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The Dark Knight (2008)
The Academy better consider this.
What can I say? This movie is almost the greatest movie ever made, just behind Indiana Jones. The story seems simple but director Christopher Nolan makes it deeper. He takes a comic book movie and makes it into a crime film that holds up with the likes of The Departed, Goodfellas, etc. The film is much faster paced than the first and the action scenes are very well done. As for the acting everyone does an amazing job. Bale does a better job here by making Batman darker. He does a very good job at selling us on how Batman may have to become something he's not just to stop the Joker and as for the Joker Heath does a phenomenal job. He has just made the Joker in my mind the greatest villain of all time and even if he was still alive he defiantly deserves the Oscar. He steals every scene he is in. If a fantasy movie like Lord of the Rings can win a best picture Oscar why can't The Dark Knight? All of the ingredients are here: great story telling, great screen play, great directing, great cinematography, great acting (especially Heath), and great editing. I say the Academy needs to really consider this as a best picture nominee.
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Not the worst movie of all time, but probably biggest let down in Movie History!
I don't know if want I am about to say is a spoiler but I'll be safe and label it that way.
I am a huge fan of comic book movies; especially the first two Spiderman movies and seeing as how Sam Raimi was directing and most of the cast was back including new additions such as Topher Grace, Thomas Hayden Church, and Bryce Dallas Howard, I did not think that this movie could go wrong. The trailers for this movie were also amazing and this was the movie I was looking forward to seeing the most; even more than Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Little did I know that this movie was going to be the biggest disappointment in film history.
There were many things that plagued this movie, but above all the thing that plagued it the most was the corniness. When Peter Parker/Spiderman turned into Black Spiderman the movie went downhill. The writers completely screwed up Black Spiderman. Black Spiderman is meant to be a dark and somewhat evil version of Peter Parker. Instead we get a goofy, loser, asshole version of Peter Parker that was painful to watch. This element alone almost completely ruined the whole movie, however there were a lot more things though that downgraded this movie. The ending I thought was corny as well. A whole crowd watching on with news reporters commentating on the whole thing was very corny I thought. And the cherry on top was when Harry's Butler just came out of nowhere saying that there was no doubt in his mind that his father died from his own hand. Why did the butler never come out and say this before? Many people say the dialog in the Star Wars films are very corny. Okay, I'll admit that the love scenes dialog in Star Wars are kind of corny, but this entire screenplay was down right corny and this screenplay is missing the quality writing that the first two films had.
The CGI which was so good in the previous two movies was really bad in this movie. The first scene where Green Goblin 2 and Spiderman are going at it was painful to watch because the cinematography and special effects were awful. Go back and watch the first 2 Spiderman films and you will see how much more quality there was in the CGI and cinematography. The Sandman effects were also not too good because because they made Sandman become a huge blob of sand. The Sandman is not meant to be this massive creature and he is also not meant to fly.
I also agree with most of the critics out there that they tried too hard to cram in 3 villains. Before watching this movie I did not think that it would be that big of a deal, but after watching this movie I think 3 was too many. Two villains would not have been bad. I think they should have saved Venom for a later installment, but instead they had to cram all three in there and Venom, who is Spiderman's biggest villain in the comics, only got about 15 minutes of screen time. Overall I think Sam Raimi did not care about putting much effort into this film, because he already made millions on the first two and I believe that like the Batman saga, this saga needs a reboot. I gave it 3 stars because there were some entertaining moments, but still this movie in my opinion is the biggest disappointment in film history.
From Russia with Love (1963)
OK Film
From Russia with love is probably one of the only so-so Bond films in the series, besides On her Majesty's Secret Service. I say it time and again; maybe I am biased because I didn't grow up in the 60's however Goldfinger is very good and it was made a year later. This film's pacing is even worse than Dr. No however there are some fairly memorable moments in it such as the fight with Red Grant on the train, the helicopter chase, and the Gypsy camp sequence. The plot is still a little lame compared with later Bond's and the Bond Girl is not that interesting of a character. I did not hate this film, but it could have been much better because just look at Goldfinger; it's amazing. At least better Bond's are still to come after this one.
Dr. No (1962)
Decent Start, but No where Near the Best.
I may be a little biased because I grew up during the Pierce Brosnan and now Danial Craig era, however I still really enjoyed the Roger Moore Bond films and I have to say that I still like the Connery films, but I do not love them as much as the Moore or Brosnan films. As for the movie Dr. No, I didn't hate it, in fact I liked it, but compared to other Bond films this was no where near the top of the poll and in fact it probably ranks number 19 out of the 21 that are out now. I did think the plot was good, the acting was fine, the music was good, however the pacing and action sequences needed to be done a little better. The Bond girl however I believe is still one of the hottest in the series which is good and the villain is memorable. Like I said it is a good start but the better Bond films are still to come.
