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Reviews
Justice League: War (2014)
All the Fun of a Summer Blockbuster
'Justice League: War' is based on the best selling comic book story arc: 'Justice League: Origin'. It's a tale that feels like a big summer movie in comic form, so it seems only natural that it would be the basis for its own animated release. While some may judge 'War' on the basis of its straight to video release, the story stands up pretty darn well despite its budgetary constraints.
The film centers around the major players like Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, Flash, and Superman, but it also incorporates two lesser known characters with Cyborg and Shazam in the battle against Darkseid; however, by the end the whole group feels like a cohesive team. The film really shines in the genuinely funny interplay between the characters and a real sense that each member feels useful in the apocalyptic situation they find themselves in. Certain characters who need no introduction are thrown right into the action while others who need a bit of back story are given the right amount of an origin story.
The action is superb, and it's pretty obvious that most of the animation budget went towards it. Wonder Woman slices enemies up in fitting Amazonian fashion, Green Lantern's otherworldly constructs are spectacular and fluid, Superman's immense strength is in full force, Cyborg's constant morphing looks awesome, and Flash's super speed is used in some fantastically innovative ways. The only character who lacks the same kind of punch is Shazam who spends quite a lot of the movie throwing lightning bolts at enemies to little effect.
In fact, Shazam is the weakest part of the film with very little to do until the end of the film. This is likely a result of him taking Aquaman's place from the comic's story line. Where Aquaman was very deliberately placed to do specific things in the original story, Shazam feels like a placeholder character, a shame since his origin is ripe for a DC Animated film all its own. Speaking of which, Shazam could have benefited from some more background in the final cut of the film but doesn't get it. It wouldn't be necessary to compare the film to the comic in this way if Shazam had felt like a meaningful addition to the lineup, but as it is, he seems to only be here because someone on the creative side of the film thought Aquaman too unmarketable.
Still, the film isn't ruined by the appearance of one character in favor of another; this is a Justice League movie after all, and it excels at being a great popcorn flick for the home video market. DC Animation continues to knock these releases out of the park or at least get a solid base hit.
Splinterheads (2009)
That was one of the good ones
I had no expectations when I sat down to watch this movie. The only reason I even got it was because Schuylar Croom was in one scene. I'm so glad that I did watch this one thought because it was hilarious.
The plot is similar to all romantic comedies. Nerdy guy meets edgy girl. She doesn't like him. He likes her. By the end they like each other. To be honest, this formula is so old that I was fairly certain I would hate this movie once I saw where the plot was headed. And to be sure the nerdy guy cliché is in full effect here. There are times where I just wanted to scream at this guy to man up just a little bit, but in the end he did not let me down. By the way, the final scenes are worth watching the rest of the movie.
The girl also seems like she is trying too hard to be cool, but for the most part, it works. Also, there is very little on character development. You pick up a lot of little things, but the movie seems to rely on the fact that the formula is so familiar that you already know these characters.
Despite all this, the movie has what most popular comedies in this era lack: jokes. A lot of the main characters humor is reliant on physical comedy, but he makes it work.
All in all this is a quirky comedy that people should check out. Some parts will have you rolling your eyes, and some will have you cheering. The latter outweighs the former.
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009)
An extremely powerful movie
I honestly can't figure out the low score on the site(as of writing this it has a 5.7). Brief Interviews with Hideous Men was one of the most powerful movies I've seen. Usually John Krasinski is a happy-go-lucky fun loving guy. But here you can really see a darker and much more serious side of him. His end monologue is one of the most intense stories I've ever heard.
The story revolves around a researcher studying the different effects of feminism on men by interviewing them. She interviews many different men, and they all have problems. At first, it may trick you into thinking that this will show you a bunch of dumb stories, but it continuously gets darker and darker. You get to hear some truly powerful and gripping stories about different men's lives. They all really hit hard but never feel like they are specifically designed to shock you.
The editing is probably the most potent ingredient in the mix. While it can be a bit disorienting at times, it almost always has a powerful effect on the viewer. Also, it doesn't throw everything out for you to see. You have to read between the lines for some of it before it tells you anything, really. The final few scenes pull the whole movie together so well that I really hope Krasinski writes more screenplays soon.
This was an extremely intense movie to watch. It's not something you will pop in on a regular basis, or indeed watch more than once or twice, but that's not say that it was anything less than powerful and a great piece of storytelling.
