Movie reviews

A new segment I am doing on either Saturday's or Sunday's now.

Link in the title is for IMDB.com, THE place for average people reviewing movies. Rottentomatoes.com is where the "elite" aka movie reviewers have their say.

500 days of Summer

I had gone in expecting an interesting movie. When the movie opens you see the two main characters holding hands and her with a diamond wedding ring on so you know everything works out in the end like any lame-ass chick flick right? Wrong, dead wrong, and as a sidenote this story hit close to home because of how the guy gets dragged through hell but the secret (that I've learned, the hard way) is to never let things get you down too much. Zooey Deschanel (Summer) is absolutely amazing and might get nominated for some awards for her role, she had some very memorable lines. This movie could almost be viewed as a 16 candles version for guys in their 20's who have had their hearts broken by previous girlfriends. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Tom) (also the kid from 3rd Rock and oddly GI JOE, more on that later) does a great job. Doing the male version of Ice Cream and chick flicks after his heart gets broken (his version is vodka, orange juice, and TWINKIES). The movie is what I hope chick flicks can become so the guys that get dragged to these enjoy it too. There is Chloe (Tom's 12 year old, and wayy too wise for her age little sister) who steals the few scenes that she was in. Overall I can honestly say I enjoyed this movie from its first to last frame, no fill 95 minutes of hilarity, heartbreak, and wisdom.

I give it a 9/10 and say this could be a dark horse for best picture.
rottentomatoes.com- 89% positive reviews (almost unheard of)
IMDB.com- 8.7(#129 on the top 250 all-time movie list, as of 8/9/08)

G.I. Joe

Let me start off by making two points, one I was too young to see the G.I. Joe saturday morning cartoons and two I went in to this movie having absolutely no expectations. I actually half expected to have to walk out of this movie. That being said I was STUNNED and sadly almost no one agrees with me on this. I thought that despite lacking in plot the two main characters, Snake Eyes (Ray Park) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans) steal the show in the obvious good vs. bad and lost love angle. Of course the movie ends like all "good" movies do today, setting up the inevitable sequel (I was hoping they would wrap it in one movie like watchmen did but alas no luck). I haven't even mentioned the chase scene in Paris which is basically taking the best of the Jason Bourne car chases and the fight scenes of the Matrix and combining them. My jaw hit the floor a few times, this movie was visually stunning. A Transformers like performance but with more humans this time. Hasboro has made lightning strike twice what can I say I loved this movie.

me: 8/10
rottentomatoes.com: 39% (frankly I thought that was high considering I hadn't seen a positive review yet)
IMDB.com: 6.2

Orphan

Ok I have to say that this director did a really good job putting the audience on edge for the first half of the flick. He likes toying with your emotions and at first its cool but I have to say by the fourth and fifth times he did it I screamed "fuck you" at the screen, and people around me laughed because I think they agreed. Isabelle Fuhrman (Esther) I think should get a best actress nomination because she absolutely stole the show. I have not been so freaked out by little girls since that scene in the shining where those little girls appear in the hallway when the kid is riding around in his big wheel. Except Esther is on screen for 100+ minutes while those girls had 10 seconds tops. I'm not going to get to detailed but there is a twist at the end you will not see coming but will make things come together nicely. It's hard to call this a horror flick but it kind of is. I would put it in the category of psycological thriller like the 6th sense. I had to drive home in a massive thunderstorm after which freaked the hell out of me and added to the creepiness of the movie. You know how some movies will have you sleep with the lights on or look around corners before you step out into the open? This movie will have that effect on people. Go see it, during the day though.

me: 9.5/10
rottentomatoes.com: 51%
IMDB.com: 7.2