Signs

Here is a thriller directed by M. Night Shyamalan, everyone's favorite director!

This movie was interesting. I didn't have high expectations, with it being both an alien movie and an alien movie directed by M. Night Shyamalan. But to be completely honest, I enjoyed the majority of the movie. Sure there were many plot holes and I had to suspend my disbelief, but this movie was not a bad film. There was one particular scene where a group of kids in Spain recorded an alien. This build up and the suspenseful music allowed me to get chills once the extraterrestrial appeared. I think this was the highlight of the film.
The acting was not excellent, but it was decent. I think Mel Gibson and Joauquin Phoenix acted well. The girl, Bo, was acted extremely well by Abigail Breslin. However I didn't like Rory Culkin's performance as Bo's brother, Morgan. I don't know what it was, but he didn't appeal to me as well as Abigail did. Phoenix did extremely well as a more laid back and crazy sibling of Mel Gibson's character (He also did very well at having a very hard to spell name). Graham Hess started out with being a boring character. He virtually lacked personality. I thought he resembled a Kirsten Stewart, until a very emotional scene where he began to cry. This was well done.
The movie, plot-wise, started out well. Several strange scenes with little to no music of a farmland being eerily left with crop signs. There was lots of suspense throughout the film. It didn't have much character development, but it wasn't necessarily essential for the story. However, the biggest con to this movie, was that this dramatic build up and suspense led to almost nothing. I was extremely disappointed at this, and the many plot holes that this movie contained. However I won't go into detail.
I award this movie with a generous 6/10. It was enjoyable, but it had more potential.

The Hobbit Trailer

Hello everyone.
As many of you might have seen, a new trailer for The Hobbit has been released about a week ago. Around January of this year a mystifying trailer came out that got me very excited. It looks very similar to the original trilogy, and has the same director, Peter Jackson.
The Lord of the Rings is one of my all time favorite book/movie trilogies, and The Hobbit is a prequel to it. If you haven't checked out my LotR reviews, here is The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King.
Anyways, I am extremely excited for this movie. Many of the wonderful cast from the LotR are returning, who I thought were awesome. I think this movie can also help people get into the world of Middle Earth better than the LotR trilogy. If you didn't know, when J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the Hobbit, he intended for it to become a children's book. However this fantastic novel is equally loved by children and adults. It will be separated into three movies. Some people have criticized this but I am glad it is happening. In my opinion, this will give the cast and producers more time to fine tune the movies and make it perfect.
Thank you for reading! I'm hoping to get a review out for next week, so stay tuned.

Super 8 - Disappointment

Hello my beloved readers.
Today I come to you with this movie, Super 8. Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by JJ Abrams, I had high hopes for this film.

This movie started out with a group of kids, desperately trying to make a movie about zombies. This was my first doubt, zombie movies do not turn out very well. However this did not linger in the plot other than the movie they were making. It started out very interesting, with an ominous atmosphere. I was relieved as the movie was going great. Wonderful cinematography and a very surprising aggregate of great child actors. Strange things are taking place around their home city, beginning with the train crash you might have seen in the trailers.
However, the last thirty minutes of the movie had such a degree of cliche plot lines that it ruined the rest of it for me. I won't get into it, but it really disappointed me. It was just like Lost, which  JJ Abrams also worked on. They both had a very interesting story and potential for an epic ending, however, the ends of them ruined them.
If the ending was better, I would have given this movie somewhere from an 8 to a 9/10. However, I will only give it a 6/10 because of the botched attempt at an ending. In other movies, the beginning and middle build up for a spectacular ending, which in truth is very difficult to pull off, but this movie was not acceptable. This movie was nothing more than a failed attempt at giving some nostalgia of earlier Spielberg films. I will not say it is horrible, but I expected way more from this.
Thank you for reading.
I have been getting numerous movies from the library, but I have been lazy at getting reviews out due to school beginning. I hope I get more out soon.

Blind Lemon Pledge - Awesome Acoustic Blues

I was walking around Half Moon Bay yesterday with my family, when I spotted a trio playing some awesome blues. These guys have class, and they probably have degrees in blues school. Check them out

I apologize for the weird format, I was recording with my new iPhone and I didn't know that it records strangely if you're holding it upright.
Check out their site here: http://www.blues.james-creative.com/
As always, thanks for reading.

Exciting changes coming up soon!

