I felt that The Dark Knight was if only just a tiny bit less entertaining than the first film Batman Begins, but by just slightly which isn't bad because it is still in the same league as the first one. Nolan continued to bring his flare to his version of Batman in The Dark Knight trilogy. Bale, Freeman, Caine, and Oldman all turned in great performances again in this sequel and with the addition of Eckhart and Ledger which also had great performances as well the cast was excellent and the story line was engaging to watch. Ledger did amazing work bring the role of The Joker to a new darker direction unlike anything seen before.
Iron Man was an excellent start for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel had pulled off a remarkable feat by taking their superheroes and started making their own movies in house, and they did it well. Iron Man (with the exception of Nolan's Batman movies and Spider-Man 1 & 2 [not the 3rd one]) is a fine example of what every superhero genre film needs to be. It had a great story line and amazing action scenes along with a great cast. Robert Downey Jr. was an excellent choice to play Tony Stark. I also enjoy how Marvel is making these movies with a thought out plan connecting this film with other superhero films' creating a franchise unlike anything has been seen in the movie business.
The Incredible Hulk is by far the weakest link in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise thus far for the five films that were released before The Avengers. This new version of the Hulk compared to the previous Hulk film that was released in 2003 (with Eric Bana as the lead and directed by Ang Lee) had a much darker and deeper tone to the story. By comparison between both Hulk films, The Incredible Hulk (2008) was a big improvement over The Hulk (2003). The story line and action scenes along with the directing of the 2008 Incredible Hulk film were all superior to the 2003 Hulk film which is a step in the right direction. Comparing The Incredible Hulk to the other four Marvel movies pre-The Avengers is a different story. Overall the story line and casting failed. Even though it was better than the 2003 film, it was still a bit hard to keep my interest going through the film. Also even though Norton is a brilliant actor I had a hard time believing he could be Bruce Banner, and the same could be said for Tyler as Betty Ross. The only people who I thought did their roles well were the villains (Roth, Hurt, and Nelson). Besides the darker tone in this film I thought the action scenes were top-notch; that finale climax fight scene was epic. Other than that, The Incredible Hulk just an OK film not as great as the other Avenger franchise films.
I never really watched the first three films, only bits and pieces here and there so I can't really compare. I did think the ending was a bit over board to have in this franchise.
In my opinion the best of Judd Apatow's movies. I thought it was hilarious and more entertaining to watch over other movies like Superbad, Knocked Up, and The 40 Year Old Virgin.
This film has a surprisingly decent story line and was very entertaining and interesting to watch. The cast in this film turned out great performances. It felt fresh and original; a good concept. I really enjoyed this film.
Captain America: The First Avenger is a great solid origin story. When it came to Marvel superheroes I never really cared for Captain America; Iron Man and Thor were my top favorite of the Marvel roster. With that said I have to admit that this film was very entertaining and enjoyable. The story line was great with some action thrown in -- but not a whole lot, and Chris Evans and the rest of the cast were awesome. This film was a great addition to the new Marvel Cinematic Universe that Marvel is creating.
I really enjoyed the movie. The action scenes were great, and the special effects were pretty sweet to look at. The story line however, it felt a little weak and it could have been better. Nonetheless, I was still entertained. A good watch.
If I had to sum up M:I IV in two words it would be "Mission: Accomplished", just like Ethan Hunt uttered towards the end of the film. Mission: Impossible IV Ghost Protocol was even more impressive then the last one, and the two before that; easily making it my favorite in the whole film franchise. Not only did it have a great story line plot, it was suspenseful, thrilling, and action packed. As with Mission: Impossible III you can definitely tell J.J. Abrams mark on the film; the dude knows how to make great movies.
Underworld: Awakening in my opinion wasn't the best in the series, but at the same time wasn't a bad film. It took a step back from the heavy mythology of the previous films and ramped up the action much more. I guess they are done telling the story of the history of Vampires and Werewolves and are starting to tell a different story of them in the present which I'm not against. I'll be looking forward to the next one.
(This review was written when this film was first released.)
