Thursday, December 23, 2010

The Unexpected Hiatus has Ended

Woah! Sorry guys for not updating at all since August! Things have been busy, but I'm pretty sure you don't want to hear about my boring life. Basically, I moved from Seattle to SoCal and school has been ridiculous and on top of that, I've watched so many movies in between now and August, I can't even count them anymore. I will be reviewing, but mostly movies in the theatres. I will still put older movies up too, but my main focus will be the ones still playing. I mean, what's the use of talking about movies that are out of theatres and not on DVD yet? If they are on DVD, they will be reviewed, but mostly by request. Also, most Rated R movies will be denied. If they are in theatres and I have seen it, it will be reviewed. Thank you for sticking with me! God Bless and Merry Christmas!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Easy A: This Is The Movie That John Hughes Would've Made

While you may underestimate this movie as a cheap cliche of a teen flick, but it makes it's mark with a big A.

Olive Penderghast (Golden Globe Nominee, Emma Stone) is just another one of those invisible girls. She spends her weekends singing "Pocketful of Sunshine" in her room, and is pretty normal. Before this, she told her best friend that she was on a date that weekend and couldn't hang out with her family. When she returns home, she has to tell a lie to her friend who doesn't believe that nothing happened, even when nothing did happen. Christian extremist, Maryann, hears this rumor and convinces everyone that Olive is a floosy. With this, she's happy with her reputation, because she now has one. She helps guys out, allowing them to say what they want about Olive and their encounters. With this, it becomes clear that when the rumors become too much, she needs to come clean about everything that has been said, and not done.

This will be a very memorable teen comedy, like Mean Girls before it. It's smartly written, witty, funny, and greatly acted. Emma Stone was very deserving of the Golden Globe nomination for this movie. She was a comedic force to be reckoned with throughout the whole movie. As the plot takes twists and turns, it all comes together in the most unexpected ways.

This is Zoe, coming with a lot more. :)

Friday, September 17, 2010

Vampires Suck: Yeah, Vampires Don't Suck as Much as this Movie

Okay, this takes a hit on about every vampire series and movie ever made, but Friedberg and Seltzer once again fail in their spoof movie, that is hardly funny.

Becca Crane moves into Sporks, Washington after her mom starts dating Tiger Woods. If you know Twilight, you know how this goes. She falls in love with the vampire, but at the (in this movie) BEYOND disastrous birthday party he leaves on his vespa. Her shirtless best friend, Jacob, the chihuahua, falls in love with her. The Zolturi come and crash the Italy based prom, where they plan to turn Becca into a vampire. That basically where the movie ends, and there's not much to it after that.

The movie is short, simple-minded, and unfunny. All the funny parts in the movie were already shown in the trailer and TV spots. Matt Lanter is the only one who even tries to make an effort, but is still more convincing as his 90210 charcter, that I don't even watch! Don't waste your money, and wait until DVD if you wanted to watch it. As a Twilight fan, I felt they just tried to remake the movie in a terrible way. As you see, there is not much to say about this movie. It's just lousy.

Grade: -D (Yup, it sucks that bad.)



This is Zoe, saying Vampires may suck to you, but this is worse than vampires.

Inception: Smart without being Boring

You may have heard a lot about Inception this Summer, but it all live hype when it hits the big screen. In a soon-to-be classic by genius, Christopher Nolan, comes a new story about dreams and reality.
Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an extractor of dreams. His job is to steal company secrets to sell to other companies for their advantage. He soon takes on one last big job: performing inception in the dreams of a company heir. When he sees this is his only way back home, he assembles a team consisting of a point man (Arthur played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an architect (Ariadne played by Ellen Page), a forger (Eames played by Tom Hardy), a tourist, and a chemist. They need to build a three layer dream, otherwise known as dream in a dream in a dream. It’s the only way the plan will work, and the idea will get planted. But as they go deeper into Robert Fischer’s mind, they begin to go deeper into Cobb’s. Will they prove successful or will his subconscious end up taking over?
This movie is beautifully shot with dynamic angles and fast pace editing, so the audience never gets bored. Although, you can’t miss a minute or you will be somewhat confused and lost. Hans Zimmer creates a perfect score with hauntingly amazing music that sets the mood for the emotional scenes, just as well as the action scenes. The script is well-written, very easily being one of the best scripts ever made for an action movie. It’s exciting dialogue and sometimes humor makes it fun without cursing so much, but with tons of awesome and solid action scenes.
The performances made it what it is though. Leonardo DiCaprio captures the depth and emotion of the character, as always, but is still interesting as this is the only action movie I have seen him in. Marion Cotilliard does well as the dead, but still insane wife of Cobb. Ellen Page, best known for her more humorous roles, finally shows her more dramatic side as a young woman, just discovering the dream world. Tom Hardy, lesser know than most of the cast, brings some comic relief as forger, Eames. . And my personal favorite, Joseph Gordon Levitt as Arthur. He always switches up his roles, but hardly is ever in action flicks as I was waiting for more movies from him after his performance in (500) Days of Summer. I’ll just say he has THE best zero gravity fight scenes.
This movie really makes you think, It takes a few days to process what you saw, and not be obsessed with everything about it and its idea. Yet, it is still completely worth it. So, if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re missing out! Go see it, and you’ll have no regrets about it.