Hello everyone,

A few months ago I mentioned changing the theme and layout of my blog. Well I am finally about to get to it. Over the past few months, I have begun adopting the alias (or a variation of) TurtleGuy. I am putting this in the title of my blog, but adding a bit of class. I am changing the url of this site to http://www.theclassyturtle.blogspot.com . I am hoping to add improved post quality and quantity in the upcoming weeks. This will be a blog for me to share and talk about many things, such as music, news, and of course movies. You will notice an overhaul of the existing layout soon.

And I want to thank you all for your increased support. I have been very busy with stuff and I struggled to get about 2 or 3 posts in a month. However with my last two posts, I've been seeing a huge influx of views and comments. The new layout is my thanks to you.

I will leave you with a bit of class. Play both of these clips at the same time and feel awesome. Here is an already doubled one for those of you that want it.

The Amazing Spiderman

Hello everyone,

A few weeks ago, I watched The Amazing Spiderman, but I held off writing the review because I would be watching TDKR soon.

Overall, this was an enjoyable movie for the most part. I didn't really like or understand the ending, but it was still a pretty good movie. There were many good actors, such as Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, two great rising actors. Other older actors include Martin Sheen and Sally Field. I think the acting was great, Garfield played an awkward teenager almost perfectly. I am not a real fan of comic books, so I thought the story was just okay. I thought it was a bit hyperbolic, but I won't say anything so that I don't ruin the movie for anyone. I think this movie was overshadowed by TDKR, and it deserves more attention. I liked the fight scenes and the cockiness of the new Spiderman. Unfortunately I had less than pleasant neighbors in the movie theater, which ruined some of the experience for me. I didn't really pay much attention to the soundtrack, but I'm guessing it was decent.

I'll give this movie a 7.5/10. If you like superhero movies, this is great for you. It's also pretty appropriate for the whole family, except for a few references to adult topics. Go watch this movie!

The Dark Knight Rises

Hello everyone. This is going to be a short review, but reviews are going to come in more quantity in the next few weeks.

I watched The Dark Knight Rises yesterday. I'll start this review off quick by saying that it wasn't as good as the second one. But it was still awesome.

I'll try my best not to spoil anything, here it goes.

Rises combines storylines from Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. So before watching this movie, watch them, or at least brush up on your memory of them.

Anyways, the acting was amazing. All the main actors played their characters perfectly well. Anne Hathaway beat all predictions and played a sassy Catwoman excellently. Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman: all legendary actors made this movie what it is. The bar was set high by Heath Ledger as Joker in the second movie, but Tom Hardy brought us another magnificent performance, as he did in other movies, such as Inception. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard, also actors from Inception, were excellent.

The movie itself was written and directed well, but I felt as if some scenes were way too predictable. There were so many close calls, with someone bursting in at the last second to save the day. The story made a lot of references to and relied on Batman Begins, which I haven't watched in years. I was a bit clueless on the story, but reading up on it after the movie, it made sense.

The music was excellent, as with most Nolan films, but it did not live up to the expectations as I had from the 2nd movie.

Overall, I'd give this movie a 8.5/10. If you like Batman, watch it!

2001: A Space Odyssey

Hello my peoples, I am back with another exciting review of one of my newly found favorite movies. 2001: The Space Odyssey contemplates the mysteries of the universe, and being made in 1968, was a very early film on this topic. Now, I normally don't talk about the story, but this one just needs it.

Now, this movie is not for the impatient. If you're looking for a quick thrill, this is definitely not for you. This is also my one criticism with this movie. The long drawn out scenes of spaceships backed by The Blue Danube Waltz will probably ward off many people. Even I think that it was excessive. My one theory is that it was just a show off for their amazing special effects.  [spoilers past here, skip to next paragraph for review] Nevertheless, the movie starts out with a tribe of man-apes. After being warded off by a rival tribe from their water hole, they are forced to retreat. Upon the dawn of the next day, they are greeted with a gigantic black monolith. Howling, the tribe reluctantly approaches the rock and begin touching it. This rock is one of the main symbols of this film. The movie cuts to a scene where feeding upon the bones of a dead animal, the leader realized his new ability to use tools. They go back and retake their old water hole, bellies full of raw meat taken from the animals they killed. The next scene begins with a space montage. Then it shows Floyd Heywood, an astronaut traveling to the moon base Clavius. According to other astronauts, there has been an epidemic at that base, and communication has been cut off. When Heywood arrives, it is revealed that they have discovered a strange magnetic rock. The same as the ones the man-apes had found. Now, the movie's most exciting (which is not saying much) sequence begins. Aboard a spaceship destined for the far reaches of Jupiter, Dave Bowman and Frank Poole are relatively bored. Manned by the supercomputer, HAL 9000, known for its mistake proof record, they don't have to do much. But when HAL 9000 reports an error which turns out to be a mistake, well, I don't want to spoil that much for you, but the rest is history. 

