Flick Chick: movie reviews

Avatar

2009-12-18T10:02:00.000-08:00

When humans discover a planet called Pandora they find a mineral that's worth a large amount of money. The indigenous population is living on top of the largest amount of the mineral and won't move. So what do the humans decide to do? Destroy them, but the scientists working with the operation want to find a diplomatic solution and take the forms of the indigenous people the Na'vi in the form of what they call Avatar's. Jake, a paraplegic jarhead, is assigned to become one of them to get to them to move, but is soon torn between protecting the world he has grown to love or following orders.
The visual effects are stunning. Everything on Pandora glows. It's as if you're looking at a rainbow of glowsticks. Along with the visual effects that draw the eye in the storytelling is incredible as well.
Avatar is an epic fantasy that deserves to be seen by everyone. The acting is superb and the characters are truly engrossing. You'll definately care about them when the movie is through. There are a few points where crying seems appropriate though I managed to keep my eyes dry.
Avatar is rated PG-13 for fantasy violence and language. It gets five out of five

Disney's back with The Princess and The Frog

2009-12-11T13:23:00.000-08:00

What does a quick fix get you? Turned into a frog!
Disney's newest creation The Princess and the Frog centers on a young waitress named Tiana who's only dream is to own her own restaurant just as her father wished to do before he died. When her dreams are shattered by the lack of money she has from her two jobs she meets a talking frog who happens to be Prince Naveen. He was turned into a frog by the Shadow Man: Dr. Facilier. The story was supposed to go: the princess kisses the frog and turns him into a prince, but Tiana and Naveen are in for a surprise when Tiana gets turned into a frog herself. This quick fix has made both of their lives far more complicated, but a surprise lurks at the end of the journey when both Naveen and Tiana realize what you want isn't always what you need.
Along with fun original songs the animation is absolutely stunning! The characters are brought to life in colorful animation that hasn't been seen from Disney in awhile. This movie has a lot of heart and characters that you love.
Disney hasn't created a movie like this in a long time. Ever since they stopped drawing their movies there has been a lack of everything that made Disney Disney. Enough with the computer animation. What this movie has is what all of their recent animated disasters lack: heart, fun and originality. Their last fully animated movie in theaters was Home on the Range: a train wreck of massive proportions. It was a movie that told audiences "Disney's animated treasures are dead." They've redeemed themselves with this remarkable film.
I look forward to anything Disney is going to bring to the table if they can create something as wonderful as this movie which I look forward to seeing again.
The Princess and the Frog is rated G and it gets all the balloons a person could give. 5 out of 5

