movies I've seen recently...
originally, I wasn't interested in Zathura. That was until I found out Jon Favreau is the director (most famous for the movie Swingers).
I went ahead and gave the movie a shot, especially considering the
mostly positive praises about it, and I did found it a rather enjoyable
movie. This movie may be very similar to the book/movie Jumanji,
but there is one element in Zathura that makes it better, the
relationship between the two brothers. This movie is really more about
the two brothers, more than the game itself. That element makes the
story excell more than it probably would have, considering the
similarities with Jumanji, and some obvious cliche moments. "B"
King Kong has been
getting many great praises for Peter Jackson's vision and the grand
story that the movie has. The praises aren't uncalled for, because this
film is quite an enjoyable piece of work. It's not without it's flaws
though, as people have complained about the 3 hours length and the CGI
effects aren't always the best in some areas. There were also some
rather corn ball moments that I could have lived without (the brontosaurus
stampede scene had lots of examples of what I mean), and the male love interest that is played by Adrien Brody seemed totally unecessary.
Much has been said about the casting of Jack Black
as the obsessed film director, who I thought did an admirable job.
Ofcourse the main draw to the film is Kong himself who is wonderously
animated and motion captured by Andy Serkis (the Lord of the Ring's "Gollum" himself) to be the most believable CGI characteter I've ever seen. But Kong would be
nothing if it wasn't for his relationship with Ann Darrow, acted by Naomi Watts
who proves that she truly is one of the best actress today. Kong and
Ann together successfully made you believe in the love they have for
each other, and if it wasn't for that, this movie wouldn't have meant a
damn thing. "A-"
The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,
is one of the better fantasy adventure films to come out lately. The
story, the characters, and the visual effects make the film captivating
and interesting. That's the same reaction that could be found from the
Harry Potter movies, and Narnia looks to be on the same path to
popularity among children at this rate. I know it makes me want to read
the books (not since over 20 years ago), which is a good sign. While the movie has got a
great sense of scope to it's fantasy world, the story itself is still
your good vs evil concept that can prove rather unoriginal to the naked
eye. There are some Christian allegory with the great Lion Aslan that
might make the story even more interesting. I also feel that the true
stand out among the cast comes from the white witch, who is incredibly
acted by Tilda Swinton.
This new franchise still needs to grow a little more to be truly great,
but what they were able to do so far shows a lot of promise in the
future installments. "B"
Recent Comments