Reviews

This is it! The worst of the worst. There is not story, this film actually made me dumber. There is no excuse for something this bad. It is fascinating that human beings came together and made something this awful.

The acting is non-existent, the story makes no sense. "The State Home for the ugly" plot line is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. The plot line that the kids can make clothes comes out of nowhere and makes no sense, the song was one of the worst I've ever heard and the lips of the puppets never sync up with their voices. I just can't wrap my head around why this film was even made. The Garbage Pail Kids themselves are (as well as being ugly) mean, rude, obnoxious and have no redeeming qualities, thus, making the moral that beauty is on the inside that count, redundant. Nothing about the film is charming, enjoyable or nice to look at. I honestly hate this film. Not only is this the worst film I've ever seen but I believe that this is the worst film ever made.

How could people make something this bad? this horrific? who knows? there is nothing much to say. It is just an ungodly abomination.It is just the worst ever made.

A different but brilliantly adapted version of Borough's classic novel. From the get go Tarzan will have you wide eyed and waiting to see what will happen next. The opening sequence is one of the most impressive I have ever seen in film. The opening sequence is just so powerful as it shows the contrast of the human family (infant Tarzan with his parents) and the gorilla family living happily before tragedy strikes both families which leads Kala to finding the baby Tarzan. All done without dialog, all done with the great song "Two Worlds" in the background.

Changing Tarzan's adoptive family to gorillas worked well because it showed a more gentle side to these great apes, which are often depicted as savage bruits in such films as King Kong and Planet of the apes. Tony Goldwyn did a great job as Tarzan; he hit the right balance of fun loving, relaxed and also emotional when it was required. However, Glen Close gave a soft, angelic voice to Kala that only a mother could have and her bond with both the child and adult Tarzan was at the emotional soul of the film. This was contradicted perfectly by Henriksen's performance as the un-accepting and judgmental ape leader Kurchack. Jane, Tantor, Turk were all great characters that all did well with adding humor at the appropriate times and what I liked about Driver's performance was that she was neither the defiant heroine nor the damsel in distress but rather she was simply a girl who had come to an untamed land and became enchanted with the world of a man she would later fall in love with. I would even go as far as to say that Jane is one of Disney's best female leads.I also give the movie points for the animations, most adaptations would have Tarzan swinging through the trees, but here he actually surfs through the trees.

However, I do feel that the villain (voiced by Brian Blessed) was slightly weak in comparison to other characters, Clayton is not very interesting in terms of motivation but I do feel he could have been more unique if he had been made to look younger, I would have preferred to see him have the looks of say John Smith from Pocahontas, he just seemed quite forgettable but held up in the film's final third. I also feel the film would have been more effective if Sabor was given a speaking part. Simply having the leopard growl and roar seemed to make him a brainless carnivore as opposed to an enemy and in my humble opinion Sabor would have been more intimidating if the had a speaking role to match his ferocity.

The film's strongest point was it's music and Phil Collins and Mark Mancina joined forces to create one of the greatest soundtracks I have heard in a very long time. With the exception of "Trashing the camp" which was sung by Turk, Collins used his actual voice for all of the songs and tunes such as "Son of Man" or "Strangers like me" or the Oscar winning "You'll be in my heart" will all go down as classics and give the film for being original and not sticking to the traditional musical tone.

As one of the final traditionally animated films to be considered a hit, and is probably the greatest depiction of the story of Tarzan ever put on the big screen. An absolute must see.

Well, Simba got a bit of an attitude in this one. I loved this film when I was a bit younger but now, I'd say I have mixed views about it.

On the one hand, there are a few flaws; for one, the writing is not all that great and there are some very, very cheesy lines in there. Second, there are certain elements of the story that are just not believable if you are trying to sell this as a true story (e.g. the hospital scene) and I just wish they had stuck more to the book because there was (in my opinion) enough in there to sell as a film. Val Kilmer himself was not particularly interesting and I feel this was poor casting; this was more of a role for Mel Gibson or Kevin Costner.

