snyder

Cast: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Patrick Wilson, Carla Gugino

I finally saw Watchmen this weekend directed by Zach Snyder (300, Dawn on the Dead), which was originally a really graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Dave Gibbons. The Movie is set In 1985, Richard Nixon is about to serve his third term as president of the United States and the world stands on the edge of destruction as the world’s two superpowers vie for nuclear supremacy. The only thing stopping the USSR from launching a doomsday attack is America’s Dr. Manhattan (played by Billy Crudup) a being with enough power to destroy planets and much else.

I never read the novel Watchmen nor am I familiar with the characters because I’ve never even heard of Watchmen before, that might be why this movie was “just ok” to me. I think there were too many characters to get familiar with; usually the audience is introduced to 1 or 2 main characters, but when you are trying to get them to care about 5 or 6 characters it starts to get fuzzy and boring. Not to mention the acting was just average.

The movie is also way to long, with flashback after flashback in the first 2 hours, by the time we hit the climax there is only 30 minutes left. With too many subplots (which come from out of nowhere) I think the only people who will enjoy this movie are fans of the novel, people who are already familiar with the characters.

Jenn Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

GI Joe directed by Stephen Sommers in my opinion was not so great. The story line was blah and the acting was very bad. I went to see it last Friday with my boyfriend and was not surprised that the theater was full, I was expecting that. What I was not expecting was how boring the movie was; even the action scenes were boring. We wanted to leave after the first 30 minutes of the movie; however we ended up staying. It’s very rare I would leave a movie, even if it’s boring I could always take a nap.

There were a few humorous scenes that included Marlon Wayans who played Ripcord; I would say he was the highlight of the movie for me. I was very disappointed with Channing Tatum, who played the main character Duke. I’ve seen him in many other movies and always enjoyed his style. Sienna Miller must have been the worst I’ve ever seen her, the only reason I excuse her is because she is one hot lady!

GI Joe is based on a toy/comic/cartoon (which was actually called Action Force) from the 80’s, which would be targeting boys ages 5-12 years old, however since the movie is PG-13, I don’t think many young boys will be watching this movie.

I know a lot of amateur reviewers are complaining that critics are being too hard on this movie, calling them tight asses and going as far as writing such things like “the critics don’t deserve their jobs”. Is it just me or do these amateur reviewers have something up their asses? I think some people are being too defensive. Maybe they are a little to attach to their childhood toys to realize that they are not the only ones with opinions, which are what critics do, they give their opinions. People need to relax!

Jenn Action, Fantasy

A couple of posts ago we added the summary of the movie Orphan. It read as a very interesting movie and gave me the slightest hope that there was a horror movie out that would finally get me to jump in my seat. The cherry on top of this guarantee is that I personally find thriller/horror films that include children, such as The Shinning, to be creepy enough as it is. So is Orphan the children filled horror flick that will fulfill my long time craving for mini theater heart attacks?

To get straight to the point, it was not. I felt let down once again last night, that’s not saying the movie was not done well. The best technique I felt that the director (Jaume Collet-Serra) used was the fake build up. It usually goes without saying that when someone on screen is in the bathroom with the mirror open, once they go to close it, someone shows up in the reflection unexpectedly. This type of psyching out the audience I felt was great technique because I noticed people around jump even though there was no reason to, Jaume even used the music build up that lead to nothing.

It is very natural for movie goers to become their own Sherlock Holmes at the theater and attempt to come up with the final conclusion of what is happening on screen, and I have to give credit to the writers, the final “ohhh” moment was something that I did not come up with as an explanation for the orphans behavior. All in all I would suggest you do go see the movie, especially if you scare easily.

carole Fantasy, Horror, Thriller

Rated: PG

Runtime: 1 hr. 30 min.

Release date: July 24, 2009

Genre: Action, Adventure, Animated, Sci-Fi, Fantasy

Cast: Bill Nighy, Zach Galifianakis, Sam Rockwell, Penelope Cruz, Tracy Morgan, Nicholas Cage

Producer: Jerry Bruckheimer

G-Force is the first 3-D film to hit the big screen for Jerry Bruckheimer, who teamed up with Disney to produce this combination of live action and well-done animation. These exceptionally natural-looking Guinea Pigs each have a distinct personality and are to be trained by a covert government to work in espionage. Armed with the latest high-tech spy equipment, these highly trained guinea pigs discover that the fate of the world is in their paws.

tapped for the G-Force are guinea pigs Darwin (voice of Sam Rockwell), the squad leader determined to succeed at all costs; Blaster (voice of Tracy Morgan), an outrageous weapons expert with tons of attitude and a love for all things extreme; and Juarez (voice of Penelope Cruz), a sexy martial arts pro; plus the literal fly-on-the-wall reconnaissance expert, Mooch, and a star-nosed mole, Speckles (voice of Nicolas Cage), the computer and information specialist.

I was quite impressed with the 3-d action, the humor is consistent and enjoyable, the story and special effects all work together to boost the overall effect of this film. G-Force is cute and fun and suitable for any age. I Suggest it to all, you will leave the theatre with a nice big smile!