The thing that first drew me to this movie was the connection between the last scene and my favorite band, Pink Floyd. Their song Echoes apparently matched up perfectly with the last sequence of this movie. I had to try this out, and it was amazing. The song is truly spectacular anyways, but listening to it while watching a journey through the stars was just, amazing. To any Pink Floyd fans, I highly recommend watching the whole movie just to experience this. The cinematography was great for its time, and the special affects were astounding! The acting was perfect. The sounds of the movie was spot on. I heavily recommend this movie to anyone that could withstand its boring first-half. If you do, this movie is worth it, and the end will not let you down. This movie gets a 9/10. Thank you Stanley Kubrick for this influential masterpiece.

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl

Yarr mateys. Ye heartys would like t' hear a review on th' best shipmate movie o' th' 21st century?

Today I will be reviewing Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.
Right off the bat, I'd like to say that this is the best movie in the series by far.

The acting was really good. It wasn't the best, but Johnny Depp, as always, redeems any crappy acting of the other characters. He executed his character perfectly. If you don't know Jack Sparrow - I mean Captain Jack Sparrow, I heavily recommend that you watch this movie just for him. Johnny Depp plays the eccentric and puzzling pirate accurately. He gets all the facial gestures and little quirks stunningly well. And to top it all off his face is perfect for the role. Orlando Bloom as Will Turner, Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Swan, and Geoffrey Rush as Captain Barbossa are also amazing, but Johnny Depp knocks them out easily.

The special effects were great as well. The boats looked awesome, and the skeletal versions of the Black Pearl crew were smooth and awesome. The sword fighting choreography was perfect and fluid. The soundtrack is magnificent, the famous "He's a Pirate" being included.

Overall I give this movie a 9/10. It's great fun for anyone around and above their teenage years. Definitely watch this movie!

Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Hello once again, my readers, today I will be reviewing the concluding part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy.

The special effects were excellent. While there's a few little things that are off, overall they're excellent. The most impressive thing about them is the grandiosity. This isn't a small or simple scene; it often includes filmed actors and action combined with thousands of digital characters , sweeping landscapes, and dozens of things happening at once. This is a good reason to see it in theaters or in high definition, there are little things that you can only notice in these viewing methods.

The filming is also magnificent. Again and again this trilogy blows my mind with the beauty of New Zealand. It serves as a great backdrop for this type of story, being very lush and green in some places, and very rocky and rugged in others.

All the sound effects are very well executed, sound suitable, and are generally loud. The Nazgul screeching felt very real, in the way that it hurt the characters' ears as well as mine. Most everything has a distinct sound, and it's rare that anything feels out of place. Howard Shore's soundtrack once again proves to be one of the best.

The acting was, as always excellent. But for me, Viggo Mortesen as Aragorn and Sean Astin as Sam blew me away. They performed their roles precisely and perfectly, and came away giving a good picture of the characters. The other characters didn't seem to execute their roles as well as these two, but they were still excellent. My one criticism is that Elijah Wood as Frodo seemed to be stuck with the same facial expression throughout the whole movie.

My, and probably most other peoples' favorite scene would have to be the battle at Minas Tirith. The awesome scope of the battle, with the special effects, sounds, and many close-ups of the action, make for a more than exciting scene. The visual effects are  especially stunning. There's also some wide shots with tens of thousands of digital characters marching on the battlefield, and it makes you think how dedicated and precise the special effects team was during this incredible scene. It's worth the price of the movie to simply to watch this on a large screen. 

This movie was awesome. It concluded one of the, if not the greatest trilogy I have ever watched. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, and would give anything to go watch it on a big screen. This movie deserved 9.5/10, and that is what I give it.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Welcome once again my readers. Today I will be reviewing this excellent movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. As I have missed almost two weeks due to finals and other things, I have tried to write a much more developed review, and I hope you will enjoy.