New Moon: when the vampires go away the wolves will play

2009-11-20T09:50:00.001-08:00

The latest installment of the Twilight saga is definitely better than the last, but still has a few pitfalls that it needs to overcome by the time Eclipse comes out.
When Edward abandons Bella thinking it will protect her she turns into a depressed hermit who sits in her room and doesn't talk to her friends. Her best friend Jacob, however, tries to get her out of it. Things start to get a little better until he discovers he's a werewolf and starts acting angry and strange. After a series of dangerous stunts pulled by Bella Edward thinks she's dead and is planning to die as well. It all ends with a big question hanging in the air that one would think Bella wouldn't hesitate to answer.
As the lead character, Bella is a complete bore. She's far too stupid to admire or like and she is incredibly whiny. Kristin Stewart's acting could use some work. When talking she pauses far too much and shakes her head as if she has epilepsy.
Robert Pattinson didn't do his best either. His acting is stony, unemotional and the way he acts around Bella one would think he actually hates her. There's no love in his movements and, much to my surprise, he doesn't seem to enjoy kissing her either.
Taylor Lautner in his portrayal as Jacob the werewolf definitely lightened up some of the scenes that were heavy handed. When he starts to get angry at everything and his temper becomes a problem he reminds one of the Hulk and when Hulk get mad, Hulk get strong. If he looses control he changes and can't control himself. He was far more interesting than Bella or Edward.
With two pathetic, whiny protagonists it's hard to like seeing either of them in a scene let along root that they should get back together.
The supporting cast was far more interesting than the leads. If it had only been Bella, Edward and Jacob the movie frankly wouldn't have been worth watching. Billy Burke, playing as Bella's father Charlie, was one of my favorites of the film. All of her friends as well were entertaining to watch. More entertaining than anything going on with Bella or Edward.
Their music choice fell short as well. It went with the flow of the movie, but soundtrack wise I can't imagine why anyone would want to drive to these songs or listen to them.
Unlike the first one, New Moon had a better script with much better acting. Chris Weitz, brother to Peter Weitz who directed The Vampire's Assistant that came out earlier this year, does a good job directing. His scenes weren't at all choppy and he created an excellent flow to the movie. The humor in the movie was well used, better than some of the more serious parts.
One thing I would like to have seen done is a little less talk and a lot more action. Two supernatural beings coming together in the woods should result in the ultimate smackdown worthy of WWE, but they do nothing but growl and make threats. The few fight scenes were way too short and not at all that interesting. If you go to this movie in hopes of seeing wolves and vamps in an awesome fight you'll be sorely disappointed. This is a love movie, which it was meant to be, but using vampires and werewolves there should have at least been one amazing fight scene. Fans of the book won't be disappointed, but fans of vampire movies such as The Lost Boys or Underworld won't have much to look forward to.
I give this move three out of five hearts.
New Moon is rated PG-13 for some violence and action(but barely)

Zombieland

2009-11-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

When zombies take over the world what else is there to do but make a list of all the things to do and not to do to survive? Well, that's what Columbus, Ohio did in the zombie comedy Zombieland.
The movie starts out with a teenager explaining what happened when the zombie's attacked and how to survive the plague that now has infected most of mankind. He meets up with another human who has survived and they decided to travel together.
Along with bloody zombie killing the story is entertaining as well. The humor is wasted on nothing and Columbus's explanation on what to do when zombie's are chasing you is the highlight of the movie.
It's a little late, but I just saw it so I thought I'd do a quick review.
I give it five bloody heads and give laughs.
Zombieland is rated R for language and zombie killing

The Vampire's Assistant-better than your average vampire tale

2009-10-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

I admit, I do have a bit of a bias on this film. The Cirque Du Freak: The Saga of Darren Shan is my favorite book series, but the film was so-so. After being psyched for months the first time I saw it was alright, but the second time it was way better.
Darren Shan was a normal kid until his best friend Steve drags him to a freak show in the middle of the night. Along with a snake boy and a woman who can cut off limbs and grow them back, they see an act by a vampire named Larten Crepsley. Mr. Crepsley and his amazing spider enchant Darren, making him go back after the show and steal the spider. When it bites Steve, leaving him on his death bed, Darren must make a deal with Mr. Crepsley: become a half vampire and his assistant to save Steve. When he agrees to it he doesn't know he's setting off a chain of events that lead to a war between the vampires and the vampaneze, a separate faction of the blood sucking creatures of the night.
The story progresses until both friends are at each others throat. Steve hating Darren for taking the life of a vampire away from him and Darren forced to fight his best friend over a misunderstanding.
John C. Reilly, star in Talladage Nights, Chicago, Never Been Kissed, is one of the best actors of the film. No one would've pegged him for a role such as Mr. Crepsley the vampire. He was so out of his element that one wondered if he was going to do any good, thankfully he did a wonderful job. He really got into the character and seemed to enjoy playing him.
Josh Hutcherson, in his role as Steve, was evil and angry playing it perfectly. Even when mutilating his teacher he was fun to watch what he'd turned into over the course of the movie. The only actor not so much on his toes was Chris Massoglia in the stare role of Darren Shan. His acting wasn't as heartfelt as the others and he seemed bewildered through the entire movie though if you'd suddenly been turned into a half vampire I doubt happy and carefree would be your choice of mood.
The film seems a bit choppy at times though it has elements of comedy and supernatural thrown in. Several of the actors, such as Patrick Fugit in his role as Evra Von the snake boy should've been in more of the movie. The movie can't decide what it wants to be which makes it better. It leaves darker elements in it from the books, but also put in a light hearted ending simply because, well, who wants to leave a movie with "yeah, you just started a war. Good job, Darren. Good job." Even with the light hearted ending there's still the amazingly heavy idea that he faked his death to get away from his family and can never see them again.
Despite the short comings of this film its fun to watch, even for devout fans of the book such as myself. Seeing Mr. Crepsley and Steve brought to life is very exciting though I can see how they could've done better. But unlike the Twilight Saga it brings vampires back into their roles as proud creatures of the night rather than sparkling love puppies with very little personality.
The movies is rated PG-13 for strong supernatural violence(the vampires fighting is very cool, especially in the theater. Suck on that Twilight) language and thematic elements. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone younger than fourteen.
I give it three and a half fangs

