Movie Trailer: Thor

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Movie Trailer: Sucker Punch

Movie Trailer: Tron: Legacy

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Movie Trailer: Stone

Movie Review: Inception

Let’s be honest, this summer is one of the most disappointing and lackluster summers in a long time. It seems as though the recession has finally hit Hollywood and they hardly have anything to offer. Many of the films are right around average if not below average status. Luckily, Christopher Nolan is here to save us and we all need to thank him for delivering Inception.

Nolan proves again that there is spot in cinema history waiting for him. Since his first ulta-low budget feature Following, Nolan has provided us with wonderful narrative that work best on the screen rather than on the page. Nolan is skilled in both drama and big blockbuster films. His Batman films are more than just costumed hero movies. They are real films that can be critiqued and discussed in the same manner that one would critique any film on the AFI’s 100 Greatest Movie list. Inception is no different.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a thief who can bring you into a dream world which his team creates so that he can steal your secret. It’s called Inception. Or is it? The film also stars Ellen Page, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, and Cillian Murphy. If you’ve seen the preview you can gather this much. However, the trailer is only a fraction of the detail and to it’s credit, the trailer is a labyrinth that only hints to the possibilities of what the story line really has to offer.

In reality, Inception is an amazing cinematic achievement. Nolan delivers a film that takes dream worlds and makes them feel real. This is not a film with flamboyant colors and highlights, such as Avatar or Alice in Wonderland. The world that Nolan creates feels real because it is a world that we can relate to.

If you’ve read more than one review by me, you’ve probably notice my biggest complaint is narrative structure. Inception is a film to study. The narrative is complex and imaginative and it doesn’t miss a beat. The characters are fleshed out. The situations, even in a dream, seem plausible. And the best part is, like his other films, Nolan abandons linear storytelling. The story is fragmented into small pieces and moments in time. At one moment the viewer is in the dream world, then the real world, and then inside a character’s memory or imagination. One of the most powerful aspects of cinema is it’s ability to transport though time and space fluidly in single second or a single cut of film. It’s power is hardly 3D. Theater on stage is already 3D. It is not CGI graphics, because most often the viewer is able to distinguish the real from the fake, and most films try to substitute computer generated graphic for interesting storylines.

Inception delivers the best aspect of what film has to offer. In the last hour of the film, Nolan relies heavily on parallel action and cross cutting to complete the narrative for Inception. Many films, like Star Wars have only three levels of parallel action that the film cuts between. The star ship battles in space, the Ewoks fighting Storm Troopers on Endor, and the lightsaber battle on the Death Star are examples of three parallel actions happening at the same time. In Inception, Noland creates five levels of parallel action all happening at the same time. The characters are asleep on an airplane, inside a falling van, trapped inside a hotel room, in combat on a snowy mountain base, and searching through deserted world created from Dicaprio’s dream, and all at the exact same moment. It is a mammoth achievement that may require multiple viewing. But once you’ve seen this film, you won’t mind seeing it again and again.

A person could continue on for hours discussing the various aspects for the film. Christopher Nolan is a true artist and filmmaker, and Inception is that film that we’ve been anticipating and waiting for.

Grade: A+

Video Games: Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions

Check out this really awesome art work for the upcoming Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions game. If you don't know already, the game sees you playing the titular character through four separate "dimensions" in which you will control each of the alter-egos. As you can see from the box art, the player will have the opportunity to control four versions of Spider-Man, spanning the Earth-616 (the mainstream universe), Noir (Earth-7207) and Marvel 2099 (Earth-928) universes. The fourth universe will be officially revealed at San Diego Comic-Con on July 22, 2010.

The plot of the game sees a mysterious artifact called the Tablet of Order and Chaos gets shattered into four pieces, creating problems with reality. A mystic within the Amazing Universe, who is confirmed to not be a current or former Sorcerer Supreme,[1] will tell Spider-Man how he can fix this, by going into three different dimensions (aside from his own), get help from the different Spider-Men in each dimension, and recover the tablet fragment in each.

The game will feature appearances from characters such as Kraven the Hunter, Noir versions of Hammerhead and Green Goblin, and 2099 versions of Hobgoblin and Scorpion

Movie Posters: SCREAM 4 (Pt. 2)

A couple months ago I posted the teaser poster for the upcoming 4th entry to the SCREAM saga, and now here's a look at the awesomely exciting new poster for the film! As you can see, Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette are all back. I can't wait! How excited are you??

Movie Trailer: The Town

From the acclaimed director of Gone Baby Gone. Which songs a little funny being that it is Ben Affleck. However, Gone Baby Gone was done well. And personlly, this film looks amazing.

Movie Trailer: The Social Network

Movie Trailer: Due Date

I've been a fan of Todd Phillips's films since he first made Road Trip. I'm excited.

Movie Review: Predators

Just when the thought of another Predator film was enough to make someone hurl (largely because of the two AVP films) Robert Rodriquez steps in to save the series from another mind numbing sequel. In Predators, directed by Nimrod Antal (Vacancy, Armored), a small group of strangers have been randomly selected and find themselves stranded inside an unfamiliar jungle. As you would suspect some get along, becoming allies, and others seem to have problems banding together. The one thing that they all have in common is that they’ve been selected specifically for a game. Something is lurching in the woods, the area seems unfamiliar, and as you can guess they are being hunted by Predators. Adrien Brody, plays Royce, a mercenary searching for a way, or anyway out alive. For the most part he leads to pack and the others follow. The rest of the film plays out as each member of the group is picked off by the Predators hidden in the jungle.


In comparison to the last three Predator outings, this is a great step in the right direction. AVP was so horrible that I skipped out on AVPR. And from what I have heard, I’m not missing much.