Honestly I couldn't ask for a better Avengers film! Everyone in the cast fit together nicely with each other and Mark Ruffalo did a great job as the new Hulk replacement. The action was top-notch and the story line mixed in with some comedy parts was perfect for the film. I saw this film in 3D at the midnight release in America and heard from some of the people overseas that the 3D wasn't that great, but I would have to disagree. I thought the 3D conversion was done very well compared to other films I've seen in 3D. The Avengers is by far my favorite superhero film off all time, in fact I'll even go as far as my personal favorite movie period. My only problem with this film is that Marvel now has set the bar pretty high and I hope future Marvel films don't suffer from it. As fresh as this film is I really can't comment on some of the good stuff without spoiling the film, but this film definitely lives up to the hype; it is a must see!
If there is only one little thing I'll nitpick about is that I wish there were more action scenes. They seemed to lack somewhat in this film, or they weren't as great as I was expecting them to be. The Dark Knight Rises is more character and story driven than the previous films which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Don't get me wrong besides that one little nitpick I thought the film was extremely excellent and Nolan continues to make great superhero films. As I said, The Dark Knight Rises has a great story line, all the cast were amazing, and above all else I loved the cameos and nods to all the previous films in the franchise. Without a doubt The Dark Knight Rises exceeds its predecessors and is the best in the trilogy (which is difficult for a third film in a trilogy to do) and it is a darn shame there will not be another film in the Nolan's Batman universe.
Man on a Ledge was surprisingly good. It was entertaining and thrilling. It kept me on the edge of my seat a little bit at the end. I went into the theater with my brain turned off and with low expectations, and it helped me enjoyed the film more than it would have if I came in with high expectations. Take the movie for what it is, mindless fun. Don't over think it while you watch it. It was a great watch.
The only good part about this movie was that it had Denzel Washington and Ryan Reynolds. Don't get me wrong, I liked the film. I thought the action scenes were really entertaining and loved every minute of them, but I didn't think this movie was as great as Denzel's other films like "Inside Man", and "Unstoppable". I also thought "Déjà Vu" and "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3" were better than this.
I thought it was hilarious, and a very entertaining film. I thought all three leads were great, the action scenes were fun to enjoy, and the comedy were funny at times. I never went into the movie expecting anything great, and what I got in return was an enjoyable time at the theater. Just take it for what it is, mindless entertainment.
I'm a little confused on what I just saw. I have a hard time hating superhero films because I love them all, despite the fact that Superman Returns and Green Lantern was awful I tried to find some kind of entertainment out of them, but Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance was just horrible. I'm a fan of both Crank films, but I don't believe the directors of those films should have been the directors of Ghost Rider 2. Their filming technique doesn't mix well for a superhero film. On top of the bad directing of the film, I felt like the story line was complete garage. Even more so, only 3D showings of the movie was playing in my area, I would have had to drive out of my county if I wanted to see it in 2D, so I didn't have much of a choice, but if you do decide to see it, don't see it in 3D if you have the choice, it was bad.
The first film Clash of the Titans like most films that has a sequel is better than this film. I felt like Wrath of the Titans was just an OK movie. It wasn't great, and it wasn't awful either. I never saw Clash of the Titans in 3D so I can't comment on the difference in 3D effects between the two; special effects had improved though. The story line in the film felt boring to me at times, and it could have used a couple of more action scenes in there.
In my opinion American Reunion is the second best in the American Pie series just below the second film; better than the rest. Seeing the entire original cast back even if some of them were only on the screen for no more than minute felt very nostalgic, and American Reunion did a wonderful job playing off of it. If you are a fan of the series then you will love this film. This film was hilarious, and had a lot of good heart. As mostly others are saying, American Reunion is a very satisfying conclusion to the American Pie series.
I had a lot of fun watching this film; I don't understand why people hate on it so much. Battleship was an excellent popcorn flick through and through. Yeah the story line was light but the special effects and action scenes were amazing and I found myself cheering for us (the human race) a couple of times throughout the film. There is just one scene in the whole movie which mirrors the game this film is based off of, but besides that one small scene nothing else about the game Battleship is used in the movie except for the title of the film. Instead everything else about this film is your typical science fiction/alien attack movie. As far as the acting goes, you can't go wrong with Liam Neeson and Alexander Skarsgård; Rihanna should just stick with her music career, and Taylor Kitsch was just OK for the lead, but I felt like they should of got someone else for the part. All in all, Battleship is a solid entertaining summer popcorn flick.
