tyler-johnsen Reviews

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)

The Set up is done ... Masterpiece or not ?? - that depends now on the final movie

[9/10 · 18 November 2010]

I think it is really tough to rate this movie. The problem is, even so this movie covers pretty much two thirds of the last book, you still have to leave the theater within the development of the story. In spite of the lord of the rings, i cant see this movie standing on his own and you cant judge a movie without having seen act 3.

But lets try, for whats its worth.

For the first time (IMO) David Yates (or any director at all) treated the story like it was supposed to be. A serious drama for grown ups. So this movie is really not about a fancy magic world or countless jokes - People die in this movie! There are some great laughs and some even greater action scenes / fights BUT David Yates used them really carefully and did a good job concentrating on the emotions and feelings of all those characters we have known, cared, and loved for all those years. This movie really is about what has happened over the last years - where those characters came from, what they have been thru - and of course it's the set up for whats about to happen (next July).

I could tell you Harry and Hermione dancing hand in handy is probably on of the best scenes of the movie, but you wouldn't understand.

I could tell you watching Dobby die is probably the most dramatic scene in harry potter movie history up until now! - but you wouldn't believe me. I actually had to cry.

The way David Yates created this movie works, because of the connection we have made over the last many many years, to our fav. characters. The movie builds on this very connection. So don't go to see this Movie if you're not a fan. Go out and buy the books ;) I wont talk much about CGI, acting, directing etc. because it is simply great... After all it really depends on the final chapter and the final movie. This one was just exposition. Yates did his job, but now we have to wait and see what it was good for.

Avatar (2009)

Not a Masterpiece BUT....

[9/10 · 21 December 2009]

I just came home from seeing this movie and i have to admit, i am not quite sure what to think about that piece of art. It's definitely not a kids movie and definitely not just some kind of CGI-Action-Flick. So what is it? I would consider it an action-drama, definitely epic. A Masterpiece? I cant really say that, but on the other hand, i don't think it ever tried to be.

Short Summery: On the planet Pandora is found a precious kind of stone what sells on earth for 20 Mio$ per Kg. That's the reason why the people of the Navi, an Alien tribe, are supposed to leave. Unfortunately they don't want to. Jake, a war vet, now gets the chance to replace his dead brother, and get into the body of the Avatar, in order to spy on the Navi people. After some time he falls in love with the Navi Princess and when war is upon them he decides to change the sides... ... pretty much like the Last Samurai

I don't want to give any Spoilers so just my Opinion. I think its a great movie BUT... they didn't push the envelope. It just didn't really peak. There are a couple of reasons why this is not the best of the best.

James Cameron spend years in developing Avatar and the new world he wants to show us. In this case its the planet Pandora and the Navi, Alien people with different tribes (kind of like indians). And Actually James made a pretty a good Job at this. Actually his Job was to good. So ironicly the Movie suffers under his love for detail and the visual perfection. Usually a visual impressiv movie is a good thing, but only when the visual serves the story and the characters. And it doesn't. J.R.R. Tolkien created Middlearth so his characters can live on it. So he can tell his story and show emotional relationships. But James Cameron created Characters in order to SHOW OFF with Pandora and the new World he created. In LOTR the visual serves the Story. In Avatar the Story serves the Visual. And that is the major flaw in this movie.

Im not saying the story of Avatar is bad. Not at all. Even so it is reminding at Last Samurai and Dances with Wolves, its a great story. It is just not what it could be. You just realize James Cameron wasn't really concerned about his characters. That is why there is a lot of character detail missing. In Titanic Jack and Rose fall in love. But it actually makes sense. Rose is a rich girl inprisoned in a golden cage. She wants to be free. She is very intelligent and self confident. She does not care about money or class. She sees things as they are. (you realize that when she bought the pictures from the at the moment unknown picasso) And Jack is exactly what she wants. He is also very intelligent but he is poor, even so he doesn't care. Because he is free. And that is what attracts Rose to Jack. On the other Hand your are going to see a romanze in Avatar (don't want to spoil it) but why oh why do they fall in love ? I don't know. And James does neither. But he doesn't care. He rather tells a visual story than an emotional story.

Story 8 out of 10

About the acting. I think they all did a great job. Problem is, there is only so much you can do. So if you don't get the chance to perform some great acting... there is nothing you can do about it. But they did what was possible

Acting 8 out of 10

CGI & special effects: Im not that kind of person who consideres a movie to be a masterpiece because of groundbreaking CGI. Don't get me wrong. The World James Cameron created with Pandora, the love to detail, the CGI, the Action scenes and special effects. Everything your eyes are going to experience... is GROUNDBREAKING ... and it will keep you interested

Visual 10 out of 10

Score: Well i know James likes to work with Horner, i just think Hans Zimmer or Harry-gregson williams would have been the better joice. I don't want to say the score is bad. The Score is like the story. Its OK. Solid. But i think this is not enough. Epic pictures rise and fall with the soundtrack. And this one does neither rise, nor fall, it stands its ground.

