madisondeclare Reviews

Norm of the North (2016)

10/10 ratings apparently are the most 'useful reviews'?

[3/10 · 14 June 2016]

This film does NOT deserve a 10/10 rating! If you genuinely liked the film, that's fine. But come on! It doesn't deserve the highest possible rating just to balance out all the very negative reviews!

This film's plot is ridiculous---even if it's not meant to be taken that seriously. The animation works for a TV show on Nickelodeon or something, not a film released in theatres! The characters aren't interesting and just flat out dumb. The jokes aren't funny. The acting is nothing special.

Pretty much everything fails in this film. The reason why I gave this movie a 3 and not 1 is because there were some very few clever things about it and an okay message, but the way it was played out was definitely not that good.

If you like this movie, go ahead! But like I said, 10/10 is simply too much to give this film.

Overall 3/10

Finding Dory (2016)

Precious film of my childhood revisited... and it was wonderful

[9/10 · 14 June 2016]

I was seven years old when 'Finding Nemo' came out, and now I am twenty... Wow does time go by fast.

I used to watch this film nearly every day and never get sick of it. The sea has always been a fascination with me, and so I naturally loved the film because of it; with it's breath- taking animation, details to every underwater creature, laugh out loud moments mixed in with the perfect amount of emotion felt throughout. It was just another amazing Pixar film, but my personal favorite.

When I found out about the sequel years later, I was excited, but skeptical. Dory is of course my favorite character, so I liked the idea of her being the main character this time around.

Pixar in general doesn't fail to impress people with their surprisingly good sequels. 'Toy Story' 2 and 3 somehow surpassing the first, 'Monsters University' wasn't as great as the first, but it definitely had the familiar Pixar charm to it, and I really enjoyed it, but...there was one that fans were not pleased with: 'cars 2.' Though to be fair, I didn't really care for the first film either.

Anyway, this film is definitely in-between the 'Toy Story' sequels and 'Monsters University', where it is an amazing film and sequel with even better animation, likable new characters, some very heart-felt scenes, but of course not as amazing as the first movie, but I already figured that.

Like I said, the animation was somehow even more improved in this movie from the first (which looked beautiful in 3D). The park itself surprisingly looked quite real.

The characters old and new were memorable, funny, and each had their moments. And to me, Dory being the main character actually worked well unlike Mator in 'Cars 2.' You cared about her journey...and who doesn't like Dory?

The emotion? Oh jeez, don't get me started on that. As if tearing up from nostalgia wasn't enough, the movie can make you cry a river at times...or 'ocean' if you will. Luckily I brought tissues. I especially love how it carries another message about family like the first film. That to me is where the heart is.

The humour was also fun. Some miss, but mostly hits!

Overall, this film luckily did not disappoint. Me, my mom, aunt, and cousin all loved it. No it's not as great as the first, but it's pretty hard to compete with the wonders of 'Finding Nemo.' It's still a spectacular kid's film, Pixar film, and sequel. I highly recommend it!

Overall: 9.5/10

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: Applejack's "Day" Off (2016) Season 6, Episode 10

Meh at best...

[6/10 · 28 May 2016]

This episode definitely wasn't all that special for both an episode on its own and a standalone AppleJack one.

Besides Rainbow Dash being revealed to love the spa, this episode didn't seem to have really any funny moments.

As for the plot itself, it seemed pretty forced and rushed by the end with its moral and the way everything ends up resolving. Twilight and Spike surprisingly don't seem all that important in this episode till the very end.

This episode wasn't really funny, nor devolped too well for any of the characters, and just felt too rushed and overall pointless. Definitely not bad, but not good either. I think a plot with an episode like this could have used a lot more jokes and buildup.

6/10

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic: The Crystalling - Part 1 (2016) Season 6, Episode 1

I thought it was great!

[9/10 · 17 May 2016]

Is it as amazing as the previous two parters? Not quite, but it still is great!

So after the decent "Cutie Remark" finale, lots of fans have complained about Starlight Glimmer's redemption being too forced and/or rushed, which I agree with for the most part, but this show had plenty of other rushed redemptions that in my opinion were even worse and quicker to reform, like Discord and Sunset Shimmer. So I don't know why people are sooo bothered with this one specifically?

Anyway, if there is one thing this show does well in my opinion, is the reformed versions of the characters that used to be villains or jerks. I said that Sunset Shimmer and Discord's reformations were the worst, but besides the WAY they were redeemed, the writers do an excellent job of portraying them realistically afterwards. And that is just what they did with Starlight.

