Limitless

August 8^th, 2012

Limitless Review:

Limitless is the type of film that grabs you and does not let go. The premise is quite entertaining, it goes like this: a writer who suffers from massive writer’s block is giving the secret to unlocking all of his brain potential. The movie takes this premise and hits the ground running.

Performances:

This is the movie that proves Bradley Cooper to the world. Before this he was a pretty face in comedic films like the Hangover and Wedding Crashers. Limitless changes that. Cooper proves his worth as an actor to the world; he is a great actor, but not only that, he is an entertaining actor. Not all actors can combine the two great qualities and combine them into one, but Cooper can. He truly shows the signs of an addiction to a drug that makes you smarter and more powerful. Other than that, Robert de Niro gives a good performance as a Wall Street big-shot who Cooper’s character goes through to reach the top. I loved the ending scene, where De Niro tells Cooper that he is a bad enemy to have, and Cooper tells him that there is no scenario that he won’t come out on top. Abby Cornish plays the girlfriend character, nothing new from her, and there is a Mafia bad guy who is ok but nothing special. By far Cooper blows this category out of the park.

Plot:

Limitless has a great idea for a plot. It is obviously about addictive drugs, but it does not let that bog it down. LZT is something that any of us would want, a pill that makes us invincible in both mind and body. I think that the best part of this movie is when Cooper has first started to take the pill and is starting to gain power. There are many vibrant colors and it moves quick, so watch carefully. The idea that the pill is addictive is good as well. It presents a plot point that could just as easily become an annoying metaphor for drugs, but it doesn’t and it uses it to its advantage fully. There are a couple of plot points that don’t work quite as well, such as the mafia character becoming addicted to LZT, but these problems are very small and do move to form the climax.

Entertainment:

This movie, for all of the good plot points, is extremely entertaining. Movies, like actors, have to prove on two levels, entertainment and plot. It must have a good plot and be entertaining to be considered one of the best. The colors used in this film are very vibrant, especially in the zooming around the city scenes and the scene in the Caribbean.  Bradley Cooper is funny in his role as well, and the main progression of the story works so well, I have no complaints. There is only one complaint I have in this category, and that is that it didn’t flesh out the girlfriend enough. They should have made her get addicted to the drug as well, leading to her death, to make the film more tragic. However, with all of the other plot points, this is a very small complaint.

Overview:

Limitless is the film that proves Bradley Cooper is an actor to watch.  It bolsters a great plot and some great performances and good characters. The idea of a drug that can unlock the secrets of your brain is one of the most interesting concepts of this year. I would say that this film is a great one, it has some great performances and is definitely one to watch.

Final Grade: A-  

Kick-Ass

August 4^th, 2012

Kick-Ass Review:

Kick-Ass is an extremely entertaining movie. It runs with its premise, taking it places no one thought it would go. It is extremely over the top violent, but that just adds to the fun of the film. Kick-Ass is a remarkable good time any time you watch it, and I’m sure you will love it too.

Performances:

The two best performances in this film are Nicholas Cage and Mark Strong. Mark Strong is a great actor, I loved what he did with Sinestro in last year’s Green Lantern (one of the only good things about that movie), and I love what he did as the villain in 2010’s Sherlock Holmes reboot. In this movie he plays a Mafia boss named Frank Damico, who is a major cocaine dealer. Nicholas Cage is the first superhero to try to stop him; he wears a Batman costume, but the comparison stops right there. Batman would never kill countless mafia members. Cage has a daughter, Hit Girl, who is just as crazy as he is. She is the most over the top part of this movie, but seeing an eleven year old girl kill people and spout cuss words just never gets old. Kick Ass himself is not bad, and neither is Red Mist as the son of the villain.

Plot:

Kick-Ass uses it’s plot to its advantage, at least as well it is able to. The premise of actual people becoming superheroes is not bad, and could be taken many different ways. However, Kick-Ass takes it one of the best ways it could go. My only gripe with this movie is the many different unimportant side characters. People like Kick Ass’s two best friends and his girlfriend could annoying at times, but they all offer laughs and most do affect the plot in some way so it is a small concern.