A Pre-movie Review

2009-10-13T19:10:00.001-07:00

This isn't an actual movie review, think of it as a pre-movie review. In light of my favorite book series being turned into a movie I would like to throw in a little wisdom: do not treat the movie as if it were the book. This movie will be different from the books, the author has said that many times, but it must be judged on its own merits. Just like you can't judge Harry Potter books on the movie, it has to be different because you can do things in books you can't do in movies. I'm looking forward to the movie and have been for some time. I'm a devout fan of the books, but am excited to see what they make of it. I've heard the author loved the movie and I'm certain I will too

Ponyo

2009-08-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hayao Miyazaki is the acclaimed director of many extraordinary films including Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Tortoro, Spirited Away and the more recent Howls Moving Castle. His new movie Ponyo hit theaters this weekend.
Ponyo is about a five year old boy who finds a goldfish in the ocean. The goldfish he names Ponyo wants to be human and unwittingly releases the most powerful force to turn the planet back to when it was covered in water.
The movie is charming with a delightful cast and wonderful animation, but it lacks some of the heart Miyazaki put into his other films. There isn't much character development and its hard to really care about them. Ponyo is a very original tale and fun to watch even if you don't care about the characters as much as his other movies.
Miyazaki is one of the few directors who still animates their movies that are released in theaters; at least ones that are released in America. American animators, unfortunately, left drawing behind long ago for a more boring way to create animated features IE computer animation.
What this movie lacks in heart it makes up for in great animation. It's worth seeing especially since it is one of the only animated features being released this year other than the much anticipated Disney film The Princess and the Frog.
This film gets four out of five balloons and is rated G

District 9: a cut above the ordinary

2009-08-14T20:38:00.000-07:00

If aliens crashed here in need of help would our government take it upon themselves to provide refuge? How would people react to the new species? What would our government do to these aliens? These questions are answered in the stunningly original and fantastic District 9.
The movie begins like a documentary about when aliens accidentally landed in our atmosphere and their ship broke down. At first we helped them, then things began to turn ugly. Confined to District 9 the aliens were treated worse than animals. People thought them stupid and much like a plague who could be scammed, experimented on and killed at their will.
All the aliens want to do is go home.
This movie is done so well everything that happens to them makes you want to cry. All of the horrible things they go through makes you feel angry even if this is a work of fiction.
Despite the horrible conditions the aliens find help in a government agent named Wikus who has been exposed to their technology and is turning into one of them.
At the beginning of the movie it is played like a documentary, but halfway through it stops being a documentary and then at the end it starts back up again. The way they shift between the two story telling mediums is flawless and ingenious.
The story is original and, honestly, if aliens did crash land here I have no doubt that this would be the result.
District 9 is the best sci-fi alien movie made in recent years. I look forward to more of Neill Blomkamp's films.
I give it six out of five flying saucers for this wonderful movie.
Disctrict 9 is rated R for bloody violence and pervasive language

