The Untouchables Review

The Untouchables staring Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia, Sean Connery and Robert Di Niro takes a look back at one of Americas most notorious crime bosses known as Al Capone. The Untouchables tells the story of how a group of federal agents led by newly appointed officer Eliot Ness (Costner) track down and expose infamous gang leader Al Capone (Di Niro). Ness is joined with veteran officer Jim Malone (Connery), rookie agent George Stone (Garcia), as well as a federal accountant Oscar Wallace (played by Charles Martin Smith).
Untouchables exploits some key events including many liker raids, gang strikes, and the Al Capone court case. Sean Connery is stupendous in his role playing both the mentor and supporting character sharing the spotlight with Garcia. Costner does well but has had better productions, at times he seems he is just spitting out lines and does nothing in particular to better his character but simply play the standard up straight hero (see The Body Guard and Robin Hood for other examples).
Though it is nothing compared to other more previous gangster films such as The Godfather, The Untouchables still holds its own in making itself a classic of the genre.    

The Hurt Locker Review

 

An edge of your seat intense drama that will bring you to your knees with fear, sadness, respect, and joy. Winner of 6 Oscars including Best picture and Best Director Katherine Bigelow The Hurt Locker tells the story of and elite Army Bomb squad and the terrors of war they encounter together. Bigelow masterfully sets the stage making one feel they are in the middle of everything and experiencing the emotions of war at first hand. The acting was magnificent, the effects were amazing and at times disturbingly realistic. The story keeps you wanting to see more and more it keeps itself well balanced between the pros and cons against Iraq but more focuses on the addiction and rush an American soldier might get during his time of duty. You see the maturity one also gains through going through such experiences. I enjoyed much of this film, it left a cathartic sense with me as to how real this conflict really is and how I found I could easily connect with either one of the three main characters.

With it's magnificent story telling, brilliant acting, and masterful directing the Hurt Locker leaves nothing to fault bringing it up there with other great war drama films such as Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, and We Were Soldiers.

Event Horizon Review

 

A sci-fi horror in tradition with it's predecessors such as the Alien series and Sphere. After losing contact with the deep space ship called Event Horizon 7 years prior when it was lost through a black hole, the crew of the S.S. Lewis and Clark find themselves investigating the remains of the same ship in order to find out what had happened. At first what appears to be empty and no sign of personnel the crew soon realize the Event Horizon has not only been to the far reaches of the universe but has not come back alone. Though in many ways shares a similar story to the 2002 film Solaris, Event Horizon is much easier to follow and is extremely more graphic and gory to it's extreme. The pacing is a bit choppy at first but seems to even out in the middle and then overdoes itself in the final act. Acting performances by both Laurence Fishburne (Matrix) and Sam Neil (Jurassic Park) are wonderful for what material they are working with. The story itself is fine and fun for a good popcorn horror.

Event Horizon though predictable and overdoes itself in many ways is not a bad film and is rather enjoyable for its case, I however will say it is a film that you have to be in the mood for and with appropriate audience. Visually striking and excellent makeup Director Paul Anderson has much potential to making a better piece in the future. 

Toy Story 3 Review

After seeing this film now two times I am still yet amazed by the masterful storytelling and memorable visual presentation Pixar brings to the screen again and again. Woody and Buzz are back yet again for the third installment of this wonderful franchise after more than ten years since its predecessor and more than fifteen since its launch. Toy Story still brings us to a wonderful world of joy and entertainment. A rare treat in sequels. This time the gang could be at the end of the trails as their lifetime friend and owner Andy is preparing to go off to college. The toys soon find themselves donated by accident to a local daycare which at first seems like a great retirement get away but soon turns into a dark nightmarish prison where toys are tortured by over energized toddlers. Now the toys with the help of some new friends and few new obstacles must find their way out using as many spoofed prison break scenes as possible. 

Reuniting Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Toy Story 3 stands strong as a sequel but also as a film of its own with it's catchy and original storyline that keeps you entertained from beginning to finish. My only complaint about this film was that at times toward the end I found myself wondering if this were to be the end. Are they going to roll the credits and by the time the ending scene finally made itself clear I felt it overdid itself but that's what you expect for an ending of such a cherished story and a moving on for another.

Inception Review

 

Ever wonder what it would be like to be in someones dream? From the creative mind that brought Batman back to life in Batman begins and Dark Knight as well as showed us the logic of magic in The Prestige, Director Christopher Nolan shows us exactly what could happen if that were possible.

Inception is a beautifully well made masterpiece. Christopher Nolan has done it yet again pulling us into a world of imagination and suspense. A weird yet fascinating tale that will keep you up thinking all night afterward.

Staring Leonardo DiCaprio who plays the character with a past who we know as nothing more than Cobb. DiCaprio plays the role very well and surprises us once more on how far he has come in his personal career. Inception dives us into a tale of twists and turns that leave you without a clue of what is happening until the end but it is worth seeing and is by far one of the best of 2010. 

Predators Review

 

Produced by Robert Rodriguez (Sin City and El Mariachi) and directed by Nimrod Antal (Armored and Vacancy) Predators is exactly what it appears to be, though not a Oscar winning masterpiece brings us a sense of thrill and excitement. A good popcorn flick for anyone who is a fan of science fiction horror or the original Predator film. With the help of an all star cast including academy award winner Adrian Brody Predators brings to the screen a good fun film that is definitely worth renting. It's nothing new that we haven't seen before nor does it have any crazy twists and turns that you would expect in a modern film such as this one. Predators is very straight forward with action sequence after another with very little character development but is a fun flick when in the mood. When a group of the most deadliest of our world are transported to their world, they soon discover that they are in a game preserve and that they're the game. With no way out and nothing to do but run and survive the group must endure this hell doing what ever it takes. Very predictable in many ways following a standard format of storytelling. You could almost guess in the beginning who will live and who will die. The predator looks as good as it did before bringing back a more creepier and thrilling character from the original Predator than the Alien vs. Predator. In conclusion Predators is by far better than AVP and though it has many of the same attributes of the first yet still lacks in originality and development.

Avatar Review

This is my first blog so hopefully this turns out how I want it.
 James Cameron's Avatar is a magical film of dazzling animation and superb storytelling. A classic in its own time setting it's place among other Cameron science fiction tales as that of The Terminator, The Abyss, and Aliens. Avatar also challenges that of popularity such as Star Wars, Star Trek, and Star Gate. Written, directed, and produced by Cameron who makes his big come back in major motion pictures since his last film Titanic. Cameron does it again in bringing a visual masterpiece to the screen. A simple yet intriguing story of the human invasion on a the deep space moon called Pandora who's inhabited by the native creatures called the Na'vi. Marine Jake Sully payed by Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation) is given the opportunity after losing the ability of his legs to be placed in a coincided Na'vi body called an Avatar in which he would be able to walk and run as if he had never lost his leg ability. Jake takes on the project and finds himself among the real natives who choose to teach him their ways. In the end both the defenseless Na'vi and the greedy powerful humans face off in the final battle for control of the moon and it's resources. The film also stars Zoe Saldana (Star Trek, The Terminal), Sigourney Weaver (Alien, Galaxy Quest), and Stephen Lang (Public Enemies, God's and Generals). I really enjoyed this film and would refer it to anyone who enjoys classic science fiction. The storyline is easy to follow and the acting is well done. It's great to see Sigourney Weaver in a science fiction, Sam Worthington is great for his role, and Zoe Saldana is beautiful. Avatar not only is wonderful to look at but is entertaining as well.