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wangwang714

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11 reviews in total

White House Down offers very little that's new or interesting. It's a convoluted mess that's caught in no man's land. It takes itself far too seriously yet offers ridiculous action (ridiculous as in dumb, not as in wild or fun) and even more ridiculous characters. It wants to be taken seriously but functions in bizarre surroundings with a foolish plot. A calamity of underdeveloped ideas, half the film is flat out brain damaged and the other half is pure schlock. Do yourself a favor and avoid this dumb and actually boring farce.

This movie simply can't stand on its own as a film. Does often joyless, dark and dumb appeal to even the popcorn crowds? The rest of us want way more in our summer movies.

The first hour is a meandering, repetitive mess but at least it was interesting to a point. Its only redeeming quality is the fact that Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner are great actors in any setting. Too bad even that can't save this movie. The second half of this movie plays out like a moody and idiotic video game. The changes they made to cannon are annoying but not half as annoying as the terrible story they tried to hammer home as better than the Superman mythos we already know. Is that arrogance to think they knew better or stupidity? Either way, this is just a bad movie experience, period.

Sometimes updates on old stories work out wonderfully. Batman Begins and Incredible Hulk, for example, got a lot of things right and are great examples. They help make the reboot idea a good one. Sometimes they're a train wreck, however, and Man of Steel is a sad example of that. This movie may have more action than the awful Superman Returns but it actually gets more wrong than right. It does rehash old Superman glory. It forges its own path but that path is so far down the wrong road that maybe another rehash wouldn't have been so bad after all. Trying so hard to go in a different direction, they really did crash and burn. Word of mouth is going to be awful from the non-fanboys. Overall, I have to say there're some fine performances here but little else to make this movie worth watching.

Green Lantern is little more than a badly written Tinkerbell movie--a story about a Chosen One who succeeds, finally, because he believes in himself and uses his "green energy of will" to defeat a cloud of feces using its "yellow energy of fear." Unfortunately, the audience never can believe in this character. What sinks the picture is that it lacks all sense of wonder and never emotionally connects with us. A pure video game movie if their ever was one but it's a video game without the fun. Even some movies adapted from video games themselves have more depth than this effort. Seriously.

This movie is yet another victim of the spend more and think less way to make movies. It can join The Clash of the Titans franchise at the bottom of the all CGI intellectual think tank. You couldn't pay me enough to see it twice. I have to ask, who does this appeal to? With more CG scenery than sanity, not even a hundred guardians, aliens or lanterns give the audience the nourishment that comes from a credible story, or at least a story that's believable on its own terms. It's a big jumbled ball of Computer Generated boredom. This movie has to be considered one huge misfire. It will be forgotten by August. It's actually fitting for a movie with a poor plot and an incredibly shallow story.

The dialogue is stiffly Shatnerian. Word of mouth will savage it. That's the word of non-fanboys and comic book lovers who would praise this thing no matter what. If you can manage not to fall asleep during it's brief but surprisingly dull runningtime, the movie itself reaches the level of below turgid mediocrity that DC's last effort, Jonah Hex reached. About the only thing one can be thankful for is that Jar Jar Binks isn't one of these crazy alien Lanterns. A sad endeavor to say the least so, Don't waste your money here.

Best film that I've seen so far this year, by far.

Matthew McConaughney really should take more lawyer roles because this may very well be the best character he's ever played and the best work that he's ever done, topping A Time To Kill and I enjoyed that movie very much. This is a slick and an intelligent film that is engrossing and keeps you guessing all the way through.

He portrays Mickey Haller a Los Angeles criminal defense attorney who operates out of the back of his Lincoln sedan. There is some mention of him losing his law license so i assume thats what started the Lincoln thing and he grew used to it so he stuck with it. He's slick and street smart and surrounds himself with the best supporting cast imaginable. Everyone does a great job. William H. Macy as Frank Levin his private investigator is wonderful as always and his ex wife is played perfectly by Marisa Tomei.