A View to a Kill (1985)
Why does everyone Hate this Film?
What is wrong with everyone? This is a great Bond film. What's not to like; I too am writing this because there are so many bad reviews about this film and I do not understand everyone's reasoning behind it. I also know that Roger Moore was in his late 50's when he did this film, but he still looks like he is in better shape than when Sean Connery did his last Bond film, Diamonds are Forever (not counting Never say Never Again). Sean Connery was just 41 in his last Bond film and he looked like he was getting fat, at least Roger Moore has tried to keep in shape and for being 58 he doesn't look too bad. As for me I think that Sean Connery was a good Bond, but still a little overrated. I do believe Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, and even this new guy, Danial Craig, are all better than Sean Connery. Sean Connery has done even better roles than James Bond.
Now back to the movie. It has every thing you want in a film. It has one of the better looking Bond girls in the series, memorable villains (Zorin and Mayday), great action sequences (The opening ski chase scene, the fight on the Eiphal Tower, the fire engine chase, and the dual on the Golden gate Bridge), great plot (Zoring trying to destroy Silicon Valley so he can take over the microchip market) and a great original song. Roger Moore still puts out a good performance as Bond, but I feel this time around that Christopher Walken was even better as the villain. All in all a great Bond film, very underrated, probably my favorite Roger Moore film, and probably number five on the whole Bond list (Out of all 21).
Lost: Live Together, Die Alone: Part 1 (2006)
Best Episode to Date
This episode so far is the best of the series. The story was told perfectly. I especially liked how the writers made it a Desmond episode; it was his best performance to date and he definitely deserved the Emmy for his performance.
We had some of our questions answered in this episode, but since the show is called Lost we know there will be more questions brought up too. First the answered: Walt is reunited finally with his father Michael, second, Michael's betrayal is exposed to Jack, Sawyer, Kate, and Hurly and because of this betrayal Kate, Jack, and Sawyer are all taken captive by The Others. This was a great way to end the show.
On the other side of the island we see Locke going through a mental breakdown with the button. This leads to another answered question about how the plane really went down. However there are some unanswered questions: first, what happened to Locke, Eko, and Desmond when Desmond turned the failsafe key and what was the deal with the scientists in the Arctic searching for electromagnetic annamolies. Guess we'll find out next season, however great ending to the best show on TV.
Lost: A Tale of Two Cities (2006)
Great Openng at what Appears to be a Great Season
While I did like Man of Science, Man of Faith a little better, this this episode was almost as good is that and even better than The Pilot. I must say the first five minutes were the best. Who would of thought that there was an actual neighborhood on the island. This was definitely the best opening to date on the show.
As for Jack's flashbacks, I thought it was one of his best with the exception of last season's premier where he actually saved Sarah. The only problem I had with this episode was that it focused on Jack a little too much. I'm not complaining about the fact that only three of the main characters were shown because these three happen to be my favorite characters, however I would have preferred a little more of Kate and Sawyer because I am hoping that these two get together later in the season. Still this was a great episode, the action was top notch as well as the performances. Michael Emerson is definitely the perfect actor for the chief Other. Yes the episode did not answer all of our questions and in fact it brought some new ones, but this is a slow process and eventually we will get our answers.
Troy (2004)
Second Greatest Movie of all Time
Troy is without a doubt one of the greatest movies of all time. Those who think differently should be ashamed of themselves. This movie as most people know is based on Homer's the Illiad. The movie is way off from the book but who cares. This movie excels in every aspect.
Acting-9/10-I thought this movie excelled in the acting aspect. Every actor drew me into there character. I found myself cheering for Hector when he fights Achilles and was sad when he died. Many reviews did not like Brad Pitt's performance because he didn't let you get into his character. However if you know anything about the book you will realize that Achilles is just a tough, egotistical man and Brad Pitt portrayed that very well. Eric Bana was outstanding as Hector and I liked his character the best, and I liked how the director showed the struggle with him debating whether to fight Achilles or not. I'm not a huge Orlando Bloom fan but he portrayed a very good coward in the character of Paris. They picked the perfect woman to play Helen because hey, isn't Helen supposed to be extremely hot. Last but not least Brian Cox does a phenomenal job as Agamemnon. Brian Cox plays every bad guy in his movies to perfection.
Action-10/10-This movie had many great action sequences. I loved the beginning when Brad Pitt does his little jump and stabs the 7 foot tall guy. Another great action scene is where Achilles' men take the beach of Troy with 50 men. And how can you forget the Achilles vs. Hector battle. In my opinion this is the 3rd greatest action scene ever made, next to the Obi-Wan and Anakin lightsabre dual and the The Phantom Menace lightsabre dual.