However, there still is a bit to like in the film, Michael Douglas was awesome in his scenery chewing role as the big game hunter and you can tell that she is really enjoying the role. John Kani was good in his role as Samuel and reminded me a bit of Rafiki from The Lion King in that wise adviser role/ comic relief. From a technical stand point, the cinematography was awesome, I know the film was shot in South Africa and they got some really amazing shots. The music (particularly for the intense scenes) was awesome, one of Jerry Goldsmith's best in my opinion.

Overall, The Ghost and the Darkness is a mixed bag but overall if you enjoy films like say Jaws then you will probably enjoy this won OK, and that is my overall view of it.

Well, everyone is obsessed with this film and, they are right, it is fantastic. Though I don't think its quite as good as say The Lion King or Aladdin but its still pretty damn awesome.

The strongest point is the characters. Elsa is one of the best female leads in recent history. She's smart, compassionate and is conflicted having lived her whole life in fear. She also becomes queen, is not evil and does not end up with a love interest, being strong on her own. Anna was also really funny, and though there is a romance that occurs in only a few days (something that Disney has been criticized for) but its understandable because she has been locked away for so long. The other characters are all enjoyable and likable, Kristoff, Hans, the Duke, the reindeer; watch the film and you'll remember them all.

I was originally against the fact that their was eventually a villain that is eventually revealed but it works because it shows the danger of what happens if you open up to quickly. That is a great lesson, especially in todays world since everyone wants to be in a relationship and with the rise of social media. The film also touches on the fact that people cannot shut themselves out and, at some point, we all need somebody. The songs, you remember them all and "Let it Go" easily makes my top 5 for best Disney songs.

If I had any problems, its that the backstory is rushed and without giving away to much, there are many holes in the story. I guess it is Disney logic which can be pointed at any film. Overall Frozen had great characters and a great story. Not my personal favorite, but a favorite for many and I can see why.

God, I love Summer Blockbusters! How to Train Your Dragon 2 is not just better than it's sequel but it is the best film by DreamWorks Animation to date.

To start off with, the animation was superb, the use of the new software shows because this is probably the best animation I have ever seen. I imagine seeing the film in 3D would be unbelievable. I was also impressed how far the animators took the animation, in the sense of the violence in some scenes, particularly the Drago's stumpy arm.

The character development was another huge selling point in this film for me. I don't know what it is about DreamWorks animation but they just have this way of developing characters that you can almost feel that the years have past, and you don't see that with other animation studios. First in terms of physical development as the characters actually seem to have developed but do not appear to be adults. Also in terms of personalities, for example Hiccup is much more confident in this film as opposed to the first film while other characters such as Astrid and Stoick are much more relaxed.

There is also the introduction of new characters such as Eret (Kit Harrington) who provides a bit of comic relief as well as Valka, one o the best characters DreamWorks has brought to the big screen as (partly through the brilliant voice acting of Cate Blanchett) as she hits the right balance between funny, kind and vulnerable. If I had a problem with the film, its that the villain was a bit weak. He does not do a lot and is not even that developed. His backstory is mentioned but it is glanced over and I would have liked it to have been explored more. I'm a big fan of Djimon Honsou and he's given his all. The film is ambiguous as to weather the character will come back but if he does, I hope he's more developed. However, he did still serve as a threat and has a few cool lines.

Honestly, I would say that this film is the modern day equivalent to The Lion King and will have the same impact on kids as The Lion King. There is just so much beneath the surface and life lessons that apply to adults as well as children.

When I heard they were combining making film about dragons and Vikings, I was beyond excited. Having never read the book, I had no idea what to expect. And I can honestly say, that I was completely blown away.

First, it must be said that the absolute star of the film, was the animation. I saw the film when it came out on DVD and even then the angles looked incredible, I imagine it would be beyond incredible if you see the film in 3D or on Blu-Ray. The amount of detail the animators put in to make the dragons seem as different as possible was unbelievable, to the point where you could barley believe that these were all different types of the same animal. The amount of personality that they gave Toothless in terms of body and facial expressions made him one of the most likable animal characters in film (at least in my opinion).

The human characters were awesome as well. Jay Baruchel was one of the most perfectly made casting decisions since Jodi Benson was cast as Ariel in The Little Mermaid. He embodies the film's moral (which is a great one) that to be different is to make a difference. Stoick the Vast was a great character, and I felt that one could really sympathize with his morale dilemma; he has a responsibility as the chief was well as an understandable prejudice that will eventually cause him to (temporarily) disown his son and you see the good in him when he comes to the revelation that he was wrong. There are also other likable characters voiced by the like of Jonah Hill, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig amongst others.