Score 8 out of 10

Writing and Directing: Well the screenplay is in so far impressive, that there is pretty much nothing "wrong" or "bad" in it. Sure, its missing a couple of things that would might have turned this movie into a masterpiece, but besides that it is really well written. Directing is the best there can be.

9 out of 10

So... Im done ... pretty much. After all i will Stick with 9 out of 10. Its a weak 9 but I think it deserves it. Even so its not a Masterpiece, i think its a great adventure and i will get it on DVD

Ghost Rider (2007)

Who would give that Movie 10 out of 10???

[4/10 · 6 December 2009]

I am so sick of people telling me i am expecting too much of a movie? HELLO? Guys you don't have a point! Im not going into a theatre thinking "oh this is gonna be a movie based on a comic book, that isn't so great to start with, so this movie doesn't really has to have a plot, character work, dialogues and acting".

This is a crappy movie. So where is the point in saying "this is a great movie, because i didn't expect much, and i didn't get much so its perfect!" thats nonsense.

Okay. Cut to the chase. The plot itself 5/10. Not as good as spiderman or x-men. The acting 7/10 When the actors get a chance to act, they do a reasonable job. characters 3/10 very very poor character work on this movie. Action scenes 5/10 (and this 5 is compared to ALL MOVIES. It is not compared to ACTION MOVIES, then it would be 2/10) And that is the bigges flaw of the movie. The Action or fight sequences are just boring. Spiderman doesn't really have a great plot, but the fight scenes are pretty awesome.

One last thing i would like to add. some people say its based on a comic book so we cant expect more. What do you think is Batman? The Dark Knight? Ghost Rider seems like an amateur movie compared to the Dark Knight.

If you can see the movie for free, like on television. Why not. But i wouldn't waste any money on it.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

i kinda like...but that's all

[6/10 · 10 July 2009]

Let me first tell you, i was a huge fan of the first movie. even so the plot was horrible, the movie was very entertaining. I like the actors and their dialogs. And since i am a true and loyal Hans Zimmer fan, i of course, loved the score of his student Steve Jablonsky.

So after all i was looking forward to see ROF. I was hoping for some new music themes, and i thought maybe we can find a plot this time.

Well it actually didn't turn out to be like that. The plot is just... i dunno. It just makes no sense. I mean why would Sam give a piece of the All Spark, he suddenly finds, give to his girlfriend. ? I mean why?? There is no reason. It just makes no sense. The Action is OK. Of course the CGI is amazing, but what does it do good, when you just don't get anything of it, because it is too fast, too much, and too big?!?! The Jokes are funny. But In order to laugh about them, you must be able to forget, they are telling a story what should make some sense. If you can forget that, then you can laugh about the jokes. What really pisses me is the score. I don't know what their problem was. whether they didn't want to spend more money on the soundtrack or is it because Steve was lazy, i don't know. But not only that there is no new score in it (like it was in the pirates of the Caribbean - each film new themes), they didn't even really use the old score.

The first 2 hours i was waiting for the "big scenes". You know, great action, great score - just like in the first movie. But then i had a dejavu and i realized - it wont get any better. So i want to share this moment with you. I didn't believe it.

You've all seen the first movie? OK. remember during the first hour, when the deltas are in the desert, attacked by a scorpion transformer, and then they send the air attack. You see the pilots running to their planes (great shot by the way) and Steve Jablonsky with his brilliant score. Just enter Scorpnok at youtube and you will find the scene within 20 sec. Anyway, you will see a scene with the same structure, the same desert, the same score, and the same shot of the pilots running to their planes in ROF. Except, the scene in ROF is not so long as the original.

At that point i realized, they don't have nothing new to offer.

I wasn't bored, i liked it, but i was just expecting a way better movie than that one.

Stomp the Yard (2007)

No Masterpiece but entertaining!

[6/10 · 29 May 2007]

I know. The idea is not really original, but yet i have to admit the characters and the acting is not bad. The moves are pretty good, too. What i really did not like was the plot points. Everything was so obvious. Especially in the end. I knew exactly what was going to happen. Yet a gread show

I actually enjoyed the leading actor very much.

I've seen Street Style and Step up. Whereby i think Stomp the Yard cannot keep up with Step up, it is definitely betther than Street Style.