All in all this movie is a classic. The only movie that beats this movie out is Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
Grade: A+
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Best of the Originals, 3rd best of the Saga
You might have read my previous reviews on Star Wars movies and that The Empire Strikes Back is behind "Jedi". However after watching all of the saga in this past week I have concluded that this was better than "Jedi", but still not as good as Episodes II and III.
The only weak point I thought in this movie was Carrie Fisher's performance as Leia. It just wasn't as strong as it was in Episodes IV and VI. However it still wasn't that bad. Just like episode III, this episode was also very dark. Not as dark as "Sith" but it was still dark and thats what I enjoyed about this movie. The action sequences were also amazing. The lightsabre dual was the best of the originals and the Hoth battle is still one of the most memorable action sequences of all time. This movie also has the most climatic scene of any movie in cinema history, where Vader tells Luke he is his father.
Like I have said before, I have grown up with the prequels and not the originals and thats a reason why I enjoyed episodes II and III better. Overall, this movie gets an A.
Star Wars (1977)
May be my least favorite of the six but still a classic
This movie has definitely changed the way movies were made. Sure this was my least favorite of the six, but if it wasn't for this movie, the other five would never have been made. Maybe because I have grown up during this era is the reason why I kind of enjoy the prequels a little better than the originals, but I'm pretty sure if they had done Episodes IV, V, and VI during this era that they would have been better than the prequels.
There were only a few things that I didn't like about this movie. First the lightsabre battle was to slow and to short. Yeah I know you are thinking that because the effects have gotten better over the years that they have improved the light sabre battles too, but come on, if you look at the lightsabre battles in "Empire" and "Jedi", which were made only 3-6 years after, they were twice as good as A New Hope. Another thing that I didn't like about this movie was the fact the Moff Tarkin was bossing around Darth Vader when Vader is a freaking Sith Lord. Darth Vader is the greatest movie villain of all time and Tarkin is bossing him around? Give me a break, you can't just do that to Darth Vader. The last thing I did not like about the movie was the pacing after the space battle at the beginning of the movie. After the space battle happens, the movie kind of gets slow, but I guess this gap in the movie was needed to tell the story.
Other than those things the movie was great. I loved the WWII style fight scene where Han and Luke use those space guns on the Millennium Falcon. Han Solo is probably the second best movie character of all time, next to Darth Vader and Harrison Ford was definitely the best pick to play him. The storytelling is flat out amazing and the final space battle still remains one of the greatest action sequences of all time. The effects for its time period were definitely the best and they get a 9/10.
I know a lot of people were disappointed with The Phantom Menace but it still beats out A New Hope. However I do understand why people living during this time period enjoyed this movie more than the prequels. Maybe if I was alive in 1977 this movie would be better than The Phantom Menace, but I can't say that now. However this is a phenomenal movie.
The Godfather (1972)
Overrated
The Godfather is probably the most overrated movies of all time. I don't see why everyone gives this movie such a high rating. The movie sucks. The movie is just so darn boring and the only reason I kept watching it was because I kept wanting it to get better. I know a movie is not all about action, but come on, who wants to watch a movie that is just all talk and no action. Look at Scarface and The Untouchables, those were good Mafia movies. They both had a great storyline, great acting, and had at least some action. The Godfather is just way to boring and I don't get why it is number on the all time list. Some reviews that didn't like this movie have said many people like this movie because its about the Mafia and its influence. Those people who have said that are absolutely right. The only reason I don't give this movie a 1 is because Marlon Brando and Al Pacino's performances were pretty darn good, but the story itself which carry's the movie is just so darn boring and this is without a doubt the most overrated movie ever. I'll stick to the Star Wars Saga instead of the Godfather Trilogy.
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
The Best Movie of all Time
From the moment the STAR WARS screen rolled in I knew this would be the best of the Star Wars saga. The movie starts of with the best opening sequence of all the Star Wars films, with the space battle to save Chancellor Palpitine. During the opening battle scene there is some clunky dialog, but this is the only scene with bad dialog. The dialog gets way better throughout the film and it also gets very emotional.
This movie never gets boring. Even when the movie slows down from action scenes to the drama scenes it still keeps you interested. The scenes where the Chancellor seduces Anakin to the Dark Side are so well done and are believable. The scene where the Emperor orders the order, "Order 66", which is an order for the clones to kill all the Jedi is so emotional that it even brought tears to my eyes. It was awesome just to see how powerful the Emperor really was when he killed all the Jedi with Mace Windu and then fought Mace in a lightsaber dual.
The epic confrontation between Obi-Wan and Anakin is probably the best action sequence ever caught on film. However the dual between the two masters (Yoda and The Emperor) is also another great action sequence. One part that I really love about this film was the transformation from Anakin to Darth Vader. Seeing Darth Vader being put together was absolutely incredible.