Jenn Action, Adventure, Animation, Family, Fantasy, Sci-Fi 3-D, Animation, Disney, G-force, Guinea pig

Rated: PG

Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy

Release Date: 15 July 2009

Runtime: 153mins

Director: David Yates

Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael Gambon, Dave Legeno, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman

In the sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft, and in both wizard and muggle worlds Lord Volemort and his henchmen are increasingly active. With vacancies to fill at Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledor persuades Horace Slughorn, back from retirement to become the potions teacher, while Professor Snape receives long awaited news. Harry Potter, together with Dumbledore, must face treacherous tasks to defeat his evil nemesis. (Source: IMDB)

carole Fantasy, Sci-Fi

The third film in the Underworld Saga Underworld: Rise of the Lycans goes back hundreds of years to explore the origins of the centuries-old blood feud between the aristocratic vampires known as Death Dealers and their onetime slaves, the Lycans. Rise of the Lycans finally gets to the root of why the vampires and werewolves really can’t stand each other.

Viktor (Bill Nighy) the aristocratic vampire is the ruler. When a Lycan woman has a human baby boy, Viktor resists the urge to kill him. Instead Viktor names him Lucian (played by Michael Sheen) and keeps him as his pet. When Lucian grows up he begins a forbidden romance with Viktors daughter Sonia (Rhona Mitra). When Viktor discovers the truth, he takes drastic steps to ensure that Sonia will never be able to see Lucian again. Lucian retaliates with the Lycan slaves by attacking full force on Viktors kingdom.

Micheal Sheen gives a blazing solid performance as the enslaved hero of Rise of the Lycans. Lucian, you’ll recall from Undeworld the ancient leader of the Lycans. Rise of the Lycans is his origins story.

Without Len Wiseman or Kate Beckinsale attached, I was expecting a straight-to-DVD type knockoff. And, indeed, Rise of the Lycans, from director Patrick Tatopoulos (he did the special effects for the first two flicks) is considerably less stylized that Wiseman’s entries, but that actually works to its advantage. It’s not a particularly memorable film, but for fans of the first two installments of the Underworld trilogy, Rise of the Lycans embodies the same guilty pleasure.

I still enjoyed the first two installments a little more then Rise of the Lycans. Not because it wasn’t entertaining, probably only because I’m a Kate Beckinsale fan and she is not in the third film. Which makes sence, because it goes way back to before the first film.

Jenn Action, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller

So I watch the TV Series True Blood on HBO. I just discovered today another vampire TV Series that premiered in 1997 and was on the air for 2 seasons. The series stems from the movie by David Bowie The Hunger. Good news if you don’t like illegal downloading, the 2 seasons are now available on DVD. Probably only online for now. I haven’t seen any of the episodes yet, but it looks really good, and it was from a 1983 movie, which apparently was really good.
I’m surprised I never heard of the movie or the show. Now that I’ve gotten into vampires I noticed every show and movie that is vampire related… all thanks to Twilight. Loved Twilight. I’ve almost finished reading the series.. on the last book more than halfway through. Then I got into True Blood, the TV Series on HBO. Which to me is such a fantastic show. I think about watching the new episodes before it airs.. I get all excited. Then I started watching older vampire movies that never used to interest me.. Dracula, Interview with the Vampire. I even downloaded a Japanese movie about Vampires, which wasn’t actually that great.
So get on it people. Google search The Hunger and check it out!

Jenn Fantasy, Horror, Thriller David Bowie, The Hunger

Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Drama

Runtime: 60 mins per episode

Director: Alan Ball

Cast: Ana Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Ryan Kwanten, Sam Trammell

Taking a break from movies today, starting its second season this June is True Blood starring Anna Paquin as a waitress from Louisiana named Sookie Stackhouse, who can read people’s minds. I have no doubt in my mind that this show is going to be a hit. The love between a vampire and a human is all the hype these days, especially after all the hysteria of the Twilight saga.

When Sookie finds herself attracted to the 173-year-old vampire Bill Compton (Stephen Moyer), sookie engages in some mysterious surroundings, not unlike Bella’s surroundings in Twilight. One thing that differentiates the series True Blood from Twilight is the fact that the vampires have “come out of the coffin” and they did so on national television, they now live openly in society. Where as in Twilight the vampires are sworn to secrecy and can be executed if exposed.

When Sookie saves Bills life, sparks fly and so the love story between a normal (except for the fact that she can read minds) girl and a vampire begins.

Director Alan Ball (Six Feet Under) has set the stage with this well written series. The lead acting by Ana Paquin is fantastic, as if I wasn’t already impressed with her earlier role in The Piano. Her screen presence and chemistry with actor Stephen Moyer is magnificent.

The series based on the novels of Charlaine Harris (which I will definitely check out), has already won a Golden Globe Award for its first season. Entering its second season premiering Sunday June 14^th at 9PM on HBO, it looks like this series will be around for the long run, unlike so many other series that flop after their first season, or even the first few episodes. Vampire fanatics everywhere must check out True Blood.

Jenn Drama, Fantasy, Horror