Trigun (1998)
One of the best westerns I've seen
I want to open this by saying that I don't watch too much anime. There are a handful of movies that I enjoyed and one or two series, but Trigun absolutely blew me away. The setting is amazing, the characters are interesting and well thought out; although, I did find Nicholas D. Wolfwood to be more interesting than Vash, but that's not to say that Vash isn't cool. He is. I just found him to be a little too goofy, but I also see that that's the point. Anyway, the story is just outstanding. There's something in this show for anime fans(i.e. huge guns, ridiculous action, and a very eccentric story line) and for western fans(the old saloon town setting, the gunslinging outlaw, and many many noteworthy shoot outs). This is probably one of the best shows I've seen, and what's great about it is that it doesn't drag out for seasons. It has a beginning and an end. In short, this show is great regardless of whether or not you like anime.
Avatar (2009)
Probably the best of 2009
There are some light spoilers here just to let you know.
I didn't really listen to the hype for this one. I knew that my friends and I wanted to see it but wasn't too sure about it. In short, I was blown away. The story line is great and extremely well written. All the characters you should love, you love. All the characters you should hate, you most definitely hate. The special effects are amazing. They never falter or depreciate over the course of the film. You really get emotionally involved with these characters. My hat is off to James Cameron, because if he can get me more choked up over a made up alien being getting killed than one of the human characters in the film getting killed, you know he's created something astounding. During the film's climax, I felt like i should be fighting with the Na'vi. All the acting is spot on. Worthington is truly great in this. You can easily see his change throughout the course of the film. All-in-all this is an amazing film worth watching. If you're slightly interested, go see it. If you are skeptical about the hype, go see it. If you are completely uninterested, go see it. This is one you won't want to miss.
White Noise 2: The Light (2007)
Decent movie. Could have had a different title
Well I'll be honest. The only reason I took interest in this one was because of Nathan Fillion. He's great in everything that he is in. Here, he's playing a different kind of role, but you never get to see that side of him come through. This movie has its moments, and the premise had a lot of potential. However, the actual film didn't measure up. About 1% of this movie is character development, and that sucks because I actually wanted to get to know these characters before the weird events of the movie took place. The other 99% is the director trying to cram this story into an hour and a half long movie. Also, seeing as how this movie has absolutely nothing to do with the original, I really don't see why it's called White Noise 2. I guess they just wanted to get the whole transmission after death thing off the ground quick and weren't interested in a new franchise. At any rate the pacing seems rushed which is a bummer because it could have been cool. I am a big fan of religious fiction movies, and that's what this movie is. Also, it's not really a horror movie. It has scary "jump" scenes, but it's more of a thriller, and it tries too hard at times to scare you when the story line isn't really supposed to be that kind of scary. If they had called the movie something else and if the director had had free reign over the production, I think it could have been good, but we don't really get to see Fillion or any of the actors become their characters. If you get into the story even a little bit, it works just not for very long.
Castle (2009)
Good show with Great actors
So, I found out recently that Nathan Fillion, who is probably my favorite actor, is doing a new show called "Castle". Immediately I looked it up on IMDb and found a few episodes online. I watched one to see how it was, and it didn't take me long at all to finish the others that were here. I even added the first season to my Christmas list. Now, I'm just gonna start with the acting. The main two characters, Castle and Beckett, played by Fillion and Katic, do a great job with these characters. I usually have a problem with female leads who try to hard to make you realize that they're tough, but Katic makes you believe that she's a strong cop with a lighter side, and it doesn't put you off to the character. The rest of the detectives in the show are a little standard for these type of shows but still offer some really funny moments. Castle's daughter and mother are played extremely well, and you really believe that they are his family because they act naturally together. Castle is obviously where the show shines. Fillion takes great jokes and delivers them so well you might think that he improvised all of his dialogue. I guess the natural nature of each of the characters is the strongest point. Fillion is always funny and just pulls off his characters so well; "Castle" is no exception.
Now the show itself is a little less appealing than the characters that live in it. Of the episodes I've watched, there seems to be a formula. The standard episode seems to follow a pattern that consists of them finding a bunch of suspects(always good in a mystery), weeding out the seemingly obvious choices(what fun would it be if the mystery were easy to solve?), getting the crucial piece of evidence for one suspect(who usually didn't do it), and finally finding the obscure evidence that nails the real killer. However, keep in mind that I haven't seen them all yet, so this may not be true for all of them. The mysteries are always good, and you care about what's going on, but I think they should divert from the formula a bit more. Nevertheless the writing is good just not great.
The negatives in no way cancel out the great characters and situations, and the mysteries truly are good. The parts are well acted, and it has Nathan Fillion, so we have to keep this show alive.