As great as it was to have another Predators film that has been done well, this movie has too many formulaic sci-fi/horror sequel moments. I can think of several films that start out with a small group of people who over the course to the film, slowly get killed off one by one. The last five Saw films are one set of examples. Films like these often have a week McGuffin’s that only sets the characters up, but never really follow them through the entire film. What happens then is the narrative of the film falls asleep and the rest of movie is just waiting for the next best creative kill that can happen.

Predators is an enjoyable film, and any fan of the Arnold original would agree so. As a throwback film, this movie is spot on and it is clear that the filmmakers did their homework. However, it’s almost too many throwbacks and too many homage’s paid to make for an imaginative outing. The last hour of the film is almost a carbon copy remake of the original. Nothing is added to the Predator characters that we haven’t already discovered before from the previous films and by the end I wonder, “What did we really learn?” The last Die Hard, Rocky and Rambo films have all added something to the story arc of it’s characters.

I’ve left some harsh criticism, but the film is still enjoyable and it’s a far better film than the previous Predator movies. But by the end I find myself wishing for just a little more than what the film had to offer. However, I did say that if the film had blood, gluts, and bullets that I would be happy.

Grade: B-

Movie Poster: Scott Pilgrim

Check out this awesome new poster for the upcoming Scott Pilgrim flick! Click here to view an earlier poster, equally awesome!

While I'm at it, here's the latest theatrical trailer!

Movie Posters: Harry Potter Finale

Check out this awesome poster for the final two Harry Potter movies. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can see the movie's new trailer here!

James Bond 23: Officially Canceled!

File this one under news that can suck my balls, James Bond 23 has been officially canceled today by MGM Studios! The movie would have been directed by Sam Mendes, and would have again seen Daniel Craig reprising his 007 role.

MGM is apparently looking for buyers and financers to help with new films, and in the meantime they are canceling or shelving outstanding projects. An exception to the rule, The Hobbit, still appears to be under way.

I actually just watched Quantum of Solace again yesterday and was thinking that it was about time a new film get underway. I'm definitely disappointed. Screw you MGM! Bastards.

Movie Review: The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

It would be easy for me to write a popular review, where I agree with many viewers that the movie was good, and talk about which characters or moments are my favorite. A review like that might help bring in a lot of readers to the site and heck, we might become a little more popular. But instead I’m going to review the film the way I saw it, regardless if it goes against popular opinion. I know Devon has read the books and perhaps he'll feel differently about the film than I.

Many are calling the film the best in the series, or at least that was earlier speculation. Having seen director David Slade’s earlier films Hard Candy and 30 Days of Night (and really enjoying both) I thought that Eclipse could possibly be the better film as well. However, Eclipse is the worst of the three films so far.

The movie begins with a group of new born vampires growing in Seattle, Washington. This army of vampire eventually will makes it’s way to Forks. But that is getting a little ahead of ourselves. In the mean time, Edward and Bella continue the discussion of marriage and whether to change Bella into a vampire. Her relationship with Jacob is on the fritz, but Jacob can’t help but to be in love with Bella and is convinced that she subconsciously loves him as well. That is about the gist of the story. Most of it revolves around the ensuing love triangle between the characters. Bella cares for both Edward and Jacob, and yet Jacob and Edward are of course mortal enemies. And oh, yes, there is a vampire army building up in Seattle.

Many of the problems with this film begin with the source material. Stephanie Meyer's novel "Eclipse" is possibly the worst book that I have ever read. The narrative really only has the depth of a short story and yet drags along for 700 pages. This movie being the third film adapted inside of a series almost has no choice but to follow along. In large part the problem with the narrative is that it has a 2nd act that doesn’t go anywhere, or in a sense goes everywhere, or just explains everything and nothing at the same time. Really, the 2nd act is just passing time until we finally get to the climax of the story. It’s understandable that Bella has second thoughts about changing into a vampire, but contemplating it for 45 minutes isn’t really that interesting of a story. Most of the middle of the film is just waiting for the ending, instead of working towards it.

It also doesn’t help that many of the actors cannot act at all. For the most part, that last comment excludes Kristen Stewart and Bryce Dallas Howard. And the only one with real talent is Dakota Fanning, but because of the storyline she is hardly in the film at all. Robert Patterson and Taylor Lautner have their moments. They are good at acting when they’re extremely mad or even humorous and happy. But when it comes to the melodramatic material, and there is a lot of it, their performances start to suffer. When it comes to any of the new born vampires and Dakota Fanning’s Voultry pawn’s the performances are absolutely horrible. I’ve seen better acting in a Renny Harlin film than what is present from many of these actors. In fact most of the performances and the style of costume designs remind me a lot of Harlin's film The Convenant, which if you've seen that film you'll underdstand that I am not paying either film a compliment. The poor performances were forgivable in the beginning, when the first film was made for less than nothing, and the film makers needed to find actors for cheap. But with the budget that is available now it is hard to understand why the casting directors are still scrapping from the bottom of the barrel. It also doesn’t help that the dialogue in the book is absolutely horrendous and the film’s screenplay isn’t any better.

For the most part, the first and second films are more cinematic than this one. This was one of more disappointing aspects of the new film for me. It has its moments, the scenes with Bell and Edward lying in the clearing, Alice’s visions, and the fighting at the end all work well. The rest of the film is just images without any creativity involved. The camera is merely observing the subjects, and the subjects aren’t really doing anything at all.

There are moments in the movie that are not in the book, and of course much of the book that isn’t in the film. Eclipse the film is both the best of the movie and the best of the book presented on screen. But it’s not enough to make it fully entertaining. You'll find yourself waiting for the story to finally kick into gear and when it does it’s too little too late.

Grade: C-