Saturday, November 17, 2012

Breaking Dawn part 2

Well, here we are. After four books, and five movies, the Twilight saga has officially come to an end. So how was this last movie? Really good :) Infact I'd say it's the best out of all of them.

So part 2 starts off right where part 2 ended. Bella (Kristen Stewart) wakes up as a vampire and begins her happily ever after with Edward (Robert Pattinson) and their 1/2 human/1/2 vampire daughter Renesmee (Mackenzie Foy). Everything couldn't be better. That is, until someone makes a false allegation to the Volturi that Renesmee is an immortal child (A human child that was bitten by a vampire. Which is apparently a big no no in the vampire world). The Volturi decide to come and destroy Renesmee and anyone who protects her. In order to try and prevent this, the Cullens gather their vampire friends from all over the world to convince the Volturi to listen to the truth.

This movie feels a lot different than the previous films. There's more humor and action. I give a lot of credit to director Bill Condon for taking that mess of a book and turning it into something really enjoyable.

Kristen Stewart even showed emotion in this one. It's a miracle! She does a great job as a vampire. Edward should have changed Bella long ago lol.

The rest of the cast was really good too. I thought Mackenzie Foy was perfect as Renesmee. Really adorable. If Rob and Kristen ever have a daughter I swear this is what she would look like.

What I really enjoyed was seeing the vampires they brought in from all over the world. Especially Garrett (Lee Pace). He's always been a favorite of mine since I first read Breaking Dawn. I would love for Stephenie Meyer to write a book just about him.

I wish they had made the movie a bit longer in order to develop the new vampires more.

Then there's the Volturi, Despite the hideous hair styles, it's always fun seeing them on screen. Especially Aro. I can't imagine anyone other than Michael Sheen playing him. He just went all out and looked like he was having a blast filming this. At one point though, he lets out this crazy laugh (those who have seen the movie already know what I'm talking about) and I swear, half the people in the theater, myself included, were like "What the hell?"

The cinematography was well done overall. I especially enjoyed the opening title sequence. Very creative.

The musical score was once again done by Carter Burwell. I knew he'd be great at the romantic stuff, but I was worried about how he would score the action sequences. I'm happy to say that it came out well. During those action moments, my heart was pounding and I was on the edge of my seat. My favorite though was Renesmee's Lullaby. What a beautiful piece of music. What makes it even better is there's a small scene where Edward is playing the song for Renesmee on the piano. So sweet :)

People have been asking about the big twist ending. All I can say is I almost had a heart attack. Wow!

Of course, the movie is not flaw free. I'm still not crazy about the whole Jacob/Renesmee thing. No matter how many times Stephenie tried to explain it, I still find it creepy. Thankfully Bill Condon plays this down a lot.

Yes, the dialog is still pretty terrible at times. But I've gotten use to that. As I've said before, you can't take these movies too seriously. Just enjoy them for what they are.

My biggest complaint would definitely have to be the CGI they used on Renesmee. Boy was it bad! As in, laughably bad. You see, Renesmee is suppose to age at this crazy rate. So what they did for most of the movie is they used babies and younger actresses and super imposed Mackenzie's face on them. It was really creepy and that's putting it mildly. Luckily Mackenzie appears as herself toward the end with no special effects.

I can't believe the Twilight Saga is officially over. I'm really sad but at the same time, I'm thrilled I won't have to deal with those screaming teenage girls anymore. At least not until the next Hunger Games movie comes out lol.

I probably can't recommend this to anyone other than Twilight fans. Still, even if you didn't like the other movies, you should give this one a chance. It's certainly not going to win any Oscars (especially in the special effects department) but so what. Breaking Dawn part 2 has something for everyone- action, romance, and even comedy.

Thank you Bill Condon for creating a fitting end to this great franchise. When I first read Breaking Dawn four years ago, I didn't think it would be possible. But you did it :)

My Rating: 9/10

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Skyfall (IMAX)

I've never really been a big James Bond fan, but the reviews for this have been really good. Plus Daniel Craig is in it so I had to check it out. Well I'm happy to say that this movie is incredible. Easily one of the best Bond films yet.

In Skyfall, Bond (Daniel Craig) investigates an attack on MI6 and comes to find out that it also involves someone going after M (Judi Dench). That someone is Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem), who has a connection to her past.

Sam Mendes is the director. His previous films include American Beauty and Road to Perdition. He does a great job all around, especially with the action sequences. The opening scene especially blew me away.

Major props go out to the cinematographers. The whole movie looked amazing.

The acting was top notch. I've always been a big fan of Daniel Craig. He makes such a great James Bond. Javier Bardem was really good as well. I think he's at his best when he's playing a villain. Even if this time around his character comes off as a little over the top. And his hair cut and color was hideous. Some people should never go blond.

There were a few other complaints that I had, which I can't really talk about without spoiling things. But they're very minor complaints.

The movie is almost two and a half hours long but it doesn't feel like it at all. I was completely entertained the whole time. It also looks great on an IMAX screen so if you can definitely see it in that format.

Loved the soundtrack as well. Especially the title theme song by Adele. She has such an amazing well.

I highly recommend Skyfall to anyone who's a James Bond fan or if you enjoy a good action/spy movie. I can't wait to see what happens in the next one :)

My Rating: 9/10

Saturday, November 3, 2012

Flight

I hadn't really heard of this movie until seeing a trailer for it before Argo last week. (Yes, I know I still haven't posted my review of Argo. Last week was just crazy. I'll try to have it up by tomorrow) I thought I'd give it a chance since I'll watch almost anything with Denzel Washington in it.

Denzel plays Whip Whitaker, an airline pilot who's a severe alcoholic (and that's putting it mildly). During some rough weather, the plane he's piloting begins to crash, but because of some quick maneuvering, he's able to land the plane with very few casualties. Everyone is calling him a hero. However, during an investigation, which determines the crash was cause by mechanical issues with the plane, they discover that Whip was drunk and had cocaine in his system while he was flying. He could be facing some serious jail time.

Despite the movie dragging at times, overall I thought it was good. Denzel gives another Oscar worthy performance. Although I doubt he'll get nominated, only because there's just so many great performances in the Actor category this year that the Academy will overlook him. Which is a shame. Anyway, I can't imagine anyone else playing this character. I don't think the movie would have worked. He was very convincing as an alcoholic who's world is crumbling all around him.

Just a bit of a warning, the plane crash scene was super intense. It made many people in the theater I was in cringe and jump in their seats, myself included. Makes you never want to get on a plane again.

The supporting cast was good as well. Especially John Goodman. He plays Whip's friend/drug dealer, who provides some much needed comic relief. His scenes with Denzel were just priceless.

The ending was okay, but felt a little too preachy.

I would say definitely go see Flight if you're a fan of Denzel Washington or if you're into these types of movies.

My Rating: 8/10