Quick Description

Hate movie spoilers? Good! You'll get straight to the point, quick, and spoiler-free movie reviews to help you spend your time and money wisely on movies. I'll give you the Good, the Bad, the Reason, and the Rating about each movie. ***Please disable any popup blockers***

Friday, March 28, 2014

Noah Moive Review (2014)




The Good: The visuals were really great throughout the film. The camera work and special effects were just captivating to watch. The hints of supernatural occurrences were subtle and did not overtake the movie, but were just enough to know that something "else" was at work. The action scenes are actually pretty good too. Who knew Noah could kick butt? "The Watchers" may remind you of the old 1980 claymation movies, but they were very intriguing to watch nevertheless. Oh and Anthony Hopkins' character was a nice bit of unexpected comic relief.

The Bad: Probably the most debated issue will be the story. The vast majority of people will walk into the movie carrying a certain expectation of the movie and may feel some type of way. afterwards. So it will be a toss up whether or not the average movie goer will enjoy the "alternative directions" this movie takes. The movie is about 2+hours but it does cover a lot of material.

The Reason: This movie was "inspired" by the Biblical tale of Noah. It is NOT a direct adaptation of the movie. That in itself will make this kind of difficult to review because any time you mix religious stories with "Hollywood artistic interpretation", you probably will have a mess on your hands. Despite the fact that this version of the movie Noah strays away from the Biblical text, and loosely utilizes the apocryphal books (like the book of Enoch), it wasn't a completely bad movie. I believe that the movie will gain whatever success due to the perceived controversy and not because of the actual movie's content. In other words, you'll probably be tempted to see it just to see what all the fuss is about. My recommendation would be this: If you wish to see a depiction of the Biblical story of Noah, do not bother with this movie. You will be disappointed. If you don't mind watching an alternative version of a "generic flood story" (that hijacks the name Noah for the sake of notoriety), then feel free to watch this as a matinee or wait for the rental. IMAX is not necessary.

The Rating: 6.5/10

Monday, March 17, 2014

Need For Speed Movie Review





The Good: You've gotta love the cars. The car chases and racing were probably the best highlights of the movie. Gamers will appreciate the various 1st person, driver views just like they have in the actual game this movie was adapted from.

The Bad: Right off the bat, you can tell that the storyline is pretty basic and predictable. The acting was pretty cheesy and the comic relief was forcibly chuckle-worthy at most. Outside of Aaron Paul (Jessie from Breaking Bad), you probably won't really care too much about the characters. The 3D visuals were practically non-existent and seemed like a complete false advertisement.

The Reason: This movie was made primarily for two people: Car fanatics, and hardcore video gamers who loved the Need for Speed series. Outside of that, I don't believe that the average movie goers will really appreciate what the film was trying to do. All the car models and spec references may just fly over your head except for "Yeah, this car goes really fast", or "There are only 3 made in the world." Unfortunately this did end up being a Fast & Furious minus the star power, and the budget for better special effects. I do not recommend seeing this movie unless if you fall into one of the two categories I previously mentioned. Do NOT waste your money on seeing this in the theaters nor should you dare pay for it in 3D. This is a rental at best.

The Rating: 6/10

Friday, March 7, 2014

300 Rise of an Empire Movie Review (2014)




The Good: The visuals and 3D special effects deliver as expected. There's plenty of action from beginning to end to keep you on the edge of your seat. Oh and of course, there's an infamous "SPARTAN KICK!!" that fans of the previous film will enjoy. One intriguing element in this film was the unique naval battle strategies demonstrated with the Athenian ships. Another unique element was the strong female villain Artemisia (played by Eva Green). Her character was perfectly matched against the story's hero, Themistokles, which made all of their head-to-head battles more than worth watching. (Especially during their "negotiations") She was just as smart, strong, and powerful as her male counterparts. The plot was also nice because it wasn't a prequel, or a sequel, but more of a parallel story to the previous movie.

The Bad: Obviously, there's tons of violence in this movie, and with that comes gallons of blood. The blood is constantly thrown in your face (via 3D effects), and the CGI kind of makes it look a bit cartoonish. It's nothing terrible, just a little distracting.
Unlike in the previous 300, the lead character Themistokles (played by Sullivan Stapleton) just isn't as strong of a lead compared to King Leonidas (played by Gerard Butler). Granted they were two different types of leaders within the storyline, but for the sake of the movie, his character seemed like it could've been played by anyone.

The Reason: If you LOVED 300, then you'll probably really like this sequel. There's no need to rush to watch the previous film to catch up, because this film brings you up to speed since it is a parallel storyline. I would highly recommend watching it in IMAX and/or 3D just because this movie was made to be experienced, rather than just watched. Please be advised that this movie is rated R for a reason. There's strong sexual content (including suggested rape), adult language, and a lot of gore. There are no extra bonus scenes at the end of the credits. This is a definite go see in my book.

The Rating: 9/10