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Transformers (2007)
One Good Time
A lot of people have problems with the Transformers series, including the running joke about the crazy amount of explosions. Critics savage this entire series, and just look at the ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. There are two opposing sides for the Transformers line, that being the standard movie audience, me and you, and the critics. And these two sides just can't seem to get along. The point of these movies is to have a good time, and that is exactly what I did when I watched this movie. Now, I do agree with the critics in some certain areas, such as the more than obvious tie-in with Hasbro, some critics saying it is just a glorified Hasbro commercial. I can agree with that, but does that really matter?
First off, I do have some problems with Transformers, certainly. One of which being the run time. It is hard for a movie to stay very interesting for 143 minutes, and for a while in the middle it got rather stale. The variety of the camera tricks and action sequences can be considered at least somewhat lacking as well. That's for sure. Also, the camera work can be somewhat annoying at times as well. It was clear what was being attempted, but the execution was just a little off. Shaky action scenes and heavily repeated camera tricks can get a little old sometimes.
But never mind that, I'll move on to the good stuff, which was much more abundant. Most important, the movie was fun. That was what it should have been, and that is what it was. Big explosions, big action, and lots of fast-paced, adrenaline-filled scenes. The CGI was a big part of this, seeing as how it was near flawless. It's difficult to make giant alien robots turning into cars and back multiple times look real, but, there you go. And honestly, maybe that's the only redeeming quality of the movie. Acting is par-level, script has shaky legs at times, and the rest of the movie is generally average. But the insane action scenes and purely amazing cinematic rush, to me, is deserving of an 8/10.
Cloverfield (2008)
A Standard Thriller With Redeeming Qualities
I saw Cloverfield for the first time quite a while ago, and at the time I felt that the found footage trend was at its inevitable end. Not because of Cloverfield, but because of all the other sub-par found footage movies that go straight to DVD. That is, unfortunately, the undoing of this genre for me. However, I do still thoroughly enjoy a select few, Cloverfield being one of them. I do still like this movie a decent amount, and I think it is just a good movie in general.
Despite that, I do have some problems with Cloverfield. First of which, the time is not managed very wisely at all. With a run time of only 84 minutes, there has to be some haste in which the story progresses. For the first, maybe, 20 minutes or so, the only eventful happenings are rather dull, and only loosely connected with the main flow and story of the movie. This would be forgivable if the movie lasted about two hours or so, or maybe even 1 hour and 40 minutes, but 20 minutes is still 25% of the movie. But regardless, though, the movie is still mostly entertaining. Monster movies have taken a rise in quality recently, in the past 8 years or so, and I can surely call Clovefield one of them. Take movies such as Pacific Rim, Godzilla, and others of the sort, and you find that a serious budget and lots of time are put forth to make them, and it is the same deal with Cloverfield, even though it might not look like it what with the shaky camera and short running time.
But let me talk about the good things with Cloverfield. First of all, the special effects are superb. They are very well done, for sure. The design of the entire movie is just first rate. The creature look just amazing, at the times you actually see it that is. And that is another thing where the movie takes a tumble a small bit. Even though you do see the creature many different times, each of those times lasts only a bit, maybe 5 seconds max, except for one part, but you will see that if you ever watch the movie. This gets very annoying after a while, and you just start to wish the camera would focus a bit more. Although, you can't really ask for much more when a giant monster is chasing you down and smashing stuff all around you. But movies don't have to be realistic, right? Anyway, there are still other good parts about the movie other than the effects. The acting, writing, and everything else, really, is good. There are no boring parts, really. But that's possibly because of the short run time.
The only reason I give Cloverfield a 7/10 is because it doesn't really deliver that KO punch that is rare for a movie. It is a very good movie, and I have pretty much no problems with it at all, save for a few minor things here and there. Nothing comes forth during the movie's run that just blows your mind. Thus, a solid 7/10 for Cloverfield.
Carrie (2013)
Not Bad, But Could Have Been Better
When I first read a Stephen King novel, which was a couple of years ago, I realized that with an author like King it has to be very difficult to capture his imagination on film. The novel wasn't Carrie, it was the Tommyknockers, but the idea still applies. In 1976, when the original film came out, that was about as close to the original novel that anyone was going to get, and Brian De Palma did a magnificent job turning an amazing novel into an amazing film. But can that be repeated?
The answer is, unfortunately, no. Carrie (2013), while not quite living up to the original, is still a decent movie on its own, and would likely have seemed better had it not been faced with its predecessors. The 1976 film was opposed the same way, but with less pressure. When Stephen King released Carrie in 1974, he was still a new and up-and-coming author. The original film was held to a less strict standard than this recent remake. But let's talk about the movie by itself. It was good. Yep. However, that's pretty much all that comes to my mind. Not horrible, not so egregiously poorly made that I never want to even hear the name of the movie again, like some people seem to think. But also not amazing. Not so amazingly outstanding that it is my first choice any time my friends and I have a movie night. But it is, invariably, good.
First, I'll talk about the good parts of the movie. The acting was great, really quite good, but only with the two main characters. Chloe Grace Moretz is a and outstanding actress, and the same goes for Julianne Moore. Two outstanding actresses in two very difficult and complex roles. The supporting actors/actresses did an OK job as well, but nothing outstanding. Next comes the story and plot line. As to be expected, the story is quite decent. But you can't really go wrong when the mastermind behind it is Stephen King. However, even though the story is already existent, it can still be difficult to execute it well, and this is the case here. The movie starts out interesting, and compelling for sure, and the ending is very well done. But the fact is, the middle section was fairly boring, and you will probably find yourself rather tired of the movie and looking at the clock to see what time it is. There is only so long the characters of Carrie and her mother can carry the movie. I say this because Julianne Moore and Chloe Grace Moretz did such an amazing job with their roles, and that can't really be said for everyone. Right there is where the movie takes a fall. Acting is one of the most necessary things in a movie, and Carrie just can't quite deliver on that front. And honestly, that's one of the only bad things about the movie. However, without good acting, a movie can take a serious hit, and that is what happened here.
But despite this, the ending result was a rather average movie with varying levels of interest. You are brought to sympathize toward Carrie, and it really is a heart-wrenching story. The realness of Carrie's surroundings is something we can all feel, and most people know what it feels like to be left out and ostracized; it is a fear we all have. Because of this, I give Carrie a 6/10. If I were you, I would rent the movie to make sure you like it before you put forth any money for it. But hey, that's just me.