Grade: A+

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Diary of A Wimpy Kid: Funny, Family Friendly, and Realistic (Guest Reviewer)

This movie was amazing considering that most books made into movies, they aren't anything alike. If you are thinking of going to see this movie and think it might be a little too "kiddish" for you, go see the movie right now. It is perfect for the whole family, kids and adults will love this hilarious film about a kid named Greg, and his "diary." Having read the books, it had all the elements included in the movie. Unlike "The Vampire's Assistant", the school, middle school, that the characters are in is realistic as it could be. Overall, it is outrageously funny, weirdly realistic, and an amazingly directed film.

Summary:
Greg, an eleven year old kid, is about to head to middle school with a high school brother, Rodrick, in a band named Loded Diper, pronounced Loaded Diaper, and a little brother, Manny, who calls Greg, "Bubby." Greg has a friend, Rowley, who isn't the most mature but isn't stupid. Their are several problems with Rowley and Greg which Greg hopes to fix. In the meantiime Greg is all alone, rejected by everyone he walks by and an outcast without Rowley. In the school there is the "cheese touch" that came from a rotten cheese that mysteriously appeared on the blacktop one day. Greg signs up for the Wizard of Oz play i the school where Patty Farrell is Dorthy, she is also known as a smart snob. The whole movie connects at the end and most of the problems are solved. By that time, the school year has ended and it enters into the awesome credits.

NOTE: If you have the time, try to read the books. They are really quick reads and easily enjoyable. :]





This is the mystery reviewer signing off saying, go watch this movie, you'll enjoy it.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Remember Me: Moving, Amazing, and Sad

If you think this is a love story, you've either a.)been talking to my mom or b.)know nothing about this movie.

Summary:
The film starts with a young girl and her mom in a subway station. The little girl then witnesses her mother's murder. Ten years later, that little eleven-year-old is now the twenty-one-year-old, Ally Craig [Emilie De Ravin]. Tyler Hawkins [Robert Pattinson] is a troubled and rebellious twenty-one-year-old who recently saw his brother die. He doesn't have a great relationship with his businessman father, Charles [Pierce Brosnan], but is very close with his sister, Caroline [Ruby Jerins] and his roommate and best friend, Aidan Hall [Tate Ellington]. One night, Tyler and Aidan are out and see a fight begin to breakout and decides to be the hero and beat up the guys that started it. When he does, he gets beat up by a cop [Chris Cooper], and gets put in jail. After being bailed out by his father, Aidan and Tyler meet Ally who also goes to NYU with the two of them, when Aidan finds out that Ally is the daughter of Neil, the cop who put them in jail. Aidan makes Tyler meet her to get back at Neil. After goind a date with her, they get to know each other by sharing each other's past losses, and fall in love. As things progrees, the relationship get harder to hold up, but in it's obstacles, they realize how much they love each other. But, it's not just the relationship that starts to have problems, his relationship with his father is also tested, and his talented art sister begins to get hurt by the fact that she think her father doesn't like her and that he doesn't show up to her art exhibit. He builds better relationships for the ones he has, and everyone redeems themselves. By the end of the movie, you find out what happens and it's not what you think...it's near the end of 2001.

