star trek

i have never been a huge 'star trek' fan. not that i don't like it, i've just never gotten into it. i've always been more of a 'star wars' guy. that being said, the trailer for the new 'star trek' movie got me really excited.

this movie is good; it is really good. probably the best movie i have watched this year, and a great summer blockbuster. it it instantly accessible for anyone who hasn't watched any 'star trek' in the past (i hadn't).

j.j. abrams crafts the perfect combination of action, humour, and plot. the story isn't far fetched like most epic sci-fi movies tend to be, and is a major strong suit of the film. there really are no weak suits to this movie. this being a largely esemble piece, the acting is outstanding from all the crew members of the USS Enterprise. simon pegg is hilarious and probably my favorite performance, though they all are note worthy. i can see this film being the catalyst for a lot of these young actors to go on and do great things in future projects. what is interesting is that i did not realize that it was eric bana of 'munich' and 'incredible hulk' fame that was the bald tattooed villian.

i recommend this film to all people: people who like good movies, casual fans who like action packed funny blockbusters, and for families. contrary to some belief this is not just for 'trekkie nerds.' while i do think they'll be happy with this film, i would consider abram's version to be a reboot of the franchise, where my generation can enjoy it.

if the sequel(s) are just as good as this one, which i imagine will be the case, i would say that this film is on trek (get it...) to be my generation's 'star wars.' i honestly feel the first installment in on par with those films.

do not wait for it to come to dvd, it is so good on the big screen!

gomorrah

gomorrah is a italian mafia movie set in naples and the surrounding area where the huge crime organization the comorra operates. this is not your glamorized hollywood mafia movie with tons of action. it is shot in a documentary style and is one of the most realistic movies i have watched in quite some time. i felt like i was learning about italian culture and the crime that emcompasses the area, as i watched it.

the trade off with an extremely realistic movie was the lack of action, which i absolutely have no problem with. however, i could see an average movie goer losing some interest in the middle. despite this, i felt the story was fantastic. from the exciting first scene, the movie then built to it's shocking conclusion. likewise, everything in between was fantastic.

the direction was superb as was the acting. the two mischievious kid characters were a bit old for the parts they were playing and it was noticable in the underwear weapon firing scenes. this may have slightly affected any sympathy that viewers may have for them, though i found the fact that they were extremely annoying as my justification for not feeling bad for the trouble they frequently get in.

on the other hand, the story of the other two very young boys who join up with opposing factions of the criminal underworld was very eye opening. those scenes had me reminsce of 'city of god.' this film is like 'city of god,' only more refined, more realistic, and more realized. it's not that this film is any better than 'city of god,' it just goes in a different direction.

watching this film you get the idea that the director truly knows of all the dark dealings that occur in naples, and walking out of the theater was almost like getting a history channel lesson and a good story all at the same time. likewise, the story included enough twists and turns and shocking moments to keep me entertained. not enough can be said about this movie; it is truly a masterpiece that will be definitely hold up to the test of time and be watched for years to come.

adventureland

this movie was directed by greg mottola, who directed 'superbad' and from the trailers you could tell that it was being advertised as the next superbad/judd apatow style comedy. thankfully, however, this movie was much different and deeper than those films.

it was still very funny and made me laugh quite a bit, but a large portion of the movie was serious and dealt with the lead character, played by jesse eisenberg, and his questions on what happens in life after college. since it was largely an autobiographical story of director mottola's life as he worked in the adventureland park after he graduated college, i felt there was a certain sincerity that existed in the film that made it seem very authentic and enjoyable to watch.

jesse eisenberg is a great actor. some may consider him a copy-cat of the other successful awkward actor, michael cera (who was in 'superbad'). eisenberg seems to choose better projects however, as 'the squid and the whale' and 'roger doger' were both great indie films that he starred in. he is definitely an actor that whenever he stars in a film, it instantly has my attention, and i make a point to watch it.

being set in a amusement park, this was largely an esemble piece film and the acting from the different workers was all around solid. bill hader and kristen wiig were especially funny, and kristen stewart was cute as eisenberg's love interest. ryan reynolds seems to excel at always playing a jerk. i absolutely loved the show 'freaks and geeks' and it was cool to see martin starr in this movie.

another cool tidbit about this movie which i personally found exciting, was that it was filmed in 'kennywood amusement park' in pittsburgh, pa, which is close to where i live in pennsylvania. i've been to kennywood on countless occasions and it is nice to think that a big movie has now been shot there.

this is a good film, which i recommend to anyone, especially college-aged students. it is much deeper than the ads and trailers billed it as being, and i can imagine a lot of kids being disapointed by how much focus on plot existed over cheap laughs. that being said, i still felt that many funny moments prevent it from being the least bit boring. i really enjoyed this movie.

watchmen

'watchmen' is on TIME's list of 100 greatest novels of all time. alan moore does such a great job creating his own little dystopian world in all his graphic novels, this being no different. i loved this graphic novel, and was worried about it's translation to the big screen. i am not a fan of zack snyder and his works; i did not like his new 'dawn of the dead,' nor did i like '300.'

despite this i held out hope that this film would be good. the trailer looked awesome and i was hopeful because i heard it was long, meaning a lot from the novel would make it into the movie.