The story telling in this movie is amazing in this movie and this movie curtain deserves an Academy Award, but lets face it no Star Wars movie will ever be considered for it. The acting was definitely the best of the six films. Both Ewan McGregor and Ian McDiarmid should both be considered for their roles as Obi-Wan and The Emperor, for the Academy Awards. Hayden Christiansen also does a great job playing Anakin Skywalker, but its still not Oscar worthy. Natalie Portman has her best performance of the prequels in this movie and Frank Oz also steals the show as Yoda. Overall the acting gets a 9/10. The effects in this movie are the greatest effects ever caught on film, and they even beat out The Matrix, Terminator 2, and The Lord of the Rings. This movie does a great job tying the lose ends to the original trilogy and the storytelling gets a 10/10 as well as the effects.
This is clearly the greatest movie ever made and it now makes the Star Wars Saga even greater than The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Until this movie the LOTR trilogy was beating out the Star Wars Saga, but not any more. "Sith" is definitely the best of the Saga and now my order from best to least favorite is: Revenge of the Sith, Attack of the Clones, Return of the Jedi, The Empire Strikes Back, The Phantom Menace, and then A New Hope. This movie's grade gets an A+. Thanks George Lucas for making me a fan.
Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
What is wrong with you people.
I don't know what people are thinking but I thought that this was the best in the series so far. People are to critical of this movie. The acting was fine except for the love scenes. What director of an action flick wants to focus on the dialog of love scenes. You do the best you can writing it and then move on to the other parts of the script.
I thought that Hayden Christiansen was a good choice to play Anakin because you have to realize in this film he is a teenage and most teenagers are arrogant and thats how this character is portrayed in this movie. Yeah I do wish all of these prequels were further along, which means I would have Anakin in his twenties by now but you have to realize this movie was Lucas' vision and this is where he wanted to start the story of Attack of the Clones and I thought Hayden Christiansen did a good job portraying an arrogant Anakin Skywalker.
As for the love scenes I did not care for them. Its not that I didn't like them I just didn't care. I knew that Anakin was going to fall in love with Padme and that this part of the story had to be put in the movie. Yeah, the dialog was little bad for the love scenes, but if you just look past this you can still enjoy the movie.
The pacing for this movie was pretty good. It dragged for only a little bit in the middle during the love scenes but the action scenes were so amazing that you just look past it. The only thing I was a little disappointed about was the light sabre dual between Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Dooku. I thought it was a little short, but when Yoda came in he redeemed it. Personally I thought Episode I had the greatest light sabre dual of the five that have come out.
The story gets an 8.5 out of 10 because it was a little political but I guess you needed that to understand why the Clone Wars started. Acting gets a 9/10 because I thought that the actors did a good job with a mediocre script. A lot of people thought that this movie over did it with the effects but you have to understand that Lucas is trying to modernize his movies and compete with movies such as The Matrix and Terminator 2, movies that have set the standard for visual effects. That being said I give the effects a 10/10.
I liked every Star Wars movie, so in order from best to worst, I put Attack of the Clones in first, then Return of the Jedi. In my review of Episode I, I think I put it ahead of "Empire", however I think third best comes The Empire Strikes Back, then The Phantom Menace,and then A New Hope. If there was a 9.5 on the scale I would give Attack of the Clones that but there is only a nine but I can say this movie gets an A on an A to F scale.
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
The Phantom Menace
Personally I loved every Star Wars movie that has come out. If someone does not like every Star Wars movie then something is wrong with them. That being said I enjoyed The Phantom Menace. The action sequences were amazing and this film had the greatest light saber dual of the the five movies that have come out so far.
The story gets an 8/10, the story was good but I was hoping that the story would have been further along, meaning that it would already be tying some loose ends to the original trilogy. Instead this movie starts of with a young Anakin the movie doesn't really tell us anything about the original. The Phantom Menace serves mainly as the movie introducing the characters.
Acting gets a 9/10. Most people that do reviews are so critical of the acting. I thought the acting was solid. Yeah I know there was some cheesy dialog but every movie has some cheesy dialog. Liam Neeson especially gave a great performance as the Jedi master Qui Gon Jinn. I know most people did not like Jar Jar Binks, but I thought he was not to bad because he wasn't that important of a character.
I give the action a 10/10. The action was amazing, especially the dual between Darth Maul, Obi-Wan, and Qui Gon. This action scene is won of the greatest scenes ever to be filmed. I know the movie dragged in some parts but the action really makes up for this. The Pod-Racing sequence was also amazing and visually stunning.
Overall this movie receives a B+. Of all the five Star Wars movies that have come out, I rate this one third. First come Attack of the Clones, Return of the Jedi, The Phantom Menace, Empire Strikes Back, then A New Hope. People need to stop criticizing this movie and start embracing it. George Lucas does a good job again!