As I said earlier, the best bit of the film was the moral. I feel it could really speak to children (and possibly to teenagers to a degree) that being different, standing out from the crowd could give someone an even better chance to make a difference. Something I strongly believe in.

Overall, How To Train Your Dragon is brilliant and I could not find a single thing wrong with it.

Possibly, the greatest gangster film of all time, everything is perfect; the acting is perfect, the script is perfect, the story is perfect, this is one of the first examples that comes to mind when I think of a perfect film.

The performances where outstanding and I would not have been surprised if all the cast received Oscars. The soundtrack (though, not a conventional score) was still very just as (if not more) effective than a score. The angles, and editing and cinematography where all terrific.

Overall, Goodfellas is Scorsese's best film by a long shot, which is saying a lot. This is a film I could watch again and again and again. This film is definitely not for everyone but fans of films such as Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle will definitely love this.

Quite possibly the greatest sequel, period. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is without doubt, the best film of the entire franchise. Just like the last film, the best thing about the movie is Caesar, played brilliantly by the always fantastic Andy Serkis, who has turned the genre of motion capture acting into an art form. Caesar goes from being a revolutionary into being a leader, Serkis' commanding presence transcends into Caesar's command over the apes. I also a huge fan of the ending, when Caesar is pushed to break his own law by murdering the villain, Koba. I always find it compelling when heroes or leaders are forced to break the morals in order for the greater good such as Superman in Man Of Steel. Koba is also shown to be compassionate and caring, such as allowing the humans to work on their electricity, all in an attempt for peace, showing Caesar to be much more than a one dimensional lead.

Another great quality in the film is Koba, the villain. One thing I must say, is though he was a vicious antagonist, I actually ended up feeling sorry for him. From the first film one could see that he had been a victim of long term suffering as a result of being tested and his hatred for human beings is coming from. Apart from that, he is a completely awesome villain. When he murders the two guards (after putting on the cute monkey act) was terrifying for two reasons, one it was terrifying and two it completely contrasted our cuddly perception of apes with the reality of how fierce and powerful they really are, it reminded me of the orangutan that murders a woman and hides her body in a chimney in the novel The Murders of Rue Morgue by Edgar Allen Poe. Koba also represents the side effect that if animals were to gain the intelligence of humans then as long as the positive qualities like ambition or desire for freedom (as shown by Caesar in "Rise") they would also inherit the negative aspects such as hatred, bittrernes and prejudice. I also love the dramatic irony that in the mission to eradicate humans, the thing he hates most, Koba almost becomes more human (by showing negative human qualities).

The human characters were also likable, but it must be said that the biggest surprise was Garry Oldman. In all the trailers, he was made out to be the villain, but in the end he turned out to be one of the most sympathetic characters. The man had to balance the pain of losing his family along with leading the few human survivors. I honestly felt sympathetic when he blew up the tower, and I probably would have done the same thing in that situation. Malcolm and his family were also likable as they were able to be good without being one dimensional, as they had all experienced pain as a result of the disease and were all trying to avoid feeling such pain themselves.

The best part about the film was the story. What I loved was that it was not actually humanity's fault that the two species went to war but in fact it was the fault of the apes, as it was an ape (Koba) that started the war, showing that, if given the intelligence, animals could have the same potential to be cruel and evil as humans.

This has been one of the best reviews to write about the best film (so far) of 2014. Dawn of The Planet of the Apes is a must see.

Someone, please, please, tell Tyler Perry to stop making movies please. Its just one contrived, forced, heavily religious themed film after another. This is no exception.

I really don't have much to say, the acting ranged from being dead on boring (the main character) to being so over the top, I felt like I was watching a cartoon (the mother), there were forced Christian themes (and this is coming from a Christian by the way. The plot was predictable from the opening credits to the end credits. I honestly can't even take away any positives.

The film's characters are also so hollow, so one dimension that I felt that these were the draft of characters, not fully formed characters. Overall, Temptation is boring, predictable and is actually one of Tyler Perry's worst, and that is saying a lot.