ONE WARNING: If you were in 9/11, or lost someone from it, you may not want to watch this movie. The end may offend you or sadden you deeply. I thought the movie was very beautiful, well-directed, and had great preformances all around. It was so great that it actually scared me. It was very moving. Everyone had amazing chemistry, and genuinely looked like the people loved each other, were close, or hated each toher like their characters. Emilie and Rob make an amazing on-screen couple. All the characters make you feel their pain. Ruby Jerins was very excellent, and I could see her being just like Dakota Fanning in a few years. The more experienced actors, Pierce and Chris were great too, just because I've never really seen them play the meaner characters, and they pulled it off. I liked Rob more in this than in the Twilight movies, because it truly portrays his skills as an actor. The movie becomes hard to watch at times, because it is very sad and very violent and when it opens up with a murder scene, it shakes you up for the rest of the film. The storyline had to be the greatest though. It was somewhat of a love story, but I think it was truly a story about life, and redeeming yourself for the people you love, and sticking up for what you believe in. This movie does become apart of you and sticks. I knew a few people who read the script beforehand and loved it, so I trusted their judgement, but it was even more amazing than I thought they meant. I was crying so much at the end, because one you see that one thing, you know what's happening. I was still shaking even when I got out of the theater. A lot of other people were too, but if you could stomach it, go ahead and watch it because it is amazing. It was one of the most amazing movies I have ever seen in my entire life.

Garde: B+



"Ghandi said that whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it's very important that you do it anyway. I tend to agree with the first part..." This is Zoe, saying that my heart goes out to everyone who lost someone in 9/11. Signing off.

Friday, March 5, 2010

Alice In Wonderland: Come To The Tea Party

It's almost been TWO weeks since my last review! D: I'm soooo sorry! School, Mid-Winter Break, Three/Four assingment books, and the end of the school year is arriving. I've watched so many movies that I need to do reviews for them, so I will have TONS! I just thought this would be my coming back one. :]

Summary:
Alice Kingsley was just a little girl, who had nightmares of falling down a hole and such. As thirteen years pass, she's almost 20. Everyone wants her to marry Hamish, and she sttends a party that is her engagement party. He proposes, and she leaves, falling down a rabbit hole on the way. She comes and people keep saying "She's Alice, she's Alice." She gets confused, because she's never been there before. She begins to figure out what's happening, and what she needs to do to get out of her so-called Wonderland "dream".

This movie was actually really great and exceeded my standrads. It was classically Tim Burton, so I expected it to be weird but good. It was nice to watch. Everyone's preformances were great, especially for Mia Watsikowska, for I have not seen many of her roles. I loved Johnny's wackiness, Helena's sense of humor, and Anne's grace and poise throughtout the film. It was very Disney, and I expected it to be a little darker, but you know, Disney. I still enjoyed it. It's just the ending that felt a tad bit rushed, but it was quite lovely. If you're a fan of Alice in Wonderland, go see it, very enjoyable.

Grade: B



This is Zoe. Signing off for right now, saying, Come to the Tea Party, you're in for a delightful treat. :]

Saturday, February 13, 2010

Valentine's Day: Garry Marshall is a Sheer Genius

I have one thing to say: Thank you, mom, for taking me to see this movie. Okay, so I've begged her ever since I heard about this movie in July. We also took my little siblings, and you know, it was great! I gotta say, this movie made me love Valentine's Day a little. :]

Summary:
(This is a story about Love, and the true meaning of Valentine's Day. I'm not going to say a lot, because the movie has to make you think, because they never say it completely outright, and it has 10 different intersecting stories, so one can give away another.) It starts with Reed Bennett [Ashton Kutcher] proposing to his girlfriend, Morely Clarkson [Jessica Alba], and she says yes. But then, Morely makes a decision, changing things. Jason [Topher Grace] forgot that it was Valentine's Day, so he decides to do something special for Liz [Anne Hathaway], but then he finds out her big secret. Kelvin Briggs [Jamie Foxx] is a sports reporter, who has to report about Valentine's Day, but as news breaks, he goes to a press conference where Sean Jackson [Eric Dane] releases a big secret, and if he's going to stay in football or not. Julia Fitzpatrick [Jennifer Garner] is dating Harrison Copeland [Patrick Dempsey], but when Harrison comes into Reed's flower shop, Reed finds out something that will hurt his best friend, Julia. Alex [Carter Jenkins] and Grace [Emma Roberts] are supposed to have sex, but decide that, maybe this won't keep there relationship strong while they're away from each other. Edgar [Hector Elizondo] and Estelle [Shirley McLaine] are just months away, when she tells him that she did something years ago that could tear them apart. Edison Hazeltine [Bryce Robinson] is a 5th grader in love, but he needs to tell that special girl in time. Kate [Julia Roberts] is on army soldier on leave, when she befriends Holden [Bradley Cooper] on a plane. Kara is a neurotic women who hates Valentine's Day, but her luck, just begins to change. This movie also has performances by Kathy Bates, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, and Taylor Swift.

