Posts Tagged ‘reviews’
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Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol Review
Dormant since the third entry in the series arrived in 2006 - that one helmed by J.J. Abrams garnered good audience and critical response - Mission: Impossible returns and with rookie live-action director Brad Bird of Pixar fame. What materializes is arguably the best of the franchise delivering some tremendous action sequences coupled with a credible story that elevates it beyond just being a series of incredibly impressive set pieces. (more...)...
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Review: Real Steel
Real Steel will likely be described by many as "Rocky with robots" and that isn't too far off from the central themes that drive the emotions and plot developments. What the film does really well though is balance a family dynamic with the robot boxing action - blending the typical inspirational sports story with a futuristic scenario and relatable characters. It's brilliantly handled and leads to some of the most crowd-pleasing moments I've ever experienced in theater - creating the disctin...
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Review: Moneyball
Moneyball is based on the true story of Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane and the revolutionary way he began to make personnel decisions in 2002. Adapted from the novel written by Michael Lewis, who also penned the highest grossing sports-themed movie of all time with The Blind Side, it has all the elements of a big hit except it is less reliant on making a powerful emotional attachment. Instead it trades that for a general theme of touting the underdogs and a reliance on statistics an...
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Review: Warrior
Despite MMA's rising prominence it has generally been treated as an "underground" sport in films. That changes with Warrior, a movie that takes the familiar inspirational sports story with family conflict and intertwines that with an MMA tournament that carries large significance for the main characters. The fight action is authentic - though obviously some moments and results were played up for dramatic purposes - and in doing so it presents the sport in a legitimate fashion and one that tr...
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Review: Contagion
An alarming  portrayal of a viral outbreak and its fallout Contagion is essentially a real life horror story - one that very well could prompt concern of a scenario that is unfortunately not far fetched. A fast spreading disease appears out of no where making its way through the population and the movie follows a handful of characters and their different perspectives and circumstances. Expertly orchestrated by director Steven Soderbergh Contagion feels a lot like like an independent fil...
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Review: 30 Minutes or Less
30 Minutes or Less takes a more comedic approach to a scenario that tragically took place in 2003 when a pizza delivery man claimed he was abducted and forced to rob a bank while strapped with a bomb that exploded killing him. Though the producers claim there is no connection to that story it is tough to ignore the similarities. Surprisingly however the film doesn't treat the situation itself as a laughing matter. While the character interactions are often funny the underlying severity of th...
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Review: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Rise of the Planet of the Apes may be the first film of the summer that has surpassed reasonable expectations and delivered a completely compelling story along with amazing special effects and credible suspense. Make no mistake this is anything but a cheap capitalization on a known franchise but instead works exceptionally well as a standalone movie that will leave audiences hoping that the journey can continue beyond the satisfying conclusion. The story begins with a geneticist (James Fr...
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Review: Captain America
Captain America has one of the stronger origin stories in the Marvel universe. That resulted in hope for the project which despite some concerns along the way holds even more importance considering it acts as the lead-in to The Avengers. Going back to a different period with World War II allowed the story to escape some of the SHIELD pitfalls that resulted in criticism in the others while establishing an emotional component given where the story inevitably heads. (more...)...
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Review: Horrible Bosses
Three men plot to have their superiors eliminated in the comedy Horrible Bosses. Played with effortless nature by Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day, the guys are out of their element as they conspire to find a solution to their misery. Unfortunately the film never really seems to nail down the driving forces behind the characters and its accompanying tone despite the laughs. (more...)...
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Review – Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The original Transformers is one of my favorite movies and I feel no shame in admitting that. The nostalgia factor of seeing the adaptation of a show I loved growing up captured me completely and the visuals and action scenes were stunning to witness. Expectation levels were different then, when it exceeded them, compared to the sequel which was primed for a let down. Revenge of the Fallen lost everything that made the first so great as even the action sequences were too convoluted to follow...
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