Batman: The Dark Knight rises (2012)

Batman: The Dark Knight rises

6/10

Starring

Christian Bale
Michael Caine
Gary Oldman
Anne Hathaway
Tom Hardy

Directed by Christopher Nolan

A lot of people say this is the best movie they have seen this year so far. I just wonder why.

This year so far, The Avengers still remains to be beaten. The Dark Knight Rises is not bad at all, there was just something about the movie that didn’t click for me. Just like I went to see The Avengers (staying away from previews and write-ups about it so as to be surprised by the events), I did the same for The Dark Knight Rises. In the case of The Avengers, I was swept off my feet, while here I just sat still.

Nolan only agreed to a third film on the basis of finding a worthwhile story, fearing that he would become bored halfway through production if he discovered the film to be unnecessary. He later came up with a story with the aid of his brother.

The studio, after seeing the success of Joker in The Dark Knight, wanted to have the Riddler as the villain but Nolan went for Bane instead.

The thing that will trip you about this movie is Selina Kyle. Catwoman (Anne Hathaway) was well delivered and captured my eye. The character is very similar to that of the comics and was SEXY. But on the argument of whether Michelle Pfeiffer or Anne Hathaway delivered the best version of the Cat, well looking at how the stories were written, Pfeiffer has the upper hand due to the fact that Batman Returns (1992) focused on her somewhat, while here she was just a character. But if that is set aside, I will pick Michelle’s adaptation for the whole psycho fun she put into it.

The plot of the movie goes: It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning in that instant from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the crime rate in Gotham has also dropped massively. The plan between the Bat and Commissioner Gordon was going well till a terrorist group and their leader come into Gotham.

The raid of the group opened wounds that Bruce had. The terrorist Bane was not the only one bringing the blues into Wayne’s life, a mysterious thief known as Selina Kyle too was roaming the streets.

A series of unfortunate events leads to the comic history between the Bat and Bane, where we get to see Bane break the Bat’s back. Now the Bat is out of commission and Gotham is on its knees. “Who will save them?”
We all know the answer. The Bat? But first he has to recover from his wounds, and train himself to be better than before.

As acting goes, Bale did well, but Anne Hathaway stole the show. With all respect to, Nolan, a master moviemaker, but I feel the story to me was as weak as bread on water, and the movie was just too long for me, with bad pacing and a tighter storyline would have been better.
Will I be seeing this movie again? Not really. But I dare you to miss this flick, regardless of what anyone says, it is a movie to see.

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

The Amazing Spider-Man

6/10

Starring

Andrew Garfield
Emma Stone
Rhys Ifans
Denis Leary

Directed by Marc Webb

Not so amazing, but as you get over the first 30 minutes bore of, “I have seen this before…” you get sucked into the fun and the bumpy drive of Spidy getting started all over again.

The movie to me is more of a money-making franchise and a keep-the-character-right scheme than a plan to entertain. But if I look at what is being dished out this year, some movies have been more on a making-money agenda than entertaining.

Sony debunked the Spider-Man 4 idea, maybe because of cast or could it be because the story would cost too much to make. The trio of Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and Sam Raimi (as director) has been replaced with Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Marc Webb (as director). Now, Emma Stone plays Gwen Stacy in this flick.

Sony decided to reboot the Spidy series with Garfield as Peter Parker / Spider-Man. The movie goes back a little as we get to see Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans) and with Connors comes “The Lizard,” something I was eager to see, and I have to give credit to the CGI as the Lizard had a lot of close-ups and still looked good.

A little change in things concerning the web slinger and some more addition in story that was never there before, that is why the 30-minute intro will make you feel, “what the heck!”

Another thing I have to give credit to the director for is the well-choreographed introduction to the web slinger’s powers. He discovered his power in a train, which led to a series of accidents that saw him beat guys up and keep apologizing each time.

Unlike the conventional shy and laid-back Parker of Maguire, Garfield’s Parker is a little sly and dark and wears a hood as many times as possible.

He is left behind by his parents and his father could be alive, as Dr. Connors somehow knew him.

Conventionally we know the story. Peter lives with Uncle Ben and Aunt May, he gets bitten by a radioactive spider and voila! But here Peter actually disobeys rules and sneaks into the lab where he got bitten, and after Ben was gone we get to see a dark Parker walking around in a hood.

Then when the director got bored I guess he throws down the hood, puts aside the revenge persona and changes into a hero.

And as usual, Dr. Connors was trying to grow back his hand which led to "The Lizard." He then decides to turn the whole city into creatures like him, and then he was stopped by our hero. (Sorry, Spoiler)

Was Marc Webb better than Raimi as the director?
Well, wouldn’t say so because Webb had to make me like what I have seen before, and in a way he did.

Was Garfield better than Maguire? That I will leave for you to point out yourself and you can then tell me what you think.

But the movie is not a total waste, though it is obviously unnecessary. I still say go see it.

The Raven (2012)

The Raven (2012)

5/10

Starring
John Cusack
Alice Eve
Brendan Gleeson
Luke Evans

Directed by James McTeigue

The best way to say this is that The Raven was an okay thriller that will not bore you to sleep, nor leave you fascinated. I will not tag this movie a success or the best I have seen John Cusack in, but you may want to miss this.

The Raven to me made a mockery of an already sad tale. Edgar Allan Poe was a successful and critically celebrated poet, but the movie made him look more pathetic as it linked his life and death to a series of events that he somehow had a hand in. The script is plain and too weak to be considered a good work, let alone a masterpiece.

