hayleyk9691 Reviews

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

Saved the Best Part for Last

[9/10 · 2 December 2010]

But unfortunately, that also means that we are, sadly, reaching the end of a great series. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the bullseye of what's going to go down between good and evil in the wizarding world.

Things are getting worse in the world of witches and wizards, thanks to Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters, including the now-hesitant Malfoys and the borderline insane Bellatrix Lestrange. Voldy wants Harry Potter and wants to kill him personally, and if you've seen and read Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix, then you'll know why. The movie is a large, 2 1/2 hour cat-and-mouse game as Harry and his best friends, Ron and Hermione, travel around the country, searching for Voldemort's treasured Horcruxes (his weights for immortality) and destroy them for good, leading Harry closer and closer to taking down Voldemort as a mortal man.

The movie is like the flesh and blood of the book. The actors have portrayed nearly every bits of the book very well. You see the proof clearly that Harry, Ron and Hermione aren't at Hogwarts anymore. They don't know who to trust and what's safe anymore.

The only minor flaws are that (MINOR SPOILER, but I will be light with it) there are scenes they place such as Harry's visions of Voldemort at his angriest that don't seem to be clear for those who haven't read the book. You only receive a few spats from Voldemort and his livid face before Harry wakes up. The other minor flaw is that they didn't fully explain R.A.B., which I won't go into detail for the sake of keeping the secret of the movie.

Besides these two little mistakes, the movie is amazing to watch, and if you're a fan of the book, then 2 1/2 hours will go back as quickly as it did for me. You'll feel horror, sorrow, and even anger as you watch Harry and his friends cast the ultimate spell.

The Patriot (2000)

A Little Overexaggerated, but Not Bad

[9/10 · 18 July 2009]

I had to watch this for my US History class, despite that my school doesn't allow any movies rated R. However, THE PATRIOT is like witnessing one of America's most desperate times.

The story starts with Mel Gibson as a peaceful farmer named Benjamin with a history of being in the French-Indian War, so he's a pacifist and wants nothing to do with the American Revolution. His two oldest sons, the eldest Heath Ledger's character Gabriel, want to join the Rebels and fight against the British. When one of Benjamin's sons is killed, he goes hellbent on fighting against the Redcoats, bringing back his soldier instincts and fighting with the other Rebels to fight for American's independence.

However, I do think that some of the other reviewers have a point. The Redcoats were portrayed a lot to be like the Nazis. Would they have burned a church filled with innocent people to the ground? Would they have really killed more innocent people like children, too? I know that the British were trying to fight back against the Americans, but this movie kind of got them out of hand.

Either way, I'd recommend this to anyone who likes historical movies, but beware that this movie is rated R for good reasons. The battle scenes can get quite bloody to where my teacher had to skip several parts due to school policies. Either way, this movie is emotional and pretty powerful as well.

Burn Notice (2007–2013)

One of the Most Clever Shows Still On!

[10/10 · 18 July 2009]

Okay, I confess that I wasn't into Burn Notice until my brother kept watching the DVD's of Season 1-2 on vacation, and I must say that this is one of the best shows on. Why? Simple. The characters aren't all alike. Jeffrey Donovan's character, main protagonist Michael Westen, is a witty ex spy who just got burned: a spy version of being fired, but has all assets cut off and can't exactly travel and life a normal life when being watched by his old work. His ex-girlfriend, Fiona (aka Fi and aka Grabrielle Anwar) is pretty wicked when it comes to arming herself with guns, bombs and...guns. Sam, (Bruce Campbell) is an old friend of Michael's who's a bit of an alcoholic and tends to wear a lot of Hawaiian shirts. Either way, "Burn Notice" is clever with some smart and witty humor even in a serious situation where Michael is getting himself killed.

"Burn Notice" is like the Bourne trilogy just without an amnesiac all alone in this cruel world. No, "Burn Notice" is exciting, fun, and quite suspenseful, and Michael is just as amusing when narrating.

My verdict: a nice 10/10

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)

A Wee Bit Too Long

[8/10 · 18 July 2009]

I was very excited when I saw the trailer for the sequel to Transformers. I love the first one so I was anticipating something just as exciting and just as loud and complicating, and complicating as in you gotta keep your eyes peeled for every robot combat.

However, this one has its flaws. If you read an article about Transformers' plot holes, then you'll get what I'm going for. There's so much going on in 21/2 hours that you'd just wish for it to be over. The first hour or more is about Sam going to college while his girlfriend Mikaela is at home working in the shop with her outta-jail pop. Sam discovers a fragment of the destroyed All Spark Cube and discovers that it's done a major mind blowout on him, causing the Decepticons to go on a frenzy to bring back Megatron, who wants to bring back the mysterious Fallen, who wants to take over Earth and wipe out the human race.