The opening scene of The Two Towers is an amazing, but brief action scene, only surpassed by the grandiosity of the final scene. The events of the third hour of The Two Towers are undoubtedly the centerpiece of the film. Though the first few hours serve as story development, they primarily build anticipation for the final hour, which mostly depicts the battle of Helm's Deep. 

The road to the battle of Helm's Deep can be gruelingly long and painful for any viewer aware of the breathtaking scenes that await towards the end of the film. The Two Towers' biggest mistake is in its own accomplishments; the first two thirds of the film are spectacularly shot, well paced, and they necessarily and adequately progress the storyline. But when compared to the marvelous final hour, the first two hours seem uneventful and insignificant. 

The Two Towers obviously begin where The Fellowship of the Ring left off. The majority of the film follows four groups and their story lines. Frodo and Sam, who are later accompanied by Gollum, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, Merry and Pippin, and Saruman and his army, all go through important journeys. The performances live well up to the first film, with a particularly notable performance from Mortensen as Aragorn, whose role is significantly larger in The Two Towers. Gollum also shines in a large role, due to extremely realistic computer animation, and a great performance from Andy Serkis, upon which the animation was modeled. In Fellowship, it was appropriate to consider Gollum one of the many great special features of the film. However, he is more of a main character and his convincing dual-personality, harsh voice, and well-developed body movements make him consistently the center of focus of nearly every scene in which he appears.

As was The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers is a visual phenomenon. Those who have seen the first movie are no doubt familiar with the beauty of the landscapes of New Zealand. The cinematography is one of the best aspects of the film. The camera movements that follow the armies and horsemen throughout the fields are extremely satisfying. The shots of the walls being attacked in the battle of Helm's Deep are terrifying and chillingly gorgeous all at once. While the visual effects in the previous movie were outstanding, the battle of Helm's Deep provides for the best application of CGI from the beginning of the series. The battle of Helm's Deep features absolutely awesome and flawless integration of acting, stunts, and computer animation. Each orc appears to have its own personality, demonstrated in its movements and visual features. The multitudes of armies fight with strategy and true character.

In the Fellowship of the Ring, I was slightly disappointed with the soundtrack. Don't get me wrong, it was absolutely amazing, but I felt it lacked the ability to capture all of the emotions conveyed throughout the movie. However, Howard Shore steps it up in The Two Towers, with a riveting score, making up for the previous faults of Fellowship.

If not the picture itself, there should be a way to recognize and award the battle of Helm's Deep. Alone, the battle sequence represents successful filmmaking in its highest form. The visual effects, the pacing, acting, cinematography,  the choreography of the battle, and the music, all work together in perfection to achieve incredible filmmaking which is as entertaining and enjoyable as film can be. For this very reason, I give this movie a 9.5/10. This series has so far proved to be one of the best, both in story and the quality of the movie.

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Hello everyone! This will be the first part of my 3 part review on the amazing Lord of the Rings series. I'm a big fan of the books, but never watched the movies seriously because of their drastic length. But over the course of three days, I watched the first two movies, and I got to say: they were great!

Well, I was lucky enough to be able to watch a Blu-ray version of this, and see it in its 1080p grandiosity, which brings me to my first point: cinematography. This movie's cinematography was excellent. The pans over mountains and woodlands were spectacular. Seeing every beautiful landscape and every imperfection in the characters' faces made this movie so many times better. Of course I already knew the story, and I have to say, this is probably one of, if not the best, book to movie adaptations every made. Obviously it did not follow the book even close to 100%, but overall it was still magnificent. The acting was also excellent. Almost all of the characters were cast very similarly to what I thought they would have looked like. I always thought Saruman would look like a more pointy nosed and evil version of Gandalf, and I was right. The only characters that came off strange to me were the hobbits, but I didn't know what to think when reading the book, and after a while, they came off very naturally. Aragorn was perfect, a long haired sword wielding adventurer with a bit of a strong but silent vibe. Gimli and Legolas were also great, but after watching Game of Thrones, Boromir seemed out of place. And for its time, Gollum was perfectly animated. The soundtrack was also outstanding. It brought emotion the movie, which many other soundtracks fail to do.

I give this movie a 9.5/10. It has become one of my favorite movies, but it has its faults. I highly recommend this movie to anyone, even those who have not read the books.

