Django Unchained

Quentin Tarantino has done it again. Django Unchained has quickly become one of the most popular films gracing the silver screens, and for good reason. Django is the story of a freed slave teaming up with Bounty Hunter King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) to take down a trio of brothers. After some gory gun fights and monologues we find out that Django is married and has been searching for his wife for years which is where the meat and potatoes of the plot arrive. In order for Django to be reunited with his beloved wife they must seek out Calvin Candie (Leo DiCaprio) and his infamous Candie Land (hahaha)....

This film is ruthlessly wonderful. The acting in this film is even better than Basterds!! Christoph Waltz gives us another Academy Award worthy performance (he also won the Golden Globe for best supporting actor in a dramatic film just the other day) as the bounty hunter King Schultz, and Leonardo DiCaprio (also nominated for a Golden Globe in the same category as Waltz) gave the best performance of his career. Jamie Foxx is, however, a little lackluster, he's good, and he suits the part but doesn't really compare to his supporting actors. Now all the characters will, at some point, make you laugh, but none will make your side split more than Samuel L. Jackson.

The plot does seem to draw a lot from other spaghetti western films as well as blaxploitation... But so are most of Tarantino's films... It is also fairly controversial, one thing I did pick up on was the, possibly unintended, display of the weak and submissive slave. We see only one slave rising above the metaphorical and literal chains to stick it to the oppressive slave owners of the south. But that's stretching it, it really shows more of how backwards and racist the south can be. I have no problem with the screenplay however the infatuation Tarantino has with using the N-word gets to be a little to much. So much so that I have to comment on it.

The overall cinematography of this film is classic Tarantino, nothing too tricky and just enough to accentuate the real beauty of this film and that is its characters. It's a little gory, but if you are a fan of his work it'll come off as comical rather than gross.

This film is great, it's edgy and will probably piss off a bunch of people (Spike Lee was quoted saying he is boycotting this film) I give it a 9.8 out of 10. Everything about this movie was great, except for Jamie Foxx who just didn't seem to impress me enough. The film is still in theaters so I strongly urge you to find time and see it once, or twice, or three times...

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

This is extremely late but it's still in theaters so.... go see it or somethin'...

To start off I loved this movie, the action, the characters, the additions to the story, and most importantly the cinematography were all fantastic. I did however have a few problems with some of the fighting sequences. To me they all seemed a little too goofy, fans of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy know that the fight scenes all throughout those films were nothing short of stunning. But in The Unexpected Journey we get a little too much comedy, maybe it's because everyone is too short.

The dwarves are all lovable, however not entirely developed. Only some of them have lines and Thorin is the only one with a back story. But remember we do still have 2 more films to come. Thorin Oakenshield has to be my favorite, with an incredible back story and a perfect performance from Richard Armitage. Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, is the most masterly portrayed character in the entire film, Freeman delivers an astonishing and very entertaining performance and of course Ian McKellan returns again as Gandalf and naturally is incredible....

But enough about the characters!!

There were a lot of disgruntled fans when news came out that The Hobbit would be filmed in a higher definition (it made it look like a soap opera). But during my viewing I really didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, except for some CGI on Gandalf's face to make him look younger. The wide landscape shots were still as beautiful as the LOTR Trilogy and the set design was basically orgasmic.

The plot was fantastic, I was never bored with any scene, even during my second viewing. The additions to the original story were actually very clever and were obviously done to connect this new Hobbit Trilogy to the Lord of the Rings (I won't mention them in case you haven't seen it).

All in all I give this movie a 9.2 out of 10. The only reason I didn't give this a 10 is because of it's goofiness within more dramatic parts. Yes, The Hobbit is extremely lighthearted but it still balances it's emotional tone whereas this film does not.

Wreck-It-Ralph Review

I had anticipated that this would, at the very least, be an entertaining exhibition of Disney Animations best attempt to create a Pixar movie. And don't get me wrong the animation in the film was unbelievable, but the plot was a little lack luster. This film attempts to personify a universe of arcade games and characters and bring them to life after the last customer has left. Hmmm, where have we seen this plot line before? Oh yeah three times with the Toy Story trilogy.

I gave this film a 7 out of 10. The plot may be a mimicry of Toy Story, but it's targeted towards children, and in that sense this film serves it's purpose. The animation is wonderful and inspiring, and the inclusion of famous Nintendo characters like Sonic the Hedgehog and Bowser put smiles on the faces of older kids and grown-ups alike. The plot was incredibly formulaic and predictable and the video game cliches became more annoying than funny. But what was truly disappointing to me was the message the movie leaves us with:

SEMI-SPOILER ALERT

In the end Ralph basically succumbs to being what he tried so hard to not be. I took it to mean "you can try really hard to change who you are but in the end you can't change, if we give you a little recognition will you shut up and do you job?" The movie played off the ending like some kind of victory for the supporting characters, but Ralph's story kind of has a depressing end.