The movie isn't that bad, but despite that original director Michael Bay had directed, this movie is like watching the first movie over and over again: a lot of metal smashing, car chases and big ol' scary Decepticons with their devil red eyes and Bumblebee's inability to speak, which you'd think would be solved after the end of Transformers.

Either way, this movie is only an 8/10.

Death Race (2008)

Not Bad

[8/10 · 31 August 2008]

I saw this today when going to the movies with my family. When it said rated R for strange violence and language, I was anticipating really heavy blood and violence like when I saw the new "Rambo," which I didn't expect to be like what it was...

Jason Statham plays Jensen Ames, an ex-NASCAR driver who finds himself framed for murdering his wife in 2012 United States. He's sent to prison, but not just any prison. It's the jail used for "Death Race," a popular race where convicts race for their freedom -- and kill or be killed. The warden is this cool, cold, sadistic in a smooth way woman who wants our poor guy to race as "Frankenstein," a popular convict who won four out of the five wins needed to get free. But will Ames be able to win? This is a pretty good movie to be honest. I'm not a huge fan when it comes to gore. Yes, it has gore people. How else will convict play on the track? If you like Jason Statham and 89 min action, then see this movie. highly recommend it.

A total of 8/10 stars.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Batman's Back!

[10/10 · 27 July 2008]

I never saw Batman Begins, but I didn't have to when I saw it today. The Dark Knight is crammed with action in every corner of Gotham City. Batman's back with Christian Bale as the caped vigilante. But there're two new villains. There's the sadistic Joker (Heath Ledger) and Two-Face (Aaron Eckhart), but they're not the Jack Nicholson and Tommy Lee Jones you saw back about twenty years ago. Nope. The villains are violent, corrupted, and not by just on the outside. If you haven't seen this movie, and you do, you'll definitely seen what I mean.

Anyway, I enjoyed this movie a lot! A lot of action, a lot of unsuspecting things will happen, I guarantee it. Good, good, good movie that deserves and Oscar this year.

Total 10 out of 10

Married... with Children (1987–1997)

Pity it Ended

[10/10 · 9 July 2008]

I watch Married...With Children every week at 6:30 -- and even though we've might've seen on episode three times already -- it doesn't matter. This show is so hilarious that you'd think that it might've taken a miracle to come up with all of Al's jokes on Marcy to Kelly's ditzy reactions to the simplest thing (take Where's Waldo for those who've seen that one!) Simple description: the Bundy are like the hillbillies in a normal Chicago neighborhood. Al hates his life, his career selling shoes to fat women who think they're really a size 4, and anything else he can think of. He makes fun of his neighbor Marcy, calling her a chicken and making chicken remarks to her. Peggy is his redheaded, couch-sitting wife who eats bonbons and watches Oprah all the time. Their kids can't get any worse. Kelly is a living example to the term "dumb blonde" while Bud is just a desperate fellow looking for a girl to mess around with.

What makes this show so funny is how the Bundy family functions. It's a shame that this show stopped when I was only 6, but who cares as long as they keep the Bundy family living via TV!

Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern (2006– )

Bizarre!!!

[10/10 · 2 July 2008]

If you see this for the first time, please make sure that it's not too exotic if you know what I mean.

Andrew Zimmer, former chef and food critic, travel to all four corners of the earth in serve of the weirdest (and looks disgusting) foods in the area. He travels from the United States, to Africa, to India, and even to Hawaii if he wants to just to try out these strange and sometimes tasty-looking specialties or just the average dish on the market. Some look delicious depending if you know what it is.

However if you have a weak stomach (even though it's on TV) be warned to press Mute. In places such as an Asian country it possess the strangest foods for us Westerners to be even looking at. One, for example, was a frog heart that was freshly cut out and (!!!) still beating! Once our friend Mr. Zimmerman popped that heart into his mouth with the help of chopsticks, my dad and I screamed and looked away! It's that exotic! But perhaps the best/cringing part about this show is that Andrew always describes the taste and texture of anything he eats. It could have a nutty taste, bitter, and just plain yucky and smile (or perhaps grimace if it's that gross.) This show is great for those who love the Travel Channel and are food lovers themselves. Sure, it might look disgusting to watch, but it's very entertaining to see what other countries eat that we would never even smell!

The Iron Giant (1999)

Great for the Whole Family!

[10/10 · 23 June 2008]

I loved this movie when I was younger. Though I was too young to be hearing the mild swearing in this film, it still cracked me up.

