Book/Movie Review: Twilight

 Movie/Book: Twilight

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Ashley Greene, Robert Pattinson

Movie grade: C+

Book grade: B+

As usual, the book always beats the movie. I watched the movie first and felt an interesting feeling as it was over. But now that I read the book, I like the series a lot more. I guess I was expecting a lot out of the movie since it was such a craze, and me being a vampire fan, usually I like most vampire flicks. However, I expected Edward Cullen to blow me away, and he didn’t. I expected the movie to be really good and perhaps make me cry, it didn’t. I just need to stop having expectations when watching movies. 

Now that I have read the book, the movie makes a lot more sense, it almost seemed better and I appreciated it more. When I first watched the movie, I thought it was a little odd and weird, although that was the point of the relationship between Edward and Bella. It wasn’t as appealing because the movie almost seemed boring at times. I must admit that the cast picks were very good, I liked the fact that there was no mega stars in this movie and that Robert Pattinson was picked. All the actors did a really good job acting. The movie was artistically pleasing, plot was slightly boring. 

The book was much more entertaining. It was a quick read and often I couldn’t put it down. I’m currently reading New Moon and can’t wait for the next movie! Vampire romances are quite sexy…

Movie Review: Journey to the Center of the Earth 2008

Movie Title: Journey to the Center of the Earth ( 2008 )

Starring: Brendan Fraser, Sean Anderson, Anita Briem

Grade: B-

The reason why this movie didn’t get a lower grade is because I’m biased for Brendan Fraser. There are certain movies I’d watch only for the actor/actress. Some of these include: Will Smith, Brendan Fraser, Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Reese Witherspoon….I’ll come up with more later. 

I usually like the comedic and frazzled character Brendan does in most of his movies (the first one I really loved was George of the Jungle, then Mummy, and Mummy 2, and Mummy 3). Anyway, this movie was average compared to other adventure/fantasy movies. The romance was thin and the father/son relationship is cultivated in a non-genuine way. I think they made this movie simply for the 3D and for the CG effects, which were good but not fantastic. 

I usually watch these movies for the dinosaurs and to see what kind of fantasy creatures or circumstances they can encounter. Often times, I found it slightly disappointing that somehow it looked really easy for all the characters. You really feel a sense of accomplishment when they achieve a happy ending because of hard work, but it almost came too easy for them to get to the top. However, this movie was still enjoyable to watch, but I don’t necessarily think it’s worth it if you aren’t into Brendan Fraser.

Movie Review: The Golden Compass

  Movie Title: The Golden Compass

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, Dakota Blue Richards, Eva Green

Grade: B-

First of all, I find it slightly interesting that Daniel Craig and Eva Green are in a movie together again, this is only after seeing Casino Royale. 

Besides that side note, this movie was very visually appealing and intriguing due to its fantastical nature. However, I felt that since this is the first installment, it leaves me hanging for the sequel. It ended abruptly and I often don’t like those kind of endings. 

However, the CG and imagined landscapes, demons, technology and characters were all very appealing. In a movie category that is dominated by Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Narnia (being not as good, but still there), it definitely does a good job of trying. I had an amusing time watching a movie like this simply because it’s a nice escape from reality and creates a world that is simply fantasy. 

I enjoyed this movie a lot mainly for the visual effects as well. The animals, the landscapes and everything flowed well together, so much so that I think this movie is worth watching because of this. It’s simply stunning through out. 

I can see why there is controversy because of religion, but the movie didn’t strike me as too “controversial.” I bet the directors really downplayed that part and brought out more of the adventure. I can’t wait for the sequel!

Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Movie Title: Slumdog Millionaire

Starring: Dev Patel, Anil Kapoor, Freida Pinto

Grade: A

I was initially interested in seeing this movie when everyone told me to go watch it because it was good. Usually, movies like this are not that good to me because I have high expectations for it. I purposely tried to have no expectations for this movie and was pleasantly surprised. This was a very heart warming, but at the same time, showing lots of reality in a country. Perhaps people are upset at how India is being portrayed, but at least it demonstrates survival in a very real way. Jamal is a very likeable protaganist, and I always love a happy ending. 

I don’t watch too many Indian movies, so I usually have some generalized idea of how they are supposed to be. This movie is also very new to me simply because I don’t watch Bollywood or anything of that nature. The music fit very well. The kids did a great job of acting. 

I totally recommend everyone to see this movie.

Movie Review: Evan Almighty

Title: Evan Almighty

Starring: Steve Carrell, Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, Johnny Simmons, John Goodman

Grade: B-

This is a surprisingly good sequel. The Noah twist worked very well and the movie wasn’t too overdone and was funny. The original was still considerably better, however there was a certain charm to this movie. Perhaps Carrell worked well as a Noah character and the fact that his character is more developed in this movie helps. 

