Halloween is still a few
weeks away, but the studios are rolling out the thematic material a little
early. A reinterpretation of "Frankenstein" for kids is
complemented by the horror-movie-of-the-week and a number of films that delve
into more realistic terrors. Tim Burton reworks his 1984 live action
short into the 3D, black-and-white, animated "Frankenweenie,"
a timely Halloween-themed kid’s flick. Young lad Victor Frankenstein (Charlie
Tahan) is so completely crushed by the death of his dog Sparky that he
decides to do what most kids probably wish they could do when their pets are
sent to “a farm”: he resurrects him! Inspired by a wacko teacher (Martin
Landau) and a hometown brimming in its own brand of otherworldliness,
Victor succeeds in bringing his beloved canine back to life. Now if only he can
find a way to keep the reanimation a secret from his parents (Catherine O'Hara
and Martin Short) and classmates… Our review concludes the film as
perhaps the most purely satisfying, enjoyable and wonderfully over-the-top
climax to any Tim Burton movie since 'Beetlejuice’.
Ratings – 7.5/10
Pros – movie never fail to
delight the eye
Cons - not
a lot of positive messages shown in the movie
“Won't Back Down” follows two mothers, played by Davis
and Maggie Gyllenhaal, struggling with the inner-city public school
system in which they are deeply involved. Davis plays a teacher deeply
impassioned about her job, while Gyllenhaal portrays a single mother who
persuades parents around her for change while also tending bar and selling
cars. “The Wire” star Lance Reddick shows up as head of a school
board, while Rosie Perez, Ving Rhames, Bill Nunn, and Marianne
Jean-Baptiste round out the supporting cast.
From the footage shown, director Daniel Barnz (“Beastly”)
is obviously going for a brisk, feel-good classroom drama, somewhere between “Mr.
Holland's Opus” and the slightly broad tone of “North Country,” but
it'll require a look at the final product to see if it all gels together
effectively. Both Davis and Gyllenhaal are clearly having fun with their roles
though, so if nothing else the two actresses will make for a compelling watch
overall.
Ratings – 7.5/10
Pros – great story, inspired by true events
Cons – too much talking
Bait is another thrilling movie brought to you by Kimble
Randall, where it contains gory, intense and entertaining scenes. The story
mainly focuses in a sleepy beach community, where shoppers at an underground
supermarket are terrorized by a crazed bandit when the unimaginable occurs: A
monstrous freak tsunami swallows the town. Now trapped, with rushing water
threatening to entomb them in a watery grave the survivors discover they are
not alone. The tsunami has brought unwanted visitors from the depths. Not only
must they overcome the threat of drowning and the predator within their midst,
but a threat far more deadly and far more bloodthirsty— hungry great white
sharks. People who’re trapped must find their way out from the mini mart. Will
everyone make it? Watch the movie to find out ;)
Ratings – 6.5/10
Pros – quite entertaining
Cons – actors are not very well known
Butter, a movie by Jim Field Smith,
is a
story about what it means to win at all costs and against all odds. It blends
social commentary, outrageous comedy and heartfelt drama in telling the story
of the ambitious Laura Pickler (Jennifer Garner), the self-anointed First Lady
of Butter Carving. Refusing to accept that her husband (Ty Burrell) wants to
step down after his 15-year run as the “Iowa State Butter Carving Champion,”
and therefore end the Pickler family’s reign in the spotlight, Laura takes a
stab at the title herself. But her bid for glory is complicated when two
unlikely contestants enter the race – one, her husband’s hard-living mistress
(Olivia Wilde), and the other a 10-year-old foster child named Destiny (Yara
Shahidi). Enlisting the help of her high school sweetheart, Boyd (Hugh
Jackman), Laura will stop at nothing to be crowned champion, even if it means
resorting to sabotage. Overall, it is quite a trendy movie for drama lovers.
Ratings
– 6.5/10
Pros
– great actors and story line
Cons
– contain some deep vocabularies difficult to understand
As the story continues after the
first Taken movie showed in 2009, Taken 2 have again successfully deliver an
excellent sequel that attempted to drive the audience thrills. This time with a
more non-stop action, explosive fight scenes and great acting by Liam Neeson,
the movie never failed to impress me.
The plot of the story is that the
father of the kidnapper from the original Taken wants revenge for the death of
his son, so he plots to capture and kill Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson)
while he's in Istanbul on a business trip. Unfortunately, Bryan's daughter, Kim
(Maggie Grace),
and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Jannsen)
also turn up and become targets, too. This time Bryan and Lenore are taken, and
Bryan employs Kim for a little outside help. Bryan escapes with Kim, but Lenore
is moved to another location, and Bryan must use all his skills to find her
again. Unfortunately, he's walking right into a trap. As an overall, Taken 2 is a good, solid, and one of
the greatest action movie of the year I’ve seen so far.
Ratings – 9/10
Pros - sympathetic characters and
a more anti-revenge stance
Cons – contain several brutal
scenes
In The Dark Knight Rises, Batman's (Christian Bale) enemy, Bane (Tom Hardy), is basically trying to blow the city up with an atomic bomb, just as usual in any other action/superhero movies. However, the storyline in this film is very well-written and developed and thus, meaning it's not your average superhero movie. Anne Hathaway makes her appearance in this movie as the infamous Catwoman and even though Batman and Catwoman started off with the wrong foot, they eventually worked together in order to take Bane and his lackeys down, along with the help of Gotham City's law enforcers.
One factor which makes this film extraordinary aside from it's storyline, would be its plot twists. Some events unravelled as the story progresses are unpredictable, even though disappointingly the ending which will not be spoiled may be predictable to some. On the contrary, some dialogue scenes may be quite lengthy and boring to some. The Combat and fighting scenes in The Dark Knight Rises are less exaggerated as how it usually is in action films, and considering the awesome storyline and plot twists, it really shows that much effort was put into making this film.
Rating - 8.5/10
Pros - Good acting, unpredictable plot twists and story progression
Cons - Few/several lengthy dialogue scenes may be boring to some, Rather predictable ending
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