The Ant Bully

2006 - 1/5

I didn’t mind the message behind this movie, but the movie as a whole it was just ‘eh’. I know I’ll never watch it again, and I’m not sure I’d recommend it to anyone. Just to be clear, I’m not saying it was a horrible movie, it just wasn’t repeat-worthy. There was zero entertainment value and I’m glad I didn’t pay money to see this movie.

I didn’t laugh, chuckle, or even snicker during any point of this movie. It was basically one-tone throughout the entire movie. And to some extent I was waiting for something to happen, but on the other hand, it was very predictable and you knew what was going to happen.

It seemed as if the voiceover actors were trying to be that character and it just didn’t work. I felt they were trying to change their voices a bit, or emphasize it from time to time. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it seemed forced and not natural. For the most part, I find that when there’s a big name behind the voice, the majority of the time, it’s never that great.

Yes it was an animated movie and these types of movies typically go beyond realistic boundaries, but there still needs to be some form of realism and believability and I think this movie strayed too far away – my example being the kids strength, climbing ability and the fact that he never really got hurt even though he was thrown around several times.

I know I can keep rambling about how I didn't like the kid, the ants, or any of the other characters, but I'll put the brakes on here.

I’ll admit that I have a biased opinion, but the way I see it, Disney Pixar far exceeds other animated movies with regards to animation, storyline, script, voiceovers, ect. And even if it wasn't an animated movie, Disney still wins with Honey I Shrunk the Kids.

James & the Giant Peach

1996 - 2.1/5

I mainly liked the animated parts. I think the live action at the beginning didn’t need to be 20 minutes long.

I liked the kid that did the voice for James.

I LOVED the claymation!

My favourite lines:

Centipede: I did live between two pages of The National Geographic. Very informative magazine, the National Geographic. Lots of nice pictures.

Grasshopper: He’s committed pesticide.

Let Me In

2010 - 3.2/5

The movie itself gets a 3 out of 5, but the ‘.2’ was added because of the rubik’s cube!

I think this is the first vampire movie I have ever seen. Knowing what other types of vampire movies are popular nowadays, I’ve been trying to avoid them. Although I remember being told when this movie first came out, it was a vampire movie, I actually forgot. With that being said, a friend had highly recommended this movie, so I knew it probably wasn’t like the other vampire movies.

Let me start this review by saying, holly mother of creepfest! I cannot tell you how many times I got the chills watching this movie! For a movie that didn’t have a whole lot happen, it was pretty entertaining. Those parts that nothing was really happening was building up to the parts that did; and boy, did those parts deliver! This movie wasn’t just about killing and gory deaths, emotion and relationships were added in with different characters.

This movie is a remake, and I haven’t seen the original, but I’ve read several reviews on IMDB that said that this movie does the original justice.

Acting:
The kid that played Owen was so good! His looks fit the role, his voice fit the role, and overall, Kodi Smit-McPhee WAS Owen.

I had no idea that the police officer in this movie was Casey Jones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! I also didn’t know that Elias Koteas was still acting and I’m happy he is because he is a good actor. And yay that he’s Canadian!

A couple minutes after Abby was introduced, I had to stop the movie and find out who she was because she looked so familiar. I had no idea it was the Hit Girl from Kick-Ass! I did not like her character in that movie, although I think she did an okay job with the role. But Chloe Moretz was a perfect fit with Abby. She was a solid actress, and at no point in this movie did her acting seemed forced.

Richard Jenkins. Need I say more? This guy is amazing! He is such a versatile actor; he is able to play practically any role given to him and he was great with this role as Abby’s father. This character, like many others, was creepy, and Jenkins was awesome – business as usual for him.

Cinematography:
The director defiantly paid attention to the camera angles and ended up with some good shots. One that stands out was the scene that Owen was looking through his telescope into the neighbours houses and we see the light shine through the telescope and onto his eye. Another part worth mentioning was the camera angle before and during a car crash – it gave the viewer a great perspective. The whole fire part in the hospital was kind of meh, but it was necessary to add it in (I won’t elaborate any further because I feel as if I might say too much and give something away; although it is obvious that most scenes take place at night).