Category Archives: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Flash Movie Review: The Water Horse
With imagination one can create incredible experiences, where some will remain in fantasy and others will lead to a new reality. As for the creature known as the Water Horse; I fully accepted it as being real in this film. It was easy to do with this beautiful story which was accompanied by excellent CGI effects. I was very surprised how much I enjoyed this DVD. Angus MacMorrow, played by Alex Etel (From Time to Time, Millions) was a lonely Scottish boy living with his mother near the shores of Loch Ness. It was the 1940’s and his father was off to war. One day while out by the shore, Angus found an unusual rock. Taking it back home for further inspection, the young lad found it to be a curious puzzle. Confiding in their handyman Lewis Mowbray, played by Ben Chaplin (Me and Orson Wells, Ways to Live Forever), Mr. Mowbray explained the legend of the Water Horse to the curious boy. The trick, however, was whether Angus could keep everything a secret–even when English troops were setting up camp to defend the nearby waters from German submarines. An ideal movie for the entire family; I cannot imagine anyone not being charmed by this layered, enjoyable story.
2 3/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Sucker Punch
Everyone, please step aside and let this generation’s new Spice Girls take center stage. These young women, though dressed seductively, were all about the “girl power.” The only difference, or you may think there is no difference, was they could not sing or act. What a poor excuse for a movie; I felt I was watching a video game. The story, if you wish to call it that, was about an abusive step father who hauled off his step daughter to a mental institution, after her mother had died. To prevent her from telling authorities about what he had done to her and her sister, he paid off the warden or top administrator to have her lobotomized. Doesn’t this sound like a fun story? My favorite part of the story had to do with this unfortunate girl being dubbed Babydoll, played by Emily Browning (Sleeping Beauty, The Uninvited), who has a speical gift–when she dances, she can put people into a trance. While she dances her mind enters an unconscious, alternative world where she learns how to plot her escape. I do not believe you need any more information about the story; you get the idea I am sure. Among those joining her in this plan were Vanessa Hudgens (High School franchise, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) as Blondie and Jena Malone (Into the Wild, Pride & Prejudice) as Rocket. Except for the art direction, this movie was simply wrong on so many levels. The CGI effects were not enough to keep me from being bored by the story. I believe this movie will interest a small range of people: young males.
1 1/2 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Mirror Mirror
What do you think the Grimm brothers would have thought about this movie version’s twist on their original story? My guess would be none too happy about it; for I am afraid this mirror needed some polishing if it wanted to reflect a happy audience. Please do not get me wrong, there was nothing horrible about the movie; it just came across disjointed for me. On the plus side it was colorful, had a couple of good special effects in it and had kid friendly humor. The queen was played by Julia Roberts (Closer, Erin Brockovich) and it seemed she was having fun with the role. Some of her lines had a sickly sweet, sarcastic coating that played off well against the rest of the cast. Where I had an issue was the Snow White character, played by Lily Collins (The Blind Side, Abduction). I did not feel she had any chemistry with the other actors, especially with what should have been the most important one, Prince Albert played by Armie Hammer (The Social Network, J. Edgar). The story line of this movie was a combination of parts from various fairy tales. When Snow White’s father the King mysteriously disappeared from the kingdom, her stepmother the evil Queen took over the throne. Letting her true colors come out, she started to treat Snow White like a pseudo Cinderella. As you can see, I found the story odd. But in the scheme of things, this movie was harmless and acceptable for a family outing. Instead of casting a charming spell on you, this film will only cast a forgetting spell.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Wrath of the Titans
This is today’s lesson: size does not matter, when it comes to making an evil character. Just because a character is the largest one on the screen doesn’t make them the meanest or scariest. The character I am referring to is Kronos, father of Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. Though the studio had the key pieces to make a blockbuster of this movie, they did not follow through in taking the parts and expanding on them. The perfect example was the Kronos character. After draining the power from Zeus, played by Liam Neeson (Taken, The Grey), the audience was led to believe this power would give Kronos the energy to break free and destroy the world. At least that is what Hades, played by Ralph Fiennes (Harry Potter franchise, The English Patient) was telling us after he imprisoned his brother Zeus in the underworld. Talk about your family dysfunction. The hero coming to save Zeus was his son Perseus, played by Sam Worthington (Avatar, The Debt). I give credit to Sam, for his role appeared to be a truly physical one as he was being beaten and thrown around. As I mentioned, the pieces were all here: from the love interest, to family betrayal, to battle scenes, to the love between a father and son. However, the story was not able to glue these parts together and create some excitement. It was not like I was totally bored with this movie; there was some good special effects that entertained me. But at one point of the movie I did wish they would have brought back the Kraken and let it destroy everyone in the movie, so there would not be any further sequels.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Rio
I hope I never lose touch with the little kid inside of me. Harking back to the older, classic animated movies from my youth; this film shined like a well done piece of art. With a beautiful palette of colors, I enjoyed the vibrant scenes that led me through the story. Blu, a domesticated blue colored macaw voiced by Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network, Zombieland), was one of only two such birds left in the world. With the hope of becoming mates, Blu and his owner were flown down to Rio de Janeiro to meet Jewel, voiced by Anne Hathaway (Get Smart, The Devil Wears Prada). The two actors were perfect choices to voice their characters. Jesse with his distinctive way of delivering his lines and Anne’s ability to project sweetness or irritation with her voice, along with her wonderful singing, made Blu and Jewel come to life. This movie had everything: there was plenty of thrilling action when the two birds were kidnapped, a smattering of musical numbers and amusing humor throughout; I had a great time watching this fun, exciting film. All that was missing was my little table and chair from when I was a child, so I could have had my glass of chocolate milk and chocolate chip cookie.