The Raven is meant to depict the life of Poe after his fame for the poetry of The Raven, which didn't bring him any financial revenue. While the plot of the film is fictional, the writers based it on some accounts of real situations surrounding Edgar Allan Poe's mysterious death.

The plot focuses on Poe (John Cusack), whose life is drenched with negativity and death, so much so that all his writings and stories are filled with gloom. But later he encounters Emily (Alice Eve), who becomes a light in his dark world. Soon, people around him start to die in ways similar to what he depicts in his writings. Now he and the police must catch the killer, as his light (Emily) has been kidnapped by him.

Director James McTeigue, who made his directorial debut with the masterpiece V for Vendetta (2005), did not leave a mark of greatness here, as the movie lacks any memorable moment at all.

John Cusack to me is not a fascinating actor, as his style of acting is the same in all his roles. Whenever he acts, he looks like the same guy in a different script. Other actors didn’t impress me either.

Luke Evans was not impressive in this movie, though I blame the script and the director for that. We will, however, get a better view of Luke in the upcoming Peter Jackson Hobbit Trilogy (he is billed to be in the second and third parts) and Fast and Furious 6. Alice Eve spent half her time in a box, so we don’t get to see much of this actress here. If you want to enjoy seeing Eve, check her out in the 2010 movie She's Out of My League, a fun film.

Ted (2012)

Ted (2012)

5/10

Starring

Mark Wahlberg
Mila Kunis
Seth MacFarlane

Directed by Seth MacFarlane

Other than the occasional laughs, you are not missing anything if you skip watching this in the cinema, because the movie has an uneven pacing, which made some moments seem like a drag.

Seth MacFarlane, who is the creator of Family Guy, wrote and directed the movie. This is his directorial debut, and I may not be watching his second work. I am not a huge fan of Family Guy, the whole idea baffles me. But no matter, I see Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis and just expect to have a good time, which I didn’t.

Wahlberg and Kunis had great on-screen chemistry, they gelled together and were the best thing to watch. The movie dragged with profanity and too many sexual references. I just kept waiting for something to happen as each scene dragged, and I wished I could skip ahead.

The computer animation was handled by visual effects facility Tippett Studio (responsible for the old Robocop series and more recently The Smurfs). MacFarlane wrote the screenplay with his Family Guy colleagues Alec Sulkin and Wellesley Wild, and they must have thought they were writing for a cartoon, because some events were totally ridiculous. A teddy bear and sex, that is loony, perverted and ridiculous in so many ways.

The plot is simple: as the result of a childhood wish, John Bennett's (Mark Wahlberg) teddy bear, Ted, came to life. As John grew, so did the bear, in attitude, voice and reason. But things started to change when Lori (Mila Kunis) comes into the picture. John has to grow up, but Ted keeps him grounded.

Acting by the leads is an A+ from me. I was actually impressed by Mark Wahlberg, not saying he is bad at what he does, just saying I was impressed. Directing and screenplay, D-. Some scenes were just too dull for me.

Wahlberg was in Contraband and The Fighter (with Christian Bale) before this movie. I was not too much of a fan of Contraband, but The Fighter was just legendary to watch. Mila Kunis was also in Max Payne with Wahlberg. Mila jumped at me from the movie The Book of Eli and later Black Swan. I see her growing to be a regular on the silver screen.

Well, Ted is a movie everyone wants to see. Some loved it, a few didn’t. I am of the few. Maybe you go see it yourself and let me know what you think.

Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012)

Ice Age: Continental Drift

6/10

Starring

Ray Romano as Manny
John Leguizamo as Sid
Denis Leary as Diego
Queen Latifah as Ellie

Directed by Steve Martino and Mike Thurmeier

Ice Age: Continental Drift is funny, but you will feel the drag, like the makers are running out of ideas and choosing to recycle elements like romance, then repackage a new movie for all to see. To me, the franchise is a Blue Sky gold mine, one they plan to keep mining until it runs out. But that aside, the movie is fun to watch and you are curious to see what this weird herd is up to, as each installment brings laughs and excitement.

Ice Age: Continental Drift is the fourth installment of the Ice Age series and the seventh CG production of Blue Sky Studios. It is also the first sequel not to be directed by Carlos Saldanha, who will be directing Rio 2.

What I love most about this flick is the introduction of a partner for Diego, a white tiger lady is added, ladies and gentlemen. The movie also has the whole fun of the old clichés, which I seem not to be tired of seeing. It also showcases cool CG effects. I loved the water effect the most.

The plot was educational as long as you know it is bogus. Due to Scrat's (squirrel) hunt for acorns, he triggers the breakup of the world’s continent into the continents as we know them today, which causes Manny to lose his family.

Manny, Diego and Sid embark upon another adventure to find his family after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world, and learn why it is good to be part of a family herd rather than part of a group where one person leads and others follow.

Well, the new directors weren’t that bad, as the movie did have some fun screenplays and events that you will be thrilled to see. As we watch these creatures move from the Ice Age to the present age, the pictures tell stories that are kinda informative and entertaining.

Hey! I must have missed that geography class when they taught that Scrat the squirrel created the whole world.

Although this is not the best addition to the Ice Age series, it was fun to watch. And the movie kinda opens doors to new additional sequels, and the voice casting as usual was good enough to carry the movie.

But I hope Blue Sky won’t bother making any more and just keep giving us shorts of Scrat and his acorn hunt.