My Top 10

Here I have compiled my top 10 favorite movies and brief explanation of why I love them so. Enjoy!

1. Blade Runner (1982)

Director: Ridley Scott 

An incredibly underrated sci-fi film that was way ahead of its time in terms of set design and visual effects, but what is really interesting about this movie is its combination of Film Noir and Science Fiction. My belief is that a well made film should take you out of your normal life and place you in a world that is so inconceivable that even the most mundane tasks, like ordering from a Chinese restaurant, seem captivating, which Ridley Scott expertly accomplishes in my favorite film of all time.

2. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Director: Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson's unconventional cinematography always makes his films, at the very least, visually enjoyable. I always treat his films as a work of art regardless of bad reception (Ex. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou) but Moonrise Kingdom goes above and beyond all of his previous work. The plot is simple and the characters are quirky and strangely lovable and the real draw to this movie is the nostalgia you get from watching it.

3. Hugo (2011)

Director: Martin Scorsese

The thing I love most about this movie is the way that it pays homage to some of the great films of the 1890's and 1900's that helped to shape how we view Cinema today by subtly creating some of the most famous clips in film history. I see this movie as Scorsese's attempt to show a very young generation the foundation of movies by inserting it in a very charming story about childhood mischief. A great movie for an audience of any age.

4. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strike Back (1980)

Director: Irvin Kershner

Star Wars has always been a great love of mine, and to limit myself to just one of the films was very difficult. But when I rewatched the movies recently I realized that in order for Return of the Jedi to be as successful as A New Hope George Lucas and his team had to create a very strong film to bridge the gap between the 2 and  The Empire Strikes Back does that and then some. Not only does it offer a great sequel to one of the greatest Sci-Fi/Fantasy movies of all time, but expertly lays out the plot for the next film in the series. 

5. Pinocchio (1940)

Directors: Ben Sharpsteen, Hamilton Luske

Everyone has their favorite Disney movie mine happens to be Pinocchio, and of all the films on this list this is the only one I cannot explain why it's included. From what my parents tell me, it has been my favorite movie since I was about 2 years old. Maybe it's that nostalgic feeling I get from watching it, or the fact that I cry and laugh at the exact same scenes every time I watch it. It was my first love and deserves to be on my list.

6. Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (1920)

Director: Robert Wiene

This is the only foreign film on my list. Not to knock on foreign films because in all honesty some of the best movies ever made have come from a country other than the United States, shocker I know. What is truly incredible about this film is eeriness of the entire film. It's a German Expressionist film, meaning that almost everything about it is very dark, the plot is the storytelling of a man in an insane asylum and once the film enters his mind the sets become warped, the symmetrical cinematography of the time is lost in the utter madness that makes this film so great. Right now the movie is currently on Netflix instant queue, I highly recommend you watch it. 

7. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Director: Steven Spielberg

The combination of action, adventure and history collide in this fantastic movie. With it's iconic musical score, fantastic acting (if you haven't noticed Harrison Ford is on this list 3 times now), and the jaw dropping direction of Steven Spielberg, this film is bound to entertain and amaze you. As I mentioned earlier, my criteria for a good film is a film that opens your eyes to a world you've never seen before and create a plot so captivating that the film must be rewatched. This movie has all that and more.

8. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

Director: Wes Anderson

There is no form of art I appreciate more than stop-motion animation. The amount of time it takes to create even the smallest of actions in these movies is beyond me. I guess you could say that I'm biased in favor of the stop-motion artists, but if you combine the talented art work of claymation with an incredible story you are left with a Grade A film. Wes Anderson's unconventional cinematography mixes beautifully with this light-hearted plot to create what I would describe as a work of art. The star studded voice acting cast (including George Clooney, Bill Murray, and Meryl Streep) add a very compelling element to the storytelling and make these glorified action figures lovable, and bring this film close to perfection.

9. Sin City (2005)

Director: Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller II

Comic book/superhero movies have become a staple in modern cinema. Movies like The Avengers and Batman are entertaining, they have cool stories that die hard fans have been following since they were little but none of the films ever seem to pay homage to the comic books that they were created for. Sin City is the best comic-film adaptation to date. The lighting and effects are made to mimic the pages of comic book. How cool is that!? Art direction is at its finest in this film, the movie is simply awesome to watch and does everything that a comic book based movie should do.

10. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Director: Edgar Wright

This movie is awesome. We are living in a video game generation and all the allusions to video game cliches and old video games make this a gamer's wet dream. Out of all the movies on this list, this one makes me laugh the hardest, it's incredibly quotable and really just a fun movie to watch. Michael Cera fits his role so well and makes the entire film quirky in the best way. If you're looking for a movie that puts a smile on your face and keeps it there even in some of the most dramatic parts, then this is the movie for you.

Well, there you have it my top 10 movies. Of course they are subject to change, and obviously I am very young. If you think that any of the movies mentioned above are terrible let me know, then I'll find something you love and rip on it! 

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