Entertainment:

Kick-Ass is one of the most entertaining superhero movies ever made. It has so many laughs and so much violence, just packed into one two hour movie. The violence is very over the top and extremely bloody, there is one scene where Hit Girl cuts a man’s leg off and then stabs him through the head with a sword. However, the violence in this movie is used much to its advantage that it doesn’t matter at all. This is also a very funny movie. There is a very funny line concerning a bazooka that comes near the end of the film, that is endlessly quotable. It makes for some good fun.

Overview:

Kick-Ass is one entertaining movie. It has action, romance, and laughs that keep us all happy at all times. The over topness of it all doesn’t matter when you are laughing because of it. It may seem wrong at first, but the sight of an eleven year old girl killing a Mafia boss just never gets old. The only bad thing about Kick-Ass is the many annoying side characters, however they are not there very much and they do offer laughs so it still works. Kick-Ass is overall one of the better superhero movies ever made, and I would rank it right up there with Watchmen and Captain America.

Final Grade: B

The Hunger Games

August 1st, 2012 

The Hunger Games Review:

The Hunger Games finally hit theatres last weekend with an explosive opening. It grossed over 200 million dollars in the box office in one weekend, only behind The Dark Knight and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II. I myself did not realize how much hype this film truly had until it finally released this weekend. Is it worth the wait and the hype. The answer is a resounding yes.

Performances:

Each actor in this film is truly the character that was written. I have never felt this way about any film, even Harry Potter, and it shows just how committed everyone was to making this film succeed. Because of the actors doing so well, I can’t say which one did the best, but I’ll talk about Jennifer Lawrence. Lawrence is Katniss Everdeen. She does so well in the role, but she plays it understated. The cave scene with her and Peeta was so well played. Also the scenes with the fire are thrilling and exciting, her interaction with Haymitch is great. My favorite actor in this film is Woody Harrelson as Haymitch, but that is probably because Woody Harrelson is my favorite actor. But he is so good as Abernathy he just brings a quality of depression but also hope that so defines the Hunger Games series as a whole. Also, Donald Sutherland was close to perfect as President Snow. The level of understated menace he brings to the role is just how Snow was written in the books.

Plot:

The movie follows the plot of the book to the letter. Never before have I seen a movie that so closely follows the plot of the book it is based off of. The premise is the same, the districts rebelled against the capitol so the tributes have to fight to the death. But it takes it in surprising new directions. The scene with District 11 rebelling against the Capitol is such a good twist, it foreshadows the second and third films and is one of the things that makes the movie better than the book. I didn’t enjoy the books that much when I actually read them, however I felt that the plotline was fantastic. The movie just runs with the plot and doesn’t bore you at all, making it 100% and better than the novel it was based off of.

Entertainment:

This is one entertaining film. The first half is before the Games, with them training and getting ready. The final half is the Games themselves. The first half can get a bit slow, but it has the best from both Cinna and Haymitch so I give it a rest. The part with the Games is very entertaining. It shows both gory death scenes with Cato, and forgiveness and hope with Rue. The forest fire scene is very thrilling and scary, and the final battle with the mutant dogs is scary and epic. Donald Sutherland is the menace in this film, and the scenes with Stanley Tucci, Sutherland, and Wes Bentley discussing the games make it all the more thrilling. This is one film with so much entertainment packed in the plot you just need to see it.

Overview:

The Hunger Games is a damn good film. It brings up views of an evil dictatorship but it also shows shines of hope throughout. The performances are just like the characters in the book, perfect. The actors they picked are perfect, the plot is perfect, the setting is perfect, the ending is perfect. Just everything is perfect. There is not one thing that I would change about this film. It has all of the elements of Harry Potter and Batman. It also has things that resemble Buffy, Firefly, 24, Donnie Darko, and Game of Thrones. There is only one gripe that I have with this film, and that is that it gets a little slow towards the end. This is when Katniss and Peeta are in the cave. The romance angle in this movie is a lot better than Twilight, yet it does seem a little pushed. If they had pulled it off a little less like Twilight, than I’m sure that it would have been a tad bit better. Also, a couple of my friends that I went with thought this as well, but they had not read the novel. However, this film hits every right note, and it is the best film of spring 2011. All in all, the Hunger Games is one great film.

Final Grade: B+