I've seen it suggested that this should be made into a series for cable TV and I applaud that idea for this franchise! I love that the movie makes you think and think it could translate well to TV.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

As I was watching this movie, all I could think about was that this is a placid "bad news/good news flick. The bad news was that for the first half hour or so, I thought I was watching some extended 80's music mix video. The good news is that I like 80's music. Come to think of it, there really was no valid reason to set this movie in the 1980's besides having a great soundtrack and getting to play around with the fashion of the era. (Damn, I really wish knit ties would come back in fashion!) Setting aside the timid and predictable first act, I have to say that I ended up enjoying this more than I was expecting to. From the moment they leave the high school reunion party until the finale, it felt like a different film. The characters came together and there were some genuinely humorous moments. It was still predictable but genuinely interesting nonetheless. Topher Grace and Anna Faris were perfectly cast and the supporting crew was more than solid. Angie Everhart's hot and wild bathroom sex scene was amazing but needed to be even longer. Even the overall message of not being afraid to take your shot hits home in the final act. The exchange between Topher and his father (Michael Biehn) was actually moving and quite profound.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This movie is terrible, absolutely terrible. Poor Christina Applegate, this waste was more "Sweetest Thing" than "Anchorman" to be sure. The Farrelly's should be embarrassed by this one. The cast didn't work and comedy was often disgusting but not in a good or funny way. Owen Wilson was OK and the babe that played the Australian knock out was wonderful but other than that, everyone seemed to be miscast. On a side note, I know she was only in two scenes but placing that Joy Whatshername from "The View" on screen attempting to act is the same as showing two long scenes of nails on a chalkboard. The whole movie grates on the viewer, insults 40 year olds everywhere and delivers very few if any laughs.

I Am Number Four = I Am Freakin' Stunned. I have to say that I went in to this movie with very low expectations and ended up enjoying it very much. Really, no joke. Sure, the plot raises quite a few questions but the overall premise is handled in a smart and slick manner. The writing is sound and the characters are believable for the most part. A real weakness is the cheesy villains. They never rise above freaky video game opponents but they seem to work well enough regardless. Honestly, the action in the final act was on a par with any tent pole summer film. Maybe the movie could be accused of borrowing tone from other films but so what??? Since I've never seen a Twilight movie, the tones I picked up were a mix of Spider-Man, Superman, Blade, and Terminator with a dash of Jumper. Not bad films to emulate for the most part.

Raimi has crafted a super sequel that both dazzles the eyes and touches the heart. Much like Spider-Man 2, the truly remarkable special-effects of the new movie make it virtually impossible not to suspend one's disbelief. The effects actually beat Spider-Man 2. A lesser filmmaker would have been content to let the effects be the whole show, but Raimi gives us a movie populated by genuine characters and situations that make the film just as compelling in its quieter moments as it is during the big action scenes.

More than a few sources have called Spider-Man 2 "the best comic-book movie ever made" but I think the title now belongs to Spider-Man 3. It's not premature to make such proclamations without the perspective time invariably lends to objectivity because it's quality is that clear. Suffice to say that Spider-Man 3 certainly ranks alongside the best its genre has to offer, and hopefully gives studio execs the message that just because a movie is based on a comic-book doesn't mean the characters shouldn't be as fully developed as the expensive special effects that surround them or aid in creating them.

Spider-Man 3 is as remarkable of a movie as has ever been made.

The same sense of disappointment most people felt after watching "The Matrix Reloaded" or "Phantom Menace" likely will be rekindled with this film. Yes, I know giving in to hype can be a dangerous thing but it's STEVEN SPIELBERG for God sake. I was excited about this movie. After seeing it however, I now hope it lands in theatres with a resounding thud. I doubt it will but it deserves as much. To call this disappointing is the understatement of the year. I'm extremely sorry that I braved the opening night/day crowds to see this one.

This asinine collection of computer graphics and insane dialogue is just a disgrace to the fresh and revolutionary original book.

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

HOSTAGE is a psychological crime drama told in an over-the-top but generally enjoyable fashion by director Florent Emilio Siri, who likes his music and his explosions loud and often. It stars that ever-present action hero, Bruce Willis, who repeats the same type of character he must have played a thousand times before.

This time Willis's name is Jeff Talley. Jeff is a legend in the L.A.P.D. after seven years as the chief hostage negotiator. After losing two people on his watch, a burned out Jeff leaves to become the chief of police in a small town in which every day is a "low crime day." Of course, this will all change, and Jeff will again have a family in jeopardy and their lives hanging precariously in his hands.

Most of the movie is deadly serious and very intriguing. There is one especially funny joke about eBay -- the source of much movie humor these days -- which really cracked me up.

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