Movie Review Repost -- Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (2012)

Hey, guys! Didn't have time to write anything this week. You know what that means: a repost of a previous review from the Facebook days. This time we're taking a look back at the first movie I ever gave five stars to: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. To my regret I haven't seen this film since it hit theatres, but I remember it being really fun and I love to see it again sometime.

  Wow. This movie is incredible. I'm going to try to keep this short to give you plenty of time to do what I think you should be doing, which is watching the movie! Seriously: go watch it.

  Mission Impossible 4 has superb acting, brilliant action scenes, and a solid plot. Simply put, this movie is a ton of fun to watch. The plot centres around agent Ethan Hunt and his team as they try to stop a madman who has stolen Russian nuclear launch codes from starting a nuclear war. The action scenes include a prison riot in Moscow, a chase scene in Budapest, a fight scene in an automated parking garage, and a car chase scene in the middle of a sandstorm. My favourite scene is where Hunt has to climb the outside of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building ever made. This is where you start to notice how amazing the editing is, with sickening camera angles and highly effective sound effects. Thanks to the IMAX that this movie was shot in, you will get vertigo like you wouldn't believe. Just the thought of watching this scene in 3-D makes me feel sick.

  As I mentioned earlier, the acting is some of the finest that action movies have to offer. Tom Cruise continues his role as the courageous Ethan Hunt. Jeremy Renner portrays agent Brandt: badass. The beautiful Paula Patton is agent Jane Carter, who is out for revenge for the murder of her lover. Lastly, we have Simon Pegg as Benji, the quirky, funny computer geek.

  One of the only things wrong that I can think of is the confusing and just downright dumb opening credits. But it's only the opening credits, so really, who cares? This isn't a perfect movie, but any cons it may have are far outweighed by its pros. Anyone who likes action movies must see Ghost Protocol.

  Final Rating: Five stars out of five!

Movie Review Repost -- Men in Black 3 (2012)

Sorry, guys. Still nothing new this week. I'll have something new for you next week but today we're going to take a look back at my review of Men in Black 3. I loved the first Men in Black when I was a kid and I still do today. Men in Black 2 was a lame disappointment overcome with a serious case of sequelitis. As for the third film, I haven't seen it since it was in theatres but I sure wouldn't mind watching it again. It was, and is still, pretty good.

  Better late than never, right? We've got a sequel that took ten years to get made, and you're reading a review that got written 20 days late. Sorry. But was this unexpected addition to the series worth it (the movie, I mean)?

  The answer is (probably) yes. It's good old sci-fi fun! The aliens are creative, the action scenes are astounding, and the special effects have improved in the ten years since the last film. The plot involves J going back in time to stop an alien supervillain (who also went back in time) from changing history and thus taking over the world. Unfortunately this means (for spoiler-ridden reasons) that K – Tommy Lee Jones' character – only has about 25 minutes of screentime.

  But that's OK, because instead we have Josh Brolin portraying the young agent K, and he does a spot-on job. He even looks just like Jones! Another example of great casting is Jemaine Clement as Boris the Animal. He was so good, I mistook him for Tim Curry with that really deep voice. And then there's Will Smith as agent J. He's still pretty good, but his performance isn't as funny or energetic as it used to be; it's starting to come off as a bit tired.

  When compared against the first Men in Black movie, this one isn't as funny, but it has way better special effects. Compared against the second movie, Men in Black 3 is much more memorable and it doesn't have a laughably hokey plot! If you like aliens, time travel, or just sci-fi in general, you'll quite like this one.

Final rating: three-and-a-half stars out of five.

Movie Review Repost -- Looper (2012)

So I spent this morning washing my car in the hot spring sun. Staring at my modern-looking vehicle juxtaposed against the lush scenery of the farms right next to my house reminded me of the scenery of Looper, a 2012 sci-fi thriller film set in Kansas in 2044. So since I don't have anything new to show you this week (I will next week, don't worry) I thought it might be cool to elaborate on what I think is one of the most underrated films of 2012. Enjoy!

   During a momentary lull in the never-ending barrage of homework and tests I managed to find the time to watch a movie this week. I saw Looper, a time-travel action/thriller movie. And yes, it was a good choice (I mean did you even look at this article's title?).

   Right away, you'll be drawn into this movie's fascinating world set in 2044. The film follows Joe Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a mob assassin known as a “looper” because he kills victims who are sent back in time from the future. Things turn serious when Joe encounters his older self (Bruce Willis) who wants to change the future. The story seems rather original (though it is somewhat comparable to Terminator, I guess). I especially like the part where Joe goes into a diner and has a really uncomfortable conversation with his older self. Looper's plot is smart and engaging, as well as funny at certain moments.

   Looper also benefits from a talented cast. Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a great job portraying Joe, the cocky, selfish, drug-addicted looper living in Kansas City. Old Joe, played by Bruce Willis, is not nearly as arrogant but instead is full of regret towards the life he led. Even the child actor who plays Cid is impressive; he comes off as really smart yet troubled.