I love the idea of Twilight having another student besides Sunset (at least in the films), and I find this episode portrays her role as a teacher well, and how eager Starlight is to make up for what she's done and how she genuinely wants to change. What happened with Starlight and Sunburst was definitely predictable, but it still is touching and I like the way they do become friends yet again and understand each other.

The other story arc with Flurry Heart was pretty cute yet intense. It was definitely interesting to see a natural born alicorn on the show and just how intense her powers really are. I don't know why people are hating on her by the way, she is just a baby! Lighten up! Oh, and Shining Armor and Twilight's parents speaking was a nice little unexpected touch to the episode.

Overall, this episode had some good laughs, sweet moments, intense moments, and everypony (including dragon) were in character.

9/10!

The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019)

Used to be great....until they decided to add relationship drama to the mix

[5/10 · 2 May 2016]

From about season 1-3 of this show, I genuinely loved it! I got a lot of good laughs, and it is definitely pleasing for the geeks and nerds out there of all kinds! And then the show did something it really shouldn't... add more relationships, and focus on them.

From Howard and Bernadette to Sheldon and Amy and so on and so forth, the show just started to become more irritating and less tolerable. Yes Leonard and Penny had relationship problems in the early seasons, but I never liked that anyway. Now it's like they have tripled that problem with adding more couples we don't care about and constantly groan about... Well, at least I do anyway.

Sure the new seasons still have those rare gems every once in a while, but for the most part, it's just seeing episodes with at least ONE of the characters having girlfriend problems while their girlfriends are mostly bitches. That is not what made Big Bang theory great! Now it feels like every other sitcom out there, only with a bunch of nerds.

So, I highly recommend the old seasons and even some of the newer ones, but overall, it's just losing it's edge.

5.5/10

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Yes it was similar to A New Hope, but that is the point...

[10/10 · 29 April 2016]

Most Star Wars fans are never pleased I guess. With the prequels they say it is not at all like the original, with Force Awakens, they say it is TOO similar.

While watching this film I noticed the similarities to A New Hope right away, but that didn't pull me away from the film. In fact, it drew me more in.

Apparently this film was purposely made to be more like Episode 4 to give old Star Wars fans a reminder of what made the original so great and feel nostalgic while watching it. It has been years since the mediocre prequels, and the director wanted to bring people back who saw the Star Wars franchise briefly receive a beating and give them something more familiar but also new.

The characters in this film are all interesting and you want to know more about them. Rey was a great main character with a back story just waiting to be revealed, Finn as well.

As for the characters who return, it felt so great to see these characters yet again and they didn't even come off as forced; they were all very crucial to the plot.

The effects used in this film are mostly practical like the original, and this style was used SO well.

The fighting --as well as the music-- was intense but also fun.

Overall, I loved this movie. I saw it twice in the theatres because I couldn't just see it once. It was an excellent movie that reminds you just how great the original trilogy truly was.

10/10

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

Well, it was definitely funny... but not classic Simpsons funny

[6/10 · 26 April 2016]

Don't get me wrong, this film is definitely not bad, but it seemed to be missing something.

Let me just say that The Simpsons is my favorite television show---at least from season 1-9. And this was not exactly a best time for a movie to come out... When the show was already downhill.

The movie has some very funny moments and definitely keeps you entertained. Also, all of the characters were actually in character, which is of course important. Not to mention the animation is VERY nice to look at!

The problems I have with it? First off, "a cast of thousands" is complete BS. None of the side characters of Springfield really get any screen time (aside from the Flanders.) It would have been great to see Sideshow Bob--who is one of my favorite characters--and I wished to see wayyyyyy more with Mr. Burns. He is one of the funniest characters on the show who everyone loves to hate, but he only got ONE scene! The show had many great characters and barely focuses on them. Yes I know the Simpsons are obviously the main characters, but they could have done sooo much with these characters.

Another problem I have is the Marge and Homer separating subplot.. I am so sick of this. We all know how it is going to end...that is all.

Now here is the MAIN problem I have: Its humour is the type of humour you would see in the NEW Simpsons episodes, but not really of the original and memorable seasons and episodes. It's really hard to explain it, but The Simpsons humour used to be very clever and memorable. People to this day still quote old Simpsons episodes (often by heart) but I don't see anyone quoting much from this movie since it came out. That's because the humour isn't all that timeless and memorable.