3 1/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: The Hunger Games
I may not understand all the functions of being a tribute, since I did not read the book; but, I could not imagine anyone better suited then Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone, Like Crazy). In fact, this review will be more of a tribute to Jennifer’s acting skill as Katniss Everdeen, her district’s representative to the Hunger Games; a televised, fight to the death competition. As I mentioned, I did not read the book and felt some of the scenes were rushed and uneven, though the film was 2 hours and 22 minutes long. I am sure the book is better. The relationship between Katniss and her male counterpart, Peeta Mellark played by Josh Hutcherson (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Fragments) was not easily believable at first. It could have been the difference in the acting skills of the two characters; Jennifer had such screen presence, every time she was in a scene, I could only watch her. The action scenes were well done and a couple of times, I was taken surprise by the level of violence. So the good news is Jennifer Lawrence was outstanding; the bad news is reality television still exists in the future.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: John Carter
On my quest to see all 50 states, little did I know I had been to Mars on one of my excursions. While viewing this movie I recognized the landscape in several of the scenes. Did it distract me from the story? Not at all; it was about the images and it was obvious Disney poured a lot of money into this visual extravaganza of a movie. For me, the look of it reminded me slightly of Star Wars. There were fascinating alien creatures, big battle scenes and a love story involving a princess. Lynn Collins (The Number 23, The Lake House) played the strong, intelligent princess, Dejah Thoris. As for the story, I found it weak, leaving me confused in some parts. Civil War vet John Carter, played by Taylor Kitsch (X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The Covenant), unwittingly discovered he was transported to another planet, where he now had super strength and agility. Oh and those twelve foot tall aliens were another clue he was not on earth. There were several basic plot lines: a group of mysterious beings that I did not fully understand what their ultimate purpose was in the story; an individual who was determined to take over the entire planet and a search for some mysterious thing that would tip the scale of power among opposing forces. As I said, the story was not the best; however, the movie’s action was exciting and I enjoyed all the special effects. I only wish Disney would have spent just a little more money on disguising the locale they used, here on earth.
2 3/4 stars
Flash Movie Review: Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax
As soon as this movie was over, I had to come straight home and give my plants an extra dose of plant food and water. Not only was this movie fun, but it conveyed a message to all of us about conservation. There were two parallel stories for this movie. One was about twelve year old Ted in search of something he never knew existed–a land filled with real live trees. His motivation in the beginning was to impress the girl who told him of these fabled plants. The other story was about the Lorax, a creature who fights to protect his world, a land filled with real trees. It was a little confusing for me as they jumped from one story to the other. I was more interested in the Lorax story and felt Danny DeVito’s (Batman Returns, Solitary Man) voice was perfect for the sweet, grumpy creature. Overall, I really enjoyed watching this film, being transported to the wonderful world of Dr. Seuss. Also, a couple of the songs could be next year’s Oscar nominees. It was a treat to see the characters, I used to read about, come to life on the big screen in a palette of candy colors.
3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
This movie should have been rated MHC: Must Have Child. I do not see any other reason why you would want to see this film. It has been marketed as a sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth, but the only connection between the two movies was the character of Sean, played by Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right, Bridge to Terabithia) and both movies had CGI special effects. In this movie Sean, accompanied by his mother’s husband Hank, played by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Fast Five, Tooth Fairy), go on an adventure in search of Sean’s grandfather. Watching Dwayne I wondered if they enhanced his appearance, since he almost looked cartoonish with his massive build. Though I have to say his character was likeable and well directed, to deliver his lines in a playful, sarcastic way. What I found interesting was the way the movie was shot. I viewed the 2D version, yet in many scenes it was obvious they were filmed in a particular way for the 3D effect version. It annoyed me slightly, thinking they used the action for 3D as the center point to the set up of the various scenes. The humor was childish, hence why the MHC rating, the dialog was bland; the only reason to see this movie would be for the variety of colors used and special effects. Outside of that, for me, the movie was silly.
2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Secret World of Arrietty
I will always be grateful to the other movie I could not get to in time. Because, instead I was able to enter a magical world, that was simply beautiful. There was such a softness to this hand painted animated movie, that computer animation cannot replicate. Every frame had such depth of detail, like the reflection off a raindrop or the intertwining vine leaves curling up the side of a house; I truly felt as if I were in the movie. And then there was the story and what a wonderful story. Fourteen year old Arrietty and her parents are Borrowers, 4 inch tall people, who live undetected under the floor of a family’s residence. Life changes dramatically for Arrietty when she is seen by a human boy. There are layers to this story that added to the amazing time I spent in the theater and for that reason, I am going to withhold mentioning anything more. This movie is best watched knowing little about it and being taken away to another world like I was when I saw it.
3 1/2 stars