In Bruges

Welcome everybody. This is my first post in a couple of weeks because I have been busy, but I am here to bring you another long-awaited review. This is the movie In Bruges, directed by Martin McDonagh and released in 2008.

In Bruges. Two Irish hit men (Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell) are sent into hiding by their British boss (Ralph Fiennes) in Bruges, Belgium after a botched job only to learn that the most damning job awaits one of them just around the corner. Bruges is a picturesque tourist trap built around the oldest and best maintained medieval city in Belgium. Director and screenwriter Martin McDonagh bleeds the setting and the material for all its worth and makes his feature film debut in superb style.

The dark comedy built around the existential quandaries of hit men has been done to death over the years. If last summer's "You Kill Me" was the relentlessly dark and relentlessly sitcom-y take on the genre, then "In Bruges" is the hipster art film take on the theme. McDonagh deserves all the credit in the world for breathing life into the stale story by texturing the tonal shifts with crisp digital camera-work (that is surprisingly haunting), deep character development, and by creating a wonderful sense of place. Imagine a Graham Greene novel ("Brighton Rock" specifically comes to mind) modernized by David Mamet. The dialog is super smart and wickedly un-PC while the comedy parts are as gut-busting as the crime thriller parts are suspenseful.

McDonagh has also brought together an outstanding cast who thrive in the material. Farrell defies all odds and manages to be as sympathetic in the dramatic parts as he is charmingly sarcastic in the comedic parts. Brendan Gleeson gives a fantastically nuanced portrayal as Farrell's mentor and friend. Meanwhile, Ralph Fiennes channels the scary-as-hell energy he's used previously in "Schindler's List" and the recent "Harry Potter" films in a limber subversion that is a frighteningly fun to watch. The supporting cast is to die for, with Jordan Prentice spot-on as a coked-up dwarf actor shooting an abhorrent art film on the streets of Bruges, and Clemence Poesy coyly seductive and unforgettable as Farrell's unlikely local love interest.

Ultimately "In Bruges" meanders down too many cobblestone paths, and one scene near the end involving a bell tower stretches credibility but adds necessary dramatic effect. Certain plot elements will turn off a large segment of the viewing audience. However, those with the right mindset will be greatly rewarded. "In Bruges" is hilarious, contemplative, sometimes scathing, often nihilistic, but marked by a shockingly hopeful undercurrent while tones shift and the colors of the human condition undulate in McDonagh's insightful light. The arrival of a commanding talent has been heralded...in Bruges.

Sorry for the long delay of posts. I will soon be reviewing two great series, Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, as soon as I finish watching them.

Plans for my blog

Hello everybody. I have decided to change the theme of my blog. It will still be reviews, and yes I will continue the top 250 movies. I will be converting my blog to a general review site. As in, I will be reviewing movies, like I already have done, but I will also be reviewing many other things, including TV shows, books, and other random things. These changes will take place within the next few weeks. Hope you guys enjoy it!

3 Idiots

Hello everyone, today I watched the movie, 3 idiots, with a couple of my buddies. This film was released by Eros International in 2009. It broke all records, and has become the Highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time.

Review:
I had already watched this movie before, but I was excited to see it again. Now I'm not a connoisseur of Bollywood movies, but I know most of them are loaded with huge amounts of cheese. This movie, however, stands out. It tells a story about the harsh truths of Indian culture, how all children are pushed to become engineers, or doctors, or other jobs that they don't want to become.
The thing that struck out to me was Aamir Khan's acting. His range is phenomenal and his characterization of

'Rancho' in this movie is positively brilliant. The small mannerisms, the walk, the smile, the attitude, the brilliance of a young person who's not restricted by the educational system, his positive attitude towards every thing in life, it's Rancho you are looking at. Not Aamir.

Technically, this film rocks with astounding and visually arresting cinematography, the aerial shots of India are a pleasant treat for our eyes. Music was good and well placed with the flow of the narration.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. While most reviewers would put it down because of its cheesyness, this is a Bollywood film, and Bollywood films are always cheesy! I give this movie a 8.5/10




Aal Izz Well!

Big Fish

What's up guys? I just watched Big Fish. This movie was release by Sony Pictures in 2003.

Review: 
Will Bloom is informed by his mother that his father Ed Bloom is terminal, and he travels with his pregnany French wife Josephine to his parents' home. Will and Ed had broken relationship three years before, because of the imaginative and fantasized stories told by Ed Bloom about his accomplishments in his youth. Will tries to find the true story of the mysterious life of his father, coming to a surprising discovery in the end.