THE IRON GIANT is set in the late 1950's in Maine and focuses on a 9-year-old boy named Hogarth, whose mother is a waitress at a diner. Hogarth is just at home while Mom is working the late shift when he uncovers something in the woods: a giant robot-like figure with its food source being metal. Hogarth meets the giant again and the two become friends. But everything out of the ordinary (and outta this world) always attracts the U.S. Government. Throughout the film Hogarth must try his best keeping his new friend a secret from everyone else, keep it safe from an annoying government agent who happens to have rented a room in Hogarth's house, and teach the Giant itself about humanity and how important life is.

THE IRON GIANT is a great movie for any generation for any movie night when nothing's on. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who is willing to watch a great cartoon with its own humorous filled-with-adventure plot.

One Missed Call (2008)

Okay

[7/10 · 5 May 2008]

I heard that this was like The Grudge and The Ring, I figured, "Yep. Ghosts and something that we all love these days (the TV and the phone) will be playing a part of a curse." Yep. These group of friends all gets a missed call that's followed by an eerie, yet sweet-sounding ring tone. That's when they all get the deaths they were fated with.

The suspense was pretty good. The part in the hospital was pretty scary. The ending was a little dull though. What was going to happen??

Okay, I admit that the story was a little boring, since the classics are The Ring and The Grudge. But the story was pretty good, so was the idea of killing people with a ghost's curse or something like that. Could've been better though.

Man of the House (I) (2005)

Blah

[4/10 · 5 May 2008]

I saw this in theaters with my mom and brother because it sounded pretty good. Only I was wrong. I thought that there'd be a lot of action since it was about a bunch of cheerleaders -- who were your totally average lean, dress skimpy kind of girls -- witnessing a murder. I thought there'd be at least ONE person trying to kill them numerously like in The Terminator or even Die Hard. Nope. Nada. Then here comes Tomym Lee Jones as this sheriff who takes the girls too seriously, making them live with him. The movie got boring. I even asked my mom when the movie was supposed to be over.

Yeah, it was that boring.

The movie was a little cheesy, since the girls weren't taking the situation seriously (they weren't the girls who saw one Cops commercial on TV to know that they were in a serious situation.) The only action was at the end, but it was lukewarm -- just like the movie.

Wicked Little Things (2006)

Wasn't That Bad

[6/10 · 30 March 2008]

I saw this on the Sci Fi channel during the weekend and it intrigued me with the idea of zombie children, which we in reality hate to see in movie like Dawn of the Dead and so on. But the dead kids were the main source of horror.

Mom and two daughters move to a home in the forest after the father passes away. Like in many horror films, one daughter is sullen for any reasons, and for this, disapproval of moving into a grimy house in the middle of nowhere. Little daughter is all innocent and cute as she goes through situations filled with danger, despite her obliviousness.

The plot was pretty interesting as well. During the 1900's, little kids were forced into child labor in a mine run by a man. The mine is blown up -- but with the poor children in it, burying them alive. The problem is that they weren't really dead, but just peeved off. They kill and eat people as their way to satisfy their lust for revenge. The only way (as it seems) is to kill the remaining descendant of the man who buried them alive.

Now when I saw the movie title I though, "Oh, God. If this going to be some knock off of The Ring or Dark Waters?" Nope. The mystery of the movie is the girl Mary, the girl little Emma claims to exist in the woods, "not liking to live there anymore with the others." Creepy. The only problem was that the night scenes were too dark (unless it was caused by the sun's glare that morning. And the dead boys all looked alike, wearing outfits that reminded me of the chimney sweepers from Mary Poppins.

I don't care for zombie movies to be honest, but Wicked Little Things was pretty good for its genre.

Freaky Friday (2003)

Better than the Book

[9/10 · 28 March 2008]

Based on the 70's novel by Mary Rodger, "Freaky Friday" will eat your heart! Jamie Lee Curtis is Tess Coleman, while Lindsay Lohan is her 100% rebellious daughter Anna. Both are complete polar opposites, from hair to even boys. Tess is engaged to Ryan (Mark Harmon from NCIS), who Anna doesn't approve because she still hasn't gotten over the death of her real father. Anna has a little brother named Harry, who bugs her like any little bro, but it takes more affect on Anna than any other sister. Anna is in a rock band created by her other friends, their band called Pink Slip. Pink Slip has been offered to be in an audition for new bands -- something that Anna can't resist. But there's one problem: Mom.

On Thurday night Anna tries to get Tess to allow her to go, but Tess is angry, then Anna, and things get ugly, until they're offered a Chinese fortune cookie that holds a mysterious fortune, which they read simultaneously. The next morning, uh-oh.