Men in Black III is different than the other two films before it. I thought it was not as good as the first film, but much better than the second one. The 3rd film in the franchise is a little darker than its predecessors which was alright, but was missing that humor from the first film. It kept me entertained throughout the film, but at the same time I was hoping for more to happen like more action scenes which Men in Black III lacked in a little.
In all honesty when I heard just after only a few years after the release of the third Spider-Man film of the Sam Raimi trilogy that they were going to reboot the franchise I was a bit angry. Yeah Spider-Man 3 kind of sucked, but both Spider-Man 1 and 2 were solid great films. Both films were so great I'd like to think Sam Raimi help set the bar that every superhero film has to met or excel higher than it. I thought for sure they were going to make a forth in the franchise. Alas they went ahead with the reboot, and I must say - Thank you! The Amazing Spider-Man was a great change of pace from the original Sam Raimi trilogy. Marc Webb did an excellent job and the cast were all amazing. I felt the entire film was much better in every way (although it could have used some more action scenes) than the Raimi trilogy, much better. I'm looking forward to the next films in the new trilogy and helpfully if Avi Arad can get Sony and Disney together in a room we could see Garfield playing his version of Spider-Man in the next Avengers film - Hey, I can dream can't I? (I actually wrote this review back when this film was first released. 10 years later after No Way Home, I can't believe this dream became real is so many ways!)
I was kind of disappointed with this film. It seemed like to me they substituted action scenes for more dialogue. I am though a fan of Renner and love most of the movies he has been in; he is definitely making his way to become a super action star. With that said his Aaron Cross is no Jason Bourne and because of this I felt the film was missing something great. You really can't do a Bourne film without Damon's Jason Bourne in it, it just isn't the same. While the action was geared down in favor for the story, I also felt the plot line was a little weak as well and wasn't compelling as the original trilogy.
Chronicle took me off guard and blew me away. It is the best "found footage" movie in my opinion, more enjoyable then Cloverfield was. It is a little slow to pick up, but once you get to the point when they get their abilities it picks up. It was funny, dark, and thrilling. Some of the scenes when they are using their abilities are a lot better than most superhero films I have seen. All around it was a fun movie that I loved a lot. I highly recommend this film! Go see it!
I thought it was like a female version of the Bourne movies with the filming of the movie mirroring the Ocean's movies with the flashbacks showing more story of how things came together and the locations they were in, as well as some of the music reminded me of the Ocean's films. Which doesn't shock me as much as the guy who directed this movie, also directed the Ocean's films. Though, while I did think it was like a female version of Bourne in away, but by all means I don't think it was a good as the Bourne movies were. Haywire's story was less compelling, but the action scenes was great enough to keep my attention in the film.
Good fun movie to rent. I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it either.
Don't believe the bad reviews about this film. Act of Valor is an excellent movie through and through. I do agree with most of the other reviewers that the acting does suck most of the time, but you have to remember and keep in mind that these "actors" are real Navy SEALS. They didn't go and get an acting career. They joined the military. If you peel away the acting you are going to get a decent story and some of the best non-CGI action scenes. I haven't seen any non-CGI action scenes better than this; it was great and felt real. The action scenes were top-notch. On top of all that... Yes, this film was pretty much a feature length long recruitment video; but nonetheless, it was really entertaining.
I thought the movie was over rated, over hyped. I found myself a little bored watching some of the film. I have seen much better war movies than this. I read another reviewers comment, he said "...first 10 minutes are good the rest the same". He was actually right nothing really changes. The story line was weak. There is no way this film should have deserved the Oscars they received.
Coming from a guy who doesn't mind seeing chick flicks; it wasn't that bad, but also very predictable.
Had good special effects, was lightly entertaining, and had a bad story line. Despite the latter two of the three, I have seen worst films then this. I only gave it an extra star because of the lead actor from Stargate Atlantis and for the bad story line this movie had I was a little shocked that the special effects were at least decent (not great, but decent).
Taking a step back and comparing this film to other films based off of books (Harry Potter; Twilight); I would have to say The Hunger Games turned out to be a better enjoyable film then those other two series. While I felt like the story line at the beginning of the film was lacking a bit, the acting was much better than anything I have seen in the other series. Once "The Hunger Games" started in the film is when the movie started to pick up a bit in my opinion and after the film was over it got me intrigued to see what happens next in the next two films. Overall, I have seen better films so far this year in 2012, but I also have seen much worse than this and I enjoyed The Hunger Games.