I often find that in order to be interesting, a film these days needs to be stressfully suspenseful or have a complicated story line. This film didn't have either, but I found myself hoping it wouldn't end while at the same time, impatiently awaiting its conclusion. Nonetheless, I was astounded. This movie is an absolute treat for our hearts, ears and especially our eyes with each cartoon/fantasy-like scene painted with Tim Burton's reliable brilliance and magical touch. Ewan McGregor is amazing and Albert Finney gives one of the greatest performances of that year. But when you strip away the beauty, the doll-house sets and all the hocuspocus of cinematography and modern day technology, all you have is a very simple story, and therein lies the heart of this film; that one can create their own legacy, "the story of my life." Not through either extreme of extraordinary adventure or unbelievable lies, but through the art of storytelling- and THAT is what this film is about. It is through our stories that we are immortal.

I will give this movie 9/10, I really, really enjoyed it!

The Hunger Games Review

What's up guys? I just came back from the movies with a couple of friends, and we watched The Hunger Games.
If you haven't heard of this movie (because you live under a rock), this a film adaptation of the book The Hunger Games by Suzanne Colins.

Yes this isn't on the list, but I thought I'd review it anyway.

One thing I have to say: SHAKYCAM GALORE

They overdid the shakycam. Sure its exhilarating, but most of the time, I didn't understand what was going on. Besides for the unfortunate cinematography, this movie was pretty good. I enjoyed the first book, but I haven't read the rest of the series yet. It wasn't that close to the book's important details. Most of the characters were very close to what I imagined them as. The acting was pretty good in my opinion, especially for such young child actors. But I thought some scenes were rushed, and not as prominent in the movie as the book. And I thought some of the parts were a bit too gruesome, but after all, it was rated PG-13. One thing I liked was how they made the control room, I thought it was an interesting and high tech addition to the movie. And I loved Seneca's beard, that was crazy!
This movie displays the appalling possibilities of a dystopia ruled by an oppresive government, and how all of the lower groups have to sacrifice their loved ones while the upperclassmen watch and enjoy.
Overall, I would give this movie a 7/10, had it not been for the excessive shakycam, it would have gotten an 8/10.
It was nice to see the movie the day it came out, one of the first times I've been able to do this!

And may the odds be ever in your favor.

The Incredibles

Hello everybody, I recently got done watching The Incredibles. This movie was made by Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation and released in 2004.

Review: 
For it's time, the computer generated visuals and sound are very impressive. Unlike many action films, this movie's story is very solid. Basically, this is a story of a man encountering a mid-life crisis and leaping carelessly into it without a care or a thought for his family, proving exceedingly selfish and failing to see the good in his life. Meanwhile the wife is left to try and look after the family. Really, that's the story. Pixar dropped in the idea that the parents are Superheroes, unable of being Super many years previously by the Government and the people, trying to lead normal lives. Their children have inherited their own powers and the Super villains are planning a comeback.
I truly enjoyed this movie, it is wonderful for all ages. The animation is amazing, one of the best I've ever seen. The whole movie flows excellently. At some parts it seems almost real. The effects for fire and water, probably the hardest things to recreate in any form of art, were done perfectly.
The characters and acting are wonderful, and you sometimes feel like you're part of the story.
I'll give this movie a 9.5/10, while not being my favorite Disney/Pixar movie, it's up there. It makes a great movie for the whole family to watch.

Manhattan

Hello everybody, I just watched Manhattan. This movie stars Woody Allen and was released in 1979.

Review: 
The first thing I noticed about this movie was that it was shot in black and white. Isaac, Woody Allen's character, mentions in the opening monologue that he always pictures Manhattan in black-and-white with music from George Gershwin. Out of all of the elements in this movie, the cinematography seemed to be the greatest. The intro portrays black and white postcard-esque images of the bustling town, complete with Ershwin's soothing music, lights, and cars. The images later in the film also exemplify the amazing camera work, especially the scene in the space museum. This movie is truly a work of art.
The acting is phenomenal for some of the characters, but also quite average for some others, in my opinion.
While this movie is not a-laugh-a-minute, I still found it funny occasionally. The subplot about Isaac's ex-wife, her becoming a lesbian, her writing a book about Isaac and her love life, and Isaac apparently attempting to run over her new lover was quite hilarious.
This movie flows very smoothly, and ends with somewhat of a cliffhanger. The story, albeit sounding slightly cliche and strange according to today's society (a 42 year old man dating a 17 year old girl), was great. Overall, I'll give this movie a 8.5/10.

