Brave

2012 - 3/5

Got to see this in the VIP Cinema.

This was probably the one movie of 2012 that I was most looking forward to, so I can’t say that I went in with no expectations whatsoever. It was a Pixar movie, and because they have set the bar so high when it comes to computer animated films, it’s hard not to have at least some expectations.

It was about time that Pixar had a female lead and I thought it would be interesting set as a period piece. I was hoping that Pixar would do a good job with regards to portraying that era and that culture. I also really liked the accents; I thought they were done well. Oh, and I also really liked the choice of music and songs. When it comes to the animation – it was a Pixar movie. Need I say more? I loved the contrast of colours; the fiery red of Merida’s hair against the washed out blues and greens looked fantastic!

Before I get into talking about the movie itself, I wanted to mention the short. I absolutely LOVE how Pixar always creates a short for each of their feature films. They are so fun to watch, and the one that was shown before this movie was so cute. I did like it but I will say that there are other shorts that I liked a lot more.

I had seen the trailer for this movie a long time ago and every other time I had seen the trailer I was excited to see the movie. When I took my seat in the theatre, I realized that I wasn’t really sure what the plot was. What I took from the trailer was that the tomboy’ish princess, Merida, didn’t want to get married, so she goes on some journey and fights in an epic battle in order to change her fate, but eventually learns a life lesson and goes back to her parents kingdom with a renewed sense of life. My friends thought that the story had more to do with Merida finding a suitor.

I will say that the weakest part about this movie was the plot; the second half to be exact. Everything was going so well up until Merida wanted to change her fate. From that point on it became a very childish movie and it didn’t live up to what I had expected from the trailer and more importantly, what I expected from Pixar. Their storylines are always so unique and creative, so the plot was a bit of a let down but the amazing animation helps me look past that…to some extent. When it comes down to it, this movie had a plot that we’ve all seen before (even in past Disney movies: Mulan & Pocahontas), so I can’t give this movie anything more than a 3/5, but I can’t give anything less because everything else was pretty much superb.

Usually when you leave the theatre after having seen a Pixar movie, you feel like, wow, that was great, but I can’t say that for the entirety of this movie. Up until Merida changes her fate, it was a solid movie and what I had expected from Pixar, but the tone of the movie and the general vibe changed very suddenly, and it was just whatever.

A friend mentioned that this movie shouldn’t have been called “Brave” and I agree, because there really wasn’t much in terms of bravery. I was on IMDB and I had seen that the original title of this movie was supposed to be “The Bear & the Bow” and to be honest I felt as if that that had more to do with the movie than the title “Brave”.

At the end of the day, I know it, and you probably know it too - I will buy this movie. :)

***SPOILER ALERT***
When it comes down to it, I really wasn’t expecting that Merida’s mother, Elinor would turn into a bear. I was completely blindsided, and had no idea that was coming. When it did happen, it seemed so random, and only a bit later you learn why she was turned into a bear. The story with the Prince (that was also turned into a bear) wasn’t well incorporated into the movie.

I have to admit that my favourite part of the entire movie was when Merida and her mom, as a bear, go back to the witches house and the witch is no longer there, and the cauldron is some sort of answering machine in which Merida was told to pour either vile 1,2,3,ect. into the cauldron for different messages (as in Line 1,2,3,ect.). I thought that was clever and I enjoyed that.

El Laberinto Del Fauno [Pan's Labyrinth]

2006 – 4.2/5

Before I saw this movie for the first time, I was told that it’s Alice In Wonderland meets Full Metal Jacket. I can’t say that I’ve seen the latter, but I do agree with the Alice In Wonderland portion. Having watched this movie for the second time, still not having seen Full Metal Jacket, I loved it just as much.

The girl who played Ofelia was amazing. Some child actors are so good at what they do and Ivana Baquero is defiantly one of them. She, along with everyone else was a treat to watch.

This enchanting story was fresh and creative. I want to say that this was a dark, whimsical movie. Part fantasy-part drama with a dash of action sprinkled in. This movie transitions between Ofelia’s real world and Ofelia’s fairytale world so fluidly. They are both connected to one another so gracefully that one scene flows into the next effortlessly.

I felt as if everything was so perfect and precise right down to the smallest detail: beautiful scenery, sets and cinematography, beautiful transitions and editing, beautiful music and sound effects and beautiful costumes and outfits.

The last thing I want to mention, that doesn’t really have to do with the movie itself is the fact that even though there is a child-lead, that doesn’t mean this is a movie for kids.

The Score

2001 – 3/5

Likes:
-I loved the cast. I think that Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton are a good pair.
-The plot (a heist), albeit not original was still entertaining and suspenseful.
-I liked how the movie focused on DeNiro and Norton’s characters and didn’t add the police-side into the mix.
-Norton did a good job as a handicapped person.

Dislikes:
-The pace was a bit slow at times.
-I didn’t really buy the relationship between Nick and his girlfriend.
-I liked how it was set in Montreal, but it seemed a bit bland.
-The script wasn’t that great
-I would have liked to see more of a cat-and-mouse game between Nick and Jackie after they got the scepter; but then again, I can always watch The Italian Job.

Marvel's The Avengers

2012 - 3.5/5

Although I am not a fan of comic-book movies, I have seen Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor and Capitan America. I honestly did not care to see this movie at all, let alone in theatres. But lo and behold, an opportunity to see it in the VIP Cinema for free came up and because I haven’t heard a single bad review, I took the offer.

I saw this movie in 3D and although I was trying to avoid doing so. I don’t think the 3D feature of the movie was necessary; it didn’t add much to the overall effects. It was probably only added for the higher ticket price. Aside from the 3D effects, the rest of the special effects were fantastic! Very well done.