Overall, if you are a fan of the new Simpsons or are just looking for a good comedy, then you will love it and get good laughs. If you are a long time Simpsons fan, you MIGHT enjoy it, and get a few laughs here or there. I still watch this movie occasionally and enjoy it, but definitely not one of my favourites.

6/10

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014)

MOST of these reviewers are seeing what this film ISN'T, not what it IS. Oh, and watch the extended version

[9/10 · 24 April 2016]

Well, technically ALL the Hobbit movies go with the title of this review, but I'm reviewing only this movie right now...

I have read many reviews on here, and have seen an insane amount of 1 out of 10 star reviews, and I notice that MOST of these reviewers seem to be hating on this film for what it ISN'T, not what it is IS. Most of the complaints of what it ISN'T is naturally based on the Hobbit book itself with many added things that were not stated in the book or even some changes of certain deaths or aspects. Let me just say, that I too am a Tolkien fanatic. I have read all of his Middle-Earth books and even study them as if they were a subject in school, and I still love these films (as well as the Lotr trilogy). But I'm going to talk about this film on it's own without comparing it to the source material, because I personally think that these should be looked at as movies first, and adaptations second.

So, to me, this is what this movie IS: ---Amazing acting. Every actor -- whether CG or not--genuinely play their roles so well. The actors in this film that stand out to me the most would have to be Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, and Evangeline Lilly.

---The CGI is not at all bad. Yes there is a lot of it used in this movie, but there is wayyy worse CGI out there. Besides, the orcs and troll designs look great. They look like intimating and different proportioned creatures and not just people in make up (not saying that's at all bad.)

---The relationship between Thorin and Bilbo was done in a believable and very emotional way.

---The romance--though not entirely necessary--was a very touching addition. It shows the beauty of it, as well as the pain.

---The drama. This is a movie that is based around one big battle and lots of deaths, so they have to be emotional. That's exactly what this movie is. The emotion may seem different from lotr because of certain ways the characters react, but the emotion of this film is based on subtly from the actor's expressions (another point to the actors.)

---The battle scenes are exciting but of course dramatic.

---The score is beautiful, intense and intense. It simply sounds amazing thanks to Howard Shore.

I loved this film. Sure it is not the best of the three, but it's a very exciting and dramatic film, like it's supposed to be! The only problem I have with the film itself is some of the comedy (Most of Alfrid's scenes) is not really that funny and seems kind of forced. And there are many things I really would have loved to see, but that is part of the whole "what it is IS and what it isn't" subject, so that doesn't count for my rating!

Oh, but like I said, check out the extended edition! It has much that the theatrical version was lacking.

Overall, Theatrical version: 8/10 Extended version: 9/10!

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013)

Started out promising...

[5/10 · 16 May 2014]

Let me start off by saying that I LOVED the first Anchorman. It was a perfect comedy with it's hilarious characters, jokes, plot, and even stupidity. So as you can imagine, I was hyped when I found out that they were going to make a sequel to this awesome movie. So I finally watched it the other day, and how did it hold up? Well, let's look over the basics:

Characters: All of the original characters that return in this film are still very true to their characters, they just seemed to have lost some of their humour. Ron, Champ, and Brian were all done pretty well, they didn't make me laugh as hard as I did in the FIRST movie, but their comedy still pulls through, and even manages to get a few laughs out of me. Brick however, was VERY painful to watch. Brick in the first film was very stupid, but his stupidity was hilarious. In this movie, his stupidity was annoying, awkward, and not funny. Not to mention that he wasn't 80% of the first film's focus.

The NEW characters that were introduced in this film I thought were very boring and uninteresting. The only new character that got a few chuckles out of me was Ron and Veronica's kid.

Plot: Honestly, I think the plot goes all over the place in this film. There is a subplot about Veronica and Ron getting divorced and her moving on with somebody else, a subplot about Brick having a love interest who is JUST like him (which gets annoying very fast), a subplot about Ron Burgendy's new boss falling for him, and much more. So I thought the plot was kind of rusty and almost forced.

Humor: The humour doesn't even hold a candle compared to the first movie, but I still find there were still a lot of funny moments, especially in the first half of the movie.

Overall: This movie was...okay. It could of been a hell lot better, but then again; it could have a hell lot worse. The first half of the movie made me laugh a lot, but in an hour; it quickly went downhill with uninteresting characters, unfunny stupidity, and an all-over-the-place plot. If you are a fan of the first one, then you will most likely be slightly disappointed by this sequel.