Please let me know what you think of anything, be it my review quality, or a differing opinion in the comments section below. 

Ed Wood

I watched Ed Wood. This movie was made in Touchstone Pictures and released in 1994. This movie stars Johnny Depp.

Synopsis: 
I am going to change my way of doing reviews, I will not be writing synopses, as all of you can easily go to the links in the list and check out a better written synopsis by someone else. Of course I will still be writing reviews.

Review: 
This movie is overly underrated and overlooked. Without question it's one of Tim Burton's best, most complete work and Johnny Depp is superb. Perhaps it's the total understanding of this subject that allowed Tim Burton to do so well with this movie. Ed Wood, is about the Hollywood career of Ed Wood, one truly screwed up individual; a cross-dresser with a fetish for angora wool. Wood releases one horrifically bad film after another, culminating with Plan Nine From Outer Space, before descending into crappy porn films toward the end of his life. It isn't necessarily a happy story, and Burton wisely only tells a small sliver of it, from Ed's first movie, until the premiere of Plan Nine.

Perhaps it is appropriate that Johnny Depp was chosen to portray Eddie Wood. Depp has a long history of playing outcasts -- for example, Edward Scissorhands. Depp makes it clear that Eddie's heart was in the right place. He worked hard on his scripts, he gave important roles to spectacularly talentless actors. And he was very kind to the drug-addled has-been Bela Lugosi, even dissuading the drunken Drac from committing suicide (which wasn't entirely altruistic, perhaps, as Lugosi had threatened to take Eddie with him). Depp makes Eddie appear almost human. Depp's portrayal is just one of several that are outstanding, including Bill Murray as Bunny Breckinridge -- one of the rare times Murray has immersed himself in his character and not been merely Bill Murray with someone else's name. The film ends on a high note, which Eddie's life didn't- he died in his sleep, watching a ball game, just a few days after he'd been evicted from his apartment.

Overall, I'll give this movie a 8/10, as someone not nearly as messed up in the head as this character, I was not able to relate to him as well as others could have. But it was still a great and interesting movie.

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Review 2: Beauty and the Beast

I just watched Beauty and the Beast. 
This movie was released by Walt Disney Pictures in 1991.

Synopsis: This story revolves around Belle, a French girl in a small town. Her father is an inventor, who is perceived as a lunatic to everyone else in the town. Belle is constantly given affection by Gaston, a very large, buff, and rude man. When Belle's father creates an invention, he decides to take it to an invention fair in a far away land. Along the way, he loses his horse and stumbles across a large castle. When he enters, he is imprisoned by Beast, a prince who was cursed to become a large, hairy creature. When Belle starts to worry about him, she decides to venture out and try to find him. When she does, she is also imprisoned. She trades her own freedom for her father's. She vows to stay at the castle for the rest of her life. The Beast's curse only breaks when he has found someone he loves as much as they love him. He plans to make Belle fall in love with him. When Gaston hears about the Beast, he goes to fight him. After defeating Gaston, the Beast is turned back into his human form.

Review: This movie centers around the idea that you don't have to be beautiful for someone to like. That what is inside is more important than what is inside. This is a really good message for kids who are unfortunately not very good looking or those that judge kids who are not good looking. The animation was very good for its time as well, and the voice acting was too, as is most Disney movies. Overall I would give this movie 8.5/10. I enjoyed it, but it was a bit rushed and could have used more character development. But after all, its a Disney movie.

Review 1: Monsters, Inc

Welcome everyone, to my first review ever.
I just watched the movie Monsters, Inc.
This movie was released in 2001 by Disney/Pixar.