But what made this movie really enjoyable was the ending when something I didn’t expect would happen, happened. Of course, we all love a happy ending and that corruption would end in Washington. Being a Christian and also living near the Capitol, I could relate to the movie a lot. This movie taught me a lot about faith and how God chooses to teach us things, even though it was meant for entertainment purposes. 

Very fun and enjoyable to watch!

Movie Review: License to Wed

Title: License to Wed

Starring: Robin Williams, Mandy Moore

Grade: B

This movie was pretty solid, funny and quite cute. It wasn’t necessarily great or amazing, definitely not life changing. But for a romantic comedy, it kind of worked. Robin Williams plays a very good priest, and Mandy Moore played her usual role of the sweet, innocent girl. There was a charm to the guy actor as well. 

Good date movie…

Movie Review: The House Bunny

Movie: The House Bunny

Starring: Anna Farris, Colin Hanks, Emma Stone, Hugh Hefner, Katharine McPhee

Grade: C+

Ok, this movie was cute and tries to be uplifting but overall, it’s been overdone already. It seems like this movie cut bits and pieces from other chick flicks and slapped it all together in a very sloppy way. I can see the appeal of Anna Farris but the idea is TOO overdone, the makeovers, trying to make the outcasts look cool. Sometimes, Farris’ character got on my nerves, yes I can tell she’s blonde and trying to be stereotypically dumb, but Reese Witherspoon does a better job at it. And also, the Greek life appeal was there, but it doesn’t rival the Sydney White movie and other Greek life movies as something substantial. The mean girl wasn’t as mean as the girls in “Mean Girls.” Everything they attempted was already done, and done better. It was slightly entertaining, but not as much so. Yay, let’s toot the “Be yourself” horn again for the thousandth time, bo-ring!!

Yeah, don’t watch it….It’s not boring, but it’s definitely not that interesting either.

Movie Review: National Treasure, the Book of Secrets

 Movie: National Treasure, Book of Secrets

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Justin Bartha, Diane Kruger, Jon Voigt, Ed Harris

Grade: B-

Ok, so I was a lover of the first movie and definitely had low expectations for the sequel. Simply because sequels of good movies tend to kind of suck, especially Disney ones. Surprisingly though, it wasn’t a complete disappointment and was enjoyable to watch. The chase/thrill is reminiscent as the first one, it was slightly short lived though. 

The characters retained much of their old personalities, I thought the evil guy wasn’t quite as evil or didn’t quite cut it. Some of the ideas and clues were random and seemed like they were running out of ideas, but they still worked nonetheless. The first movie, however, did a spectacular job of really leading the audience on and finally feeling relieved and happy to find the treasure. But in the second one, it’s kind of a given that Cage was going to find the treasure, I don’t know why, but the expectation was already there. Therefore, the movie wasn’t quite as enjoyable. 

I have to give credit for the part about kidnapping the President, however, it seemed rather unrealistic that something like that would actually occur. Overall, a decent movie to spend time watching, but if you’re expecting it to be better than the first, you’ll be disappointed.

Movie Review: The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian

Movie Title: The Chronicles of Narnia, Prince Caspian

 

Starring: Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skander Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell

Directed by Andrew Adamson

Grade: C+

Overall, I was expecting this movie to be really good based on a lot of people’s reviews and the buzz. Just comes to show that I should have no expectations when it comes to movies. It was a good movie, but not good enough. I was glad that Edmund showed a lot more growth and character and I can see why Peter was trying to act rebellious because he’s being a teenager. The kids did a generally ok job of acting. However, I felt like the movie somehow didn’t tie it together, and often times tried to capture the original movie’s “FOR NARNIA” spirit, but sadly, that was already done and over with. 

It was a little confusing to follow at the time, and the fact that the lines were delivered so slowly for dramatic appeal got kind of annoying. There were lots of pieces and the movie tried to tie them all in, but I don’t really see how it all worked out together. 

Ok, I can see why everyone is in love with Prince Caspian, but in general, he was an ok guy. The story of his father was not easy to relate to therefore I didn’t feel very sorry for him when he went on a revenge rampage. He kind of fell flat as a character because of the lack of development. Of course, the characters of Narnia were definitely still loveable and I think that was one of the initial appeals. Aslan’s return? A little late and almost not even there, but appreciated of course. 

Overall, I think the first and second movie are decent movies. But they don’t have anything real to offer when compared to bigger fantasy movies of their time (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc.)