• 2 stars because it is not a genuine idea - 1 star because the plot points a very easy to foresee - 1 Star for bad dialogue sometimes

... which leaves 6 out of 10 for an enjoyable movie. If you like the genre, go see it.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

No FAcking Trilogiy !!!!

[7/10 · 25 May 2007]

I just got home and i have to see i am really disappointed. I loved the film. The second was not that good but yet entertaining. But this now is really depressiv. The Beginning scene give you high hopes, but what follows is most of the time boring and - i mean it is no secret, the forst movie was written as a whole story, so the writers had to make up everything that follows.

This is not an unusual way to work in Hollywood, but here you really notice they just invented a lot of crap to keep this story going on for as long as possible, and i am afraid they will make enough money to garantuee a sequel, even so this third installment will not be such a box office hit as the second.

don't get me wrong. This is not a bad story. it is just unnecessary and not really well done. .

Freedom Writers (2007)

A Movie that takes itself not seriously enough

[9/10 · 9 April 2007]

when i saw this movie i was in company with my ex-girlfriend. we went do the cinema, because with a movieticket we had free entry in a scpecial club.

I'm telling you this, because when we went to the cinema, we hat actually no idea what movie we wanted to see. She just broke up with her boyfriend in did not want to see any romance and i did already see 300 two times, so for some reason we choose freedom writers.

I have to say, i really liked this movie. Yeah i know, the plot ist not really original. But this time it was different. And not only because of the acting (whereby hillary swank, april hernandez, Mario and Deance Wyatt do some pretty good acting, and i also enjoyed Scott glenn) but of the characters. Wheter it was Coach Carter, or Step up, or whatever, for the first time i was really made to believe the characters had a really depressive life. They were actually real characters, with real problems, and especially fears.

i give 9/10 because something is missing. There are a lot of movies, which take themselves too seriously. I think this movie would have been better, had it been a real psychological and social drama.

Saint Ralph (2004)

Make no mistake. This is no Rocky... yet it never tries to be.

[8/10 · 7 April 2007]

When i bought the DVD i had never heard of this picture. I didn't know if it was going to be good or bad. I just wanted to see a movie about running.

I just saw saint ralph for the fourth time and i gotte confess this movie is better more inspiring than Chariots of fire. Alright, it is no rocky but yet, it never tries to be. And this is why it works. Sometimes it is very good that a movie does not take itself too seriously. I mean, the story is not very realistic. And I'm not talking about whether it is possible that a boy can whin the marathon or not, I'm talking about Ralhp. What Child would behave like Ralph does, when his mother is on the edge of death??? But that doesn't matter, because saint ralph actually is at no time a drama, it is always satisfied with being a comedy. Thus it rises from a comedy and becomes an inspiring story at times, and when it doesn't you don't really care, cause you're not looking at it as a drama, but as a comedy.

In the end it is 8/10 in every aspect. The acting, the dialouge, the soundtrack, and the directing. No outstanding achievement but always definitely above average.

Blood Diamond (2006)

Best Motion Picture of the Year

[10/10 · 19 March 2007]

When i saw the Trailer i told my friends Djimon Honsou will be nominated for on Oscar. Of Course my friends didn't know who i was talking about, but i told them who i meant.

In January i turned out do be right. He became nominated for best actor in a supporting role. I am telling you this, because the reason why I actually saw this movie in the theater's is, that Djimon did NOT win the Oscar. So i wanted to know, for what reason they did not give him that award.

Two days after the Academy Awards i went to the cinema and watched the movie with my girlfriend. She is an actress and i am a screenwriter.

After about ninety minutes i said to my girlfriend. F*** departed, F*** babel, this is the best motion picture of the year. I mean it is so important. And its REAL. That is why it is so important.

When the movie was over, i remained motionless for about ten minutes. i never did that before. But i just could not stop crying.

When we were leaving the theater's i said to my girlfriend. I can certainly see, why Leonardo did not win the Oscar for best Actor in a leading role. Djimon should have. I mean, i cannot possibly think for any reason, why Djimon's character is supposed to be a supporting character.

Now i can only give you the advise to go an watch that movie. That is all i can do.

EDIT:

I want to add something, and i want you to know i added it. Last week i saw Blood Diamond the second time and - I don't know what to say, it is just amazing. Until 90th minute i didn't rellay watch the movie, i just listend to the dialogue cause i was doing something else. At the end, at some point i realized that i was crying. I did'nt even notice when i started to cry. This story, these characters are so intense. And you do not realize during the first two hours.

I made this experience before with The English Patient. All the time i thought i wouldn't care but in the end i was fluid.