How To Be. . .a quirky, original film

2009-08-11T20:34:00.000-07:00

Self help is a book and television phenomena. Dr. Phil and all his books have their own section, but rarely is there ever a story about the people who buy these kind of books. How To Be is the story of the person that buys the self help books.
His name is Art.
He's having a quarter life crisis and in need of some self-help. He's a struggling musician who's life consists of a dead-end job at a supermarket, a failing relationship, and parents who think his very existence is an "oxymoron." So Art hires a self-help writer from Canada who wrote a book called "It's Not Your Fault." He hopes this will help him become normal.
Ultimately this is a movie about realizing that what you love in life, no matter if it makes you money or not, is the most important thing. You should be doing what you love because it's what gives you purpose no matter what anyone else thinks about it.
Along with subtlety this movie relies all on dialogue between the characters and their environment. Small snip-its of Art's life seem almost choppy, but work in this film to help you see what kind of person he is.
Art is a completely relateable character. Even through his pathetic attempts at self help you can see a bit of yourself in everything he does.
This movie is one of the best independent films I've seen in a long time. It had comedy but subtle at most points and screaming out loud in others.
This film gets five big laughs and it was completely endearing.
How To Be is not yet available in the US and, unless you buy a no region DVD player, are going to have to wait until it comes out in the US which might not be for awhile. It's rated PG-13 for language and mature situations

The Collector doesn't collect on much

2009-08-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

Having just seen the movie The Collector I have to say I'm very disappointed. The plot of the movie is a guy is torturing and killing people in a house that a man breaks into to rob. He ends up trying to save them and stop the guy.
The ending is predictable, it ends like every saw movie does, the gore isn't interesting nor is it fun to watch, the acting is good but the only one worth watching is John Stewart who plays Arkin, the man trying to stop The Collector. The plot is simple and not at all interesting. The statement about how the Collector "collects people" brings one to think "why?" and "does he just carry them around in that box?" and again "why?" Also he seems to have a fascination with bugs but kills them for a living. . .why? The movie brings up more questions than it solves
As the writers of a few of the Saw movies I expected way more from this movie. Saw has a plot, more gore that's fun to watch, and great acting from one Tobin Bell. The villian is also less interesting than a box of mustard. The Collector isn't worth the eight dollars you're going to pay should you go at night and is not playing in many theaters for a good reason.
I see why Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures weren't behind this film, it's not worth the money though the music is good.
I give it half a fang, maybe even less than that it was quite boring and I don't enjoy seeing a cat and a dog getting killed

GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra

2009-08-09T12:05:00.000-07:00

Bad guy creates weapons to destroy the world, good guys have to stop him. It's a pretty simple concept that works for a lot of movies, especially super hero movies.
In GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra a special ops team known as GI Joe must stop an evil organization who is working with an arms dealer from destroying the world. It makes a very entertaining movie.
Cobra Commander is oddly played by one Joseph Gorden Levitt(that's right, Tommy from 3rd Rock from the Sun) but he pulls it off, as does Christopher Eccleston(who played the 9th doctor in Englands popular Doctor Who television series) who plays McCullen/Destro, Cobra Commander's right hand man.
So far I've heard nothing but bad news from the critics. I can see why the studio kept this movie from them. I don't know what they went in and expected to see. GI Joe is based off of a Hasbro toy and sometimes very corny show. Were they expecting a psychologically compelling thriller/action movie? Yes. They went in expecting more than was there. GI Joe is a great movie, its fun and brings a cartoon to the big screen in a story that works.
As in the title this movie is about the rise of Cobra Commander and his team. Did they expect this movie to be serious? Because it was supposed to be fun, but critics often miss the point of most movies which is to go in, have fun watching it, and don't over think it. Stop analyzing the movie and just have fun.
GI Joe: The rise of Cobra is rated PG-13 for violence and mayhem throughout
I give it 3 out of 5 guns

The Rating System for My Reviews

2009-08-09T09:42:00.001-07:00

Here is how the rating system for this blog works.
Action movies are rated in guns
horror/scary: fangs
chick flicks: hearts
comedy's: laughs
children movies(anything G or PG): balloons
Fantasy: unicorns
Documentary's: film reels
Based on True Stories: stars
Based on books: books

That's all I can think of at the moment so if I think of any more genre's I will update