first off, i did not really like the opening credit/picture sequence that everyone seems to be raving about. the scene felt very staged, like i was watching a play where a stage director thought up this idea to convey a sense of time passing. i continued to get the feeling like i was watching a play/musical when i saw the sets. the city sets did not look like actual cities to me, like gotham city did in the dark knight, it looked like a set. watching it i did not get the feeling that the city continued off screen. it was like, what is on screen is all there is.


i found the soundtrack to be terrible. such a serious dark movie should have a symphony/score soundtrack rather than a modern soundtrack that seemed very out of place. cohen's 'hallelujah' during the sex scene actually took me and everyone in the theater out of the experience and produced laughter. a soundtrack should not do this in a such a somber dark tale.

the adaptation was extremely faithful, to a fault. comics, along with every medium such as books, must adapt when coming to the big screen. certain things that appear in the graphic novel are a bit corny and comic book like and should have been adapted or cut out for the movie. the nolan brothers did this perfectly for the 'dark knight.' 'batman' comics can be very cheesy at times, and they left those moments in the comic and instead, translated a very gritty realistic story.

i felt the movie got better as it went along. the actor's performances keep it flowing. Patrick Wilson does a great job. Rorscach was amazing, while the silk spectre was servicable. crudup as dr. mahattan was also fantastic. i loved his performance and every scene where he is on screen. i expected his voice to be different but i found it to work perfectly. it was apathetic like his mind was always somewhere else. awesome. on the other hand, sally jupiter was not good. her scene was very awkward, and it reminded me of a soap opera.

i watched the movie 'the thin red line' a few weeks after seeing this movie, and after viewing it i realized what is missing from 'watchmen.' it's missing a weightiness to the deaths that frequent it. it makes murder and other atrocious events seem so trivial. 'the thin red line' creates such a realistic feeling of people's lives where the viewer feels an immense burden when they do die. 'watchmen' has none of this.

this movie was ok; it is not the epic movie it should be. snyder was not the correct choice to direct this film, and i feel he does the best possible job he could have. it's category of a film is a bit puzzling also, because it does not come across as an art house cinema project, and it passes on the title of popcorn flick because of its immensly dark source material and content. all this being said i'll probably still own this movie because of what it is, a different medium for one of the greatest novels of all time. but honestly, i can't imagine watching it that often.

Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle is one of my favorite directors. I loved shallow grave, trainspotting, the beach, 28 days later, and sunshine. And now his next movie... Slumdog Millionaire. This movie was fantastic, a great love story that had serious moments, sad moments, and often hilarious moments all wrapped up in the adventure of Jamal's transformation from little boy to teenager.

The soundtrack was awesome. A.R. Rahman did an exceptional job. It really captures the spirit of the movie perfectly.
The story is interesting, while the ending/climax had me almost in tears. The movie reminded me of 'city of god' but a lighter version, though it did have its dark moments.

I almost don't want to talk about this movie for fear of ruining it for the reader. You just need to see it. It is definitely the best film of the year and should win the oscar (previously i had 'doubt' as number 1). Families can enjoy it together; it is just for anyone who loves cinema.

Doubt

Phillip Semour Hoffman is a great actor. He always brings a great performance to every picture he stars in. him along with the premise of a catholic school in the '60's fighting change and scandal had me super excited for the movie 'doubt.'

first off, me along with my three friends that attended the movie were by far the youngest people in the theater. the film was a very slow moving character piece that i enjoyed thoroughly. it was very apparent that the film was an adaptation of a play, which i would like to also see.

interactions between all the characters are intense and really what keeps the movie exciting. Meryl Streep and Amy Adams along with Hoffman all bring oscar worthy performances to the table. they are truly that good.

the plot is also a major strong point. it never reveals too much and doesn't give a clear answer to what actually occurred. thus, the title 'doubt' because despite which view of innocent or guilty the viewer leaves the theater with, that little bit of doubt is always present. my friends and i discussed whether or not we feel Hoffman did it or not, he entire way home. this is the mark of a great movie: discussion afterward. before i watched 'slumdog millionaire' i felt 'doubt' was the best movie i saw in 2008.

if you like movies that make you think, with strong performances, or if you like plays with lots of symbolism and meaning, then i suggest you watch this film.

Valkyrie

Way back in the day Bryan Singer was my favorite director. This was when i saw 'the Usual Suspects' the two X-men movies, along with 'Superman Returns.' Needless to say i was pumped to hear that he was headed back to Nazi waters for the first time since 'Apt Pupil' which i also liked.

i'm a big history guy, and was interested to learn more about this particular plot to assasinate the fuhrer. Tom Cruise was solid in the film, nothing spectacular however. Something i really liked about the movie was the technique in how they attempted to explain why noone in the film spoke german or had german accents. it opens with subtitles and german speech and slowly faded to english, having it first overlapping with the german then slowly taking it over completely. so it was basically showing that in the movie the people were talking in german however we could understand it.

like tom cruises performance, the movie itself was good not great. it successfully creates tension particularly in the assasionation scene(s). the problem was that the movie tried too hard to be a thriller and should have focused more on being a drama/oscar worthy movie. it fizzles a bit as a straight forward thriller. more attention should have been spent on Cruises family and kids and what he had at stake in attempting the operation. it is hard for me to feel sad or any of emotion for the safety of his family because we hardly know them. the brutality in the final scene was realistically done and probably my favorite of the movie.

the camera work was excellent and the movie was directed well. the style was good. more substance would have been welcome. All in all, Valkyrie was a good popcorn movie, although i expected a little more from a project by bryan singer.