I thought this was the cutest romantic comedy EVER! The storyline clicked a lot more than He's Just Not That Into You. It makes you think, because it won't just tell you everything right away. The cast had great chemistry, partly because a lot of them knew and worked with each other before, but they made it believable. It balances out the drama, love, and the comedy, so it wasn't cheesy at all. I just love the cast they chose, because they made it amazing. It was just a flat-out great date movie and it's just so much fun to watch. I'm such a softy. Don't listen to all of those critics who said this was a bad movie, because this movie is irresistable. You won't be able to stay away. Garry Marshall, I have said this many times before and I WILL say it again many times in the future, you are my hero. Thank you for this amazing movie, because he outdid himself again.

Grade: B



This is Zoe, saying if you haven't seen Valentine's Day yet, GO SEE IT! Or I will send my dogs to come after you and hunt you down. Have a great Valentine's Day. Love, Zoe.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief: There are No Words to Describe how AMAZING it was

Literally, indescribable. I was going to do a vlog for this one, but I found out that I'm no good at it.

Summary:
Percy Jackson is a normal kid, with a normal life. One day, his sub turns into a Fury. This is when Mr. Brunner and Grover knows he needs to leave and go to Camp Half-Blood. His mom gets "killed", along the way. When he gets to camp, he finds out he's a demigod, and Son of Poseidon. He also meets a new friend, Annabeth Chase. He is accused of stealing Zeus's master bolt. When he finds out Hades has his mom still, they take a quest to the underworld to get her, with some of Luke's equipment. Will Percy, Grover, and Annabeth come back alive?

I though this was seriously amazing. It was more entertaining than a lot of mythical movies that I have seen. And it's original, instead of Vampires, Wizards, etc. I am always interested in Greek mythology. It was a lot of fun to watch Rick Riordan's book come to life on the screen. I read the book, not too long ago, and the only gripe I have is that it was only kid of like the book, because they changed the storyline to just fit the main characters, because they took out Ares and Clarisse, but still, it was good. First, the effects were the best and incredibly realistic. Second, the cast was perfect. They really got into their roles, and became the character. Logan Lerman, to me, is just amazing. I love his work, and he's a great person, aside from being gorgeous. I am proud to be a Loriginal Lermanite. Brandon T. Jackson is just awesome, and it was funny to see him play a satyr, and I just love him! [I love the whole cast, so yeah.]Alex was great as Annabeth. And I could go on all day, but I'll just say, the rest of the cast was amazing also. Third, I recommend it to you if you haven't seen it yet. It was most definitely worth the wait. Fourth, they also has Chris Columbus as a director, so that just made it even better, and if you mistake this movie for Harry Potter, I will kick drop you. Haha. Long review. I'm just saying, it's amazing, go see it. [Oh, and forget everything you saw in the very first trailer. None of that is in the movie.]



Grade: B-

This is Zoe, saying go see Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, and my computer is about to shut off, so I will be reviewing Valentine's Day soon. Have a great Valentine's weekend. :]

The Time Traveler's Wife: One of the Best Movies I Have Seen in a Long Time

Yes, I usually like most of the movies I review, but this is different. Trust me.

Summary:
Henry is a time traveler, but he can't at all control it. Also, he's naked every time he travels. In the beginning, he meets Clare in a library. Now, don't turn off the movie yet, because she will act a tiny bit crazy when she sees him. They met when she was a little girl, and when he was older. The movie progresses to say that when he keeps going to everywhere, his age always differs depending on the time. Will there love survive through the passing time?

I love this movie. It was complicated, but it was purely amazing. Just a few warnings, it's sad, and shows some brief nudity, so yeah. I can't even really describe this movie in words, so I'm just going to say that I loved it.



This is Zoe, and my next review will be Percy Jackson and The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. My brother already got to see it at midnight. -_- xD I had to stay home with the little sister. I'm freaking excited! :]