   There's so many other things I could talk about that were brilliantly done: Gordon-Levitt's makeup that makes him look like Willis, the great special effects, the dialogue, the action, the ending... The only real complaint I have is that they could have explained the whole telekinesis thing a little better, especially since it plays a rather important role towards the end. (Did I forget to mention that in the future some people have limited telekinesis?)

   In spite of this, Looper is still an awesome movie. Action fans will like it. Sci-fi fans will like it. If you're even the least bit interested, then you definitely should go see it.

Final rating: five stars out of five!

Movie Review Repost - Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Hey, guys. So I was pretty busy this week and I didn't have time to write anything new. You know what that means: a repost of a previous review! This movie that's out now called Pride & Prejudice & Zombies reminds me a lot of one I saw a few years ago called Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. I wonder why the former is performing so terribly at the box office right now while the latter did so well. It's been so long since I saw this film that I don't remember much from it. But, whatever. For your enjoyment here's a review I wrote for it back in July 2012.

   I can honestly say I wasn't expecting to see a movie like this. I also didn't expect it to be this good either. At least it wasn't just another zombie movie.

   One of the first things you'll notice about this film is that it's actually being serious with its subject matter. A lot of people don't seem to like this, but I think it was actually a good decision. Think about it: what would this movie be like if none of the characters took anything seriously and we kept having to see dumb joke after dumb joke? That would be worst movie of the year material.

   Instead Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter generally tries to avoid humour and goes for an action movie vibe. It follows Abraham Lincoln through his adult years and his presidency as he travels the country slaying vampires, most of whom are feeding off the blood of slaves. There's lots of good fight choreography and special effects. The acting, especially Benjamin Walker as Lincoln, is excellent. I also really liked the makeup that was used to make the characters age in the film's third act. While this movie does have an interesting setting, don't expect to gain any great historical insights. Nothing is discussed in much detail.

   This brings us to the movie's problems. First off, it takes a while to really get invested in the story. For the first half hour the pacing is way too fast; important events fly by at the blink of an eye. Also the editing on the fight scenes has too many brief-extreme-close-up-shaky-camera shots. Thankfully, for whatever reason, these problems disappear completely by the movie's halfway point; it's as if two different people each directed half of the movie! Additionally, there are a few lines of corny/silly dialogue. Lastly, the main villains – while they avoided being over-the-top – weren't very interesting.

   But overall, this movie turned out to be sufficiently cool and entertaining. Plus if you've ever wanted to see Abraham Lincoln kill vampires, then this is the only movie you'll find (at least until the Asylum studios gets a hold of it). If you're interesed, give it a try.

Final rating: three stars out of five.

Movie Review Repost - Skyfall (2012)

So Spectre is finally here! And I'm psyched! I'm planning on seeing it this Tuesday, so I'll probably end up posting my review on Wednesday. In case you're curious of what I thought of the previous 007 film, Skyfall, I've decided to post the original review I wrote for it. Looking back, my opinion of Skyfall pretty much remains the same and I stand by what I've written. The only difference is that since then I've now seen all the 007 films and I now appreciate Skyfall for the subtle references that it makes to the other films in the series. Anyways, here's the review I wrote back in 2012.

Has it really been fifty years since the first 007 film? Well in case you haven't noticed, Skyfall – the 23^rd James Bond movie – is a celebration of those fifty years. With the return of a few classic characters, the original Aston Martin car, some neat gadgets (thankfully not as silly as they used to be), and just those quirky spy movie cliches that we all recognize, Skyfall clearly knows what it is and where it came from.

In his third 007 outing, Daniel Craig does the same excellent job we've come to expect. In her seventh and last appearance as M, Judi Dench gives what is probably her finest performance yet in this series and serves as the second main character. Plus it was cool to finally see her kick some ass during the final battle. Skyfall's villain, a cyber-terrorist Raoul Silva, is played by Javier Bardem. In short, he's definitely a Bond villain: kind of funny, kind of flamboyant. While he may not be one of the most menacing Bond villains, he is certainly one the most tortured and unpredictable.

Similar to Quantum of Solace (and unlike Casino Royale) the plot is easy to follow and you don't have to watch the movie four times to finally understand what's going on. Like I said before, some classic characters whom the recent movies have been lacking are now back: Miss Moneypenny and Q. The stunts and fights are (as always) top-notch. The last battle scene is like an extreme version of Home Alone.

However this movie does has a few slips. For example, some of the CG effects don't look all that great – especially on a couple scenes that feature CG animals. Also, don't expect a whole lot of that “resurrection” stuff you may have seen in the trailers. In the film it's not that big a deal.

Try not to let that distract you from how exciting this movie really is. Skyfall is a combination of everything that makes a good 007 film and is a must-see for fans of the series as well as any action/spy movie fans.

Final rating: four and a half stars out of five.