Anna and Tess are each other, but have their minds to keep. Both are forced to be each other, despite their goals to achieve (Tess's wedding rehearsal and Anna's audition.) As Friday passes, both start to see the truth of each other lives, which could help them get back in their own bodies and lives.

Sweet, funny, and yet cheesy, Freaky Friday and warm-hearted and seemingly fun.

Zoom (2006)

Uhh...

[4/10 · 28 March 2008]

The only reason that I watched "Zoom" was because:

1.) There was nothing on TV and 2.) I was curious on HOW bad it was reviewed.

And not kidding.

Maybe because it was probably designed for younger kids...? Who knows, but all I know is that I could get the feeling out of my head that day: the feeling of humor-disgust. Tim Allen is Zoom, the superhero has-been who recruits four very different kids.

First is the adorable little Cindy, the strong little princess with super strength. But adding little pink tutus and blond curls didn't give the character a unique look like Kojack with candy.

Next is a teenage boy who, in the trailer, decides to render himself invisible -- in the middle of class. Um, hello? And the guy's got a thing for the next character.

Superhero #3 is a girl named Summer, who can movie things with her mind, which is cool, even when it was abused in this movie. Abused to throwing school food in the faces of cheerleaders in the the trailer. Girl has small thing for guy, which guy has a bigger thing for her.

Perhaps the most interesting character must be the fat boy, who can make himself even fatter when expanding any part of his body (from butt to first you name it) It's really annoying with the fact that he focuses on food than training.)

"Zoom" is not the best movie in the world, but maybe for children who still pin their blankets around their necks and pretend that they can fly. Either way, this movie was a wreck.

The Incredibles (2004)

The Title Says it All!!!

[10/10 · 28 March 2008]

I saw this movie twice -- and I loved every minute!!! It's got to be one of the best Pixar movies ever! Basically looks like a normal story of two superheros in a metropolitic city, but no, the twist goes on when Mr. Incredible (Bob Parr) and Elasticgirl (Helen Parr) have just tied the knot and are suddenly drowned in lawsuits from damages and other consequences, forcing them to hang up the suit forever.

Fifteen years later, Helen and Bob, along with their superhero children Violet, Dash, and little Jack-Jack, are bored of their too bland lives, despite the super secret they keep from the world outside their suburban home. Bob's being drained but his job in the boring bland office building while Helen is at home with the kids.

But everything changes when Bob is able to find himself being able to put on spandex again and do something for a change, or is he? It turns out that corrupted fan Syndrome has lead Mr. Incredible into a trap laced with the desires that Mr. Incredible has been longing for years: time to be a hero again.

Suddenly, it goes from one superhero to the next as the rest of the family team up to get back Dad and save the world. What's best about the movie are the opportunities to see a character use their superpowers in a situation, from Dash running 100 meters away from the bad guys to Violet protecting him in a purple force field, making the kids looks like they're in a purple hamster ball.

The Incredibles is exciting, hilarious, and filled with punches and kicks of action that everyone in the family will enjoy for time to come. A definite 10/10!

Rambo (2008)

It's Rambo!

[10/10 · 28 March 2008]

To be honest, this is the first of the series that I've seen -- and I don't have to see all three to understand the genre and violent grip the movie keeps hold on.

I saw it a week or so after being released in theaters. I decided to see it since it looked good. But the first five minutes, when the villagers of Thailand are brutally murdered, from bullets to mines. After those five minuted, I thought, "Maybe this was a bad idea..." Still, Rambo still possesses the sweat and muscles to travel all over the country when he agrees to help a group of American Christain aid workers who hoped to help villagers -- but not knowing what was heading their way: the vicious Burmanese military and its satanic soldiers and general. When Rambo gets the news of their capture, he teams up with missionaries, all foul-mouthed and armed to the teeth.

It sounds like an all out war in the jungle, but it's more than that. From gory, horrifying fatalities from bullets and a machete to the great explosions, Rambo is sure to make you bit your fingernails to the end.

Night at the Museum (2006)

Imaginative, but not bad

[8/10 · 28 March 2008]

I'm not a big Ben Stiller fan, but I am a fan to a creative mind. When I saw the preview for this movie, I was laughing out loud.

"Night at the Museum" started out with a typical one. All Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) wants is a job to help himself from the other. Dad gets job at the Museum of Natural History (out of how many in the world), beginning fresh as a night guard. First night on the job seems normal -- but not for long. Larry discovers that the museum's displays, from statues to mannequins, come to life -- but how? Will Larry be able to figure that out without having living history make his new job living hell itself? The movie wasn't that bad when I saw it in theaters. Some parts weren't what I thought would be shown, and neither was the end. Still, I give this movie a hefty 8/10.