Before going into this movie I was on the fence about it what I would think. I had heard that it had its funny moments and I was hoping the saving grace aspect of this movie would be the comedy to keep me interested. I actually really enjoyed the comedy in this movie – it was tasteful and fit the situation/s perfectly. The rest of the dialogue was also good.

This movie is over 2 hours, but it is very well paced and doesn’t drag. I was entertained the entire time. Everything that happened moved the plot forward and there were enough action scenes to keep your interest. I have to say that I am now looking forward to the sequel!

Of the 4 movies (that I have seen) that lead up to The Avengers I have to say that I liked Thor the best. Capitan America and The Incredible Hulk were okay and I wasn’t a fan of Iron Man (but to be more specific, I did not like Robert Downey Jr).

The characters meshed together perfectly and it wasn’t just a bunch of ego’s that clashed; at the same time, each stayed true to his/her own character. Each character got a good amount of screen time as well.

ACTING:
I mentioned earlier that I did not like RDJ. He was a very cocky character in Iron Man which I found unbearable. However, even though he is still the exact same character in this movie, I actually liked him. His cockiness seemed toned down a bit.

Chris Evans is HOT! I really liked how he was the one that gave everyone orders. I think it made sense that Capitan America would be the one to do that.

I took a liking to Chris Hemsworth when I saw Thor. I was reluctant to see that movie, but I’m happy I did because it turned out to be my favourite in this series. I think that my favourite fight scenes in The Avengers was any fight with Thor in it – his hammer was really cool!!! I had never heard of him before Thor, but he made such a big impression on me. I mentioned this in my review for Snow White & the Huntsman, but he truly suits the ‘fighter’ role in movies. I’m looking forward to seeing his upcoming movies. The next point is going to be completely random, but I just found out that Liam Hemsworth is his brother!

When it comes to The Hulk, I had seen the version with Edward Norton. To be completely honest, he is one of my favourite actors, so I had a bit of a bias going into this movie knowing that Mark Ruffalo was going to be Bruce Banner/The Hulk. I have to admit that when I saw The Incredible Hulk, I felt as if EN didn’t fit the role. He did fine with the movie, but it just didn’t suit him. I found that I actually ended up liking Mark Ruffalo more as The Hulk because, for starters, he kind of looked more like The Hulk and secondly, I felt as if he had more of Bruce Banner’s mannerisms. I’m not sure how much credibility you’d give me with that last statement considering I’m not very familiar with Marvel characters; but for what it’s worth, that’s my opinion.

I have not seen Iron Man 2, so I had no idea who Black Widow and Hawkeye were and how their characters fit into The Avengers, but I really liked Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. I’m not a fan of Scarlett Johansson, but I think she did a fine job as Black Widow; but I just didn’t care for her character.

Since I have seen Thor, I thought that Loki was probably the most bad-assed villain I had seen in a while. Tom Hiddleston has that creepiness to him that sent chills down my spine. I think he was a bit more threatening in Thor than he was in this movie, but still good.

I was interested to see how Cobie Smulders would do in an action-flick. She’s a good actress, so I’m assuming she’d do a good job. And now that I’ve seen the movie, I think she did just fine with the role, but I wish that she had a bigger role and was more involved with some of the [gun] fights.

And last but not least, Samuel L. Jackson. I think that Nick Fury was a character written with him in mind. SLJ’s characters are relativity similar in most of his recent movies, but because this movie had a solid script, it set it apart from the crap he’s done before.

Snow White & the Huntsman

2012 - 4/5

I got to see this in the VIP Cinema for free!

These were my thoughts going into this movie:
-The first movie I had ever seen Chris Hemsworth was Thor and I liked that a lot more than I thought. After having seen the trailer for SW&tH I can’t imagine a better person for the role as the Huntsman!
-I like Charlize Theron and she looks like she really fits the part as Ravenna.
-The only movie I have ever seen Kristin Stewart in was In the Land of Women and she was okay, so I’m hoping she’s better in this.
-Other than the general Snow White storyline I’m not too sure what the plot is after having seen the trailer; I would prefer if they keep it simple and not stray too far away from the original story.
-It seems as if there is going to be a lot of cool effects and I’m looking forward to that.
-The costumes look really good.

My thoughts after having seen the movie:
I don’t remember much of the original Snow White storyline but I loved how this movie brought a new dark twist to a classic fairytale. There were a few points of this movie that reminded me of the movies Pans Labyrinth and The Black Swan. There was a creepy vibe throughout the movie and it kept you on your toes. Without ruining anything the only thing I will say is that the only part that dragged a little was about an hour and half in. It was only for a short while, so it picked up again pretty fast.

The visual effects were done really well and they were every cooler than I thought. Every detail was so precise and it just brought everything in the movie together. And yes, that does include the costumes and sets. The sound effects were spot on and the score added to the intensity.

If anyone was going to be the weakest link, I was expecting it to be Kristin Stewart as Snow White. I mentioned earlier that I was hoping she’d do a better job in this movie than the other one I had seen her in, and I think she did; but at the same time I think she’s a type-casted actress. It just so happened that her usual acting fit the role of Snow White perfectly.

When it comes to Chris Hemsworth, he did a great job with his role as Eric, the Huntsman. He suits the warrior-type roles – case in point, Thor. I have to admit that I don’t feel as if he had a really strong presence on screen as a secondary character.

Just by watching the trailer you can tell that Charlize Theron has evil lurking behind her eyes as The Evil Queen. Her acting was amazing and I would expect her to be nominated for an Oscar. There’s no doubt in my mind that she stole the show! Solid performance.

***SPOILER ALERT***
-I’m not sure why but I wasn’t expecting the dwarves but I really liked how they were incorporated. They were relevant to the story.

-It was interesting to see a final battle between 2 females.