Synopsis:
Monsters, Inc. is set in a world where monsters, hence the name, rule. Unlike our world, their energy is harvested from the screams of young children in their bedrooms. The protagonist of this film, James Sullivan (Sully), is a blue, polka dotted monster with horns. He is the best of the best at scaring. Along with his partner Mike Wazowski, a green cyclops ball with horns, he pumps out scream energy. They do this in a large building, named Monsters, Inc. This business is run by Mr. Waternoose, a strange crab creature. They gain this energy by going through doors, which serve as a portal to a random child's room. They go in, scare them, and the scream sound is (magically?) turned into energy. Of all the scarers, Sully is the top, followed by the main antagonist, Randall Boggs. He is a purple six-legged chameleon-like monster.
*****SPOILERS*******
One day when Sully has to stay at work at late, he finds a door out when it shouldn't be, and out of it comes, Boo, a human child. Monsters think that humans are toxic, so he isn't too keen about having her. But he has no choice when he also sees Randall. He puts the kid in a bag and rushes to Mike, where she escapes, and the Child Detection Agency is called, but Sully, Mike, and Boo arrive home before getting caught. There, they ponder about what to do with the kid. Mike insists on getting rid of Boo immediately, thinking of ridiculous plans to get her out of the city, but Sully starts to attach to her. Nevertheless, they make a monster suit for her and take her to Monsters, Inc. Randall suspects that they took her and tells Mike that he has until the end of lunch to put her in her door. They go to the door, but Sully is reluctant to let her go. In an attempt to show them that it's safe, Mike goes inside and starts to jump on the bed, where he is captured by Randall. Sully follows Randall into a secret room, where he has made a frightening machine that directly extracts the screams of kids from their mouths. This is Randall's way to eliminate scarers and have a constant energy source. Mike and Sully escape and try to tell Mr. Waternoose what Randall has made, but he already knows about it. He banishes them into a frozen wasteland, where Sully quickly rushes to the a village to get back to the Monster world. To his horror, Randall is trying to test out the machine on Boo. But Sully frees her and a wild chase ensues. In the end, Randall is trapped in a door which they break. Unfortunately Boo has to be put back in her room, and her door broken. Sully says his last goodbye.

Review: 
Monsters, Inc. is a very interesting movie. In some ways it is rushed, spanning only two days for the most part, but the story is executed amazingly. Monsters in the closet are described in a way that no one other than the geniuses at Disney/Pixar can think of. This movie shows the relationship that two extremely contrasting characters can become good friends. In some ways, it reminds me of Romeo & Juliet. Like the way two people from opposing parties (Sully and Boo, like Rome and Juliet) become acquainted. In the end, the parties become friendly towards each other. Sully also gets banished, just like Romeo did.
Overall, I give this movie a 9/10, it is a movie that is fun for the whole family, and tearjerkers at the end that could make anybody a bit more emotional.

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome everybody!
I used to be more of a gamer, but all of a sudden, movies started attracting my attention.
I have watched thousands of movies in my lifetime, and a lot of the movies I will watch will be the second (or more) time that I have watched them.
Nevertheless, I will be putting out reviews twice a week (if everything goes to schedule), and some weeks even three or four times, and hopefully you will enjoy them.
Now, I know many of you will disagree with what movies are considered the best (in this case, The Shawshank Redemption), but this is IMDb's top 250 movies list. So don't complain, I am just the critic of what other people have rated before.

Next week, probably Monday, the first movie I will be reviewing is Monsters Inc. This is one of my favorite animated films and I have watched it a dozen times. Then after that I will be watching Castle in the Sky.

You can see the whole list here: IMDb's Top 250 Movies List

Other things:

• Please leave a comment if you agree or disagree, I am always open to constructive criticism, whether it is about the quality of my reviews, or just that you disagree with my rating, or anything else really.
• There will be some movies I skip, mostly movies that are part of a series that I know nothing about, like Three Colors: Red at number 246, which is the first thing I saw. I might do these later, just like movies not on the list I will do.
• I will accept movies not on the list and do a short review on them. However, as busy as I am, I will probably only do up to three or four of these reviews a month. I will create a page where I will store these movies. Please contact me through email, do not put suggestions on comments/
• I will also update you guys on what's happening just in case I cannot post a review on a certain day or week.
• Obviously new movies are going to come out, and many will take the place of existing movies on the list, and I will still do them, so expect around 250-300 reviews instead

What will happen to the blog after I get through every single movie? 

The universe will cease to exist.

No, I will probably move on to bigger and better things, but it will take approximately 125 weeks to finish every review (or a little less than two and a half years), so you won't need to worry about that. 

Where do I get the movies?
The library, Blockbuster, Redbox, etc :D

Thank you, I hope this will be as fun for you as it is going to be for me.