As my summer vacation comes to an end, I am afraid that for now I have to stop.  The school I attend is nowhere near my regular movie theater, and I currently do not know of any theaters near the campus, nor do I have the necessary methods to reach them whenever I want.  Do not despair; I still intend to review any film I see in theaters, so long as it fits the requirements I have set for a review.  There just won’t be as many options or opportunities for a while.

Some may not notice this right away, but I have discovered an interesting coincidence in my current reviews.  I started the summer with Indiana Jones and ended it with Star Wars, both of which are creations of Lucasfilm Ltd.  I find that to be fairly interesting, and wonder if such a chance to begin and end with the same company will happen in the future.

Almost every movie that I saw this summer, I enjoyed wholeheartedly.  All of my emotions were stimulated in these few months.  However, I wasn’t reviewing these movies for me, no.  My main target audience is and will forever be families, especially those that wish to see movies together.  Not everything in the movie theater is as innocent as it was years ago, and even the PG movies are starting to let more and more, shall we say, things slide by uninhibited.  I want families to know what is safe, and if the hit movies could have some sort of effect on the younger audiences.  I don’t say “see this” or “don’t take your kids”, as I want parents to be able to decide if the movie is age-appropriate on their own.  All I do is let them know some things that they should take into consideration before making their decision.  Where they go from there is beyond my control, just as it should be.

While I don’t do a number-rating system or anything of the sort, if anyone is wondering what my favorite movies of the summer were, I’ll gladly share them.  My overall favorite this season was Pixar's out-of-this-world animated film, Wall-E, closely followed by the return of everyone's favorite archaeologist in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, with Kung Fu Panda and Dark Knight coming up not too far behind.  Those four movies receive my absolute approval, and anyone who has yet to should try to see them whenever they can

Thank you, fellow fans of film. for saving a seat for me this summer.  I hope that we may be able to look at the movies in theaters sooner than I plan.  Until then, the box office is closed.

Tags: clone, star, star wars, the clone wars, wars
Current Mood: ecstatic

Brendan Fraser’s work as an actor has always been something I’ve enjoyed.  That being said, I found it hard to choose between his two movies that were released to theaters this summer, as time wouldn’t permit me to see both.  After some long and hard thinking, I settled on Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

Normally when one thinks of mummies, the first thing they think of is Egypt.  This is understandable, as mummies in general are most commonly associated with Egyptian history and mythology.  However, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor takes place on a different part of the globe, specifically in China.  This makes Tomb of the Dragon Emperor feel different from its predecessors, but it isn’t all that different when you get down to it.  The plot setup doesn’t deviate from the original two all that much; you have the explanation of the history behind the plot early on, and then it gets into the nitty-gritty of the film itself.

Because Brendan’s character, Rick O’Connell, and his wife Evelyn have retired from their previous line of work, their son Alex continues the “family business”, dropping out of school in order to pursue his desires.  Of course, Rick and Evelyn find their way into the heat of things once again, and soon find out what Alex has been up to.  This leads to some conflict between him and his parents at different points in the movie, and family conflict isn’t something that’s new to the media.  As such, while important to the story, some of those will most likely feel rather stagnant and cliché to the viewers.  The overall plot is still enjoyable, regardless of any flaws it may have.  There are some rather creepy visuals at points, so cautious viewers be warned.  It’s not the most gruesome film out there by any means, but it’s better to be on the safe side.

Like the two films before it, Tomb of the Dragon Emperor relies on a balance of action and humor throughout the films.  There are plenty of parts where you won’t be able to help but laugh out loud.  This doesn’t remove any quality from the movie at all, and it actually makes it enjoyable by getting your attention.  Of course, the action sequences are nothing to shake a stick at either, especially the ones featuring the Dragon Emperor, played by none other than Jet Li.  His performance was really entertaining, but it’s also a lot of stuff we see in movies that star him or Jackie Chan, although Jet Li’s films tend to be more serious than Jackie’s.

One thing is for certain, sadly, and that’s the fact that Tomb of the Dragon Emperor doesn’t shine as much as its predecessors.  It’s a good movie, and definitely not the worst out there, but the Dragon Emperor is forced to remain in the shadow of Imhotep.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good movie, but it fails to stand out with all of the other blockbuster films that were already out when it was released.

My final word, I don’t care what the so-called “expert critics” say about this movie, because I enjoyed it.  I find it to be a diamond in the rough, because while it may not shine as much, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth your time.  While I do recommend it, I will say you won’t be missing too much if you decide to wait for it to come to DVD.

Tags: dragon, emperor, mummy, the mummy, tomb, tomb of the dragon emperor
Current Mood: good

The main source of humor in this video come's from Ham's less-than-serious attitude about the mission.  In fact, Ham spends most of the movie just making wisecracks every moment that he can.  Animated movies do indeed thrive on humor, but this borders ridiculous at points.  Ham appears to play a part in almost every gag in the movie, whether he's directly involved or not.  Being a former circus performer who doesn't care all that much about his grandfather's legacy, it makes sense to have him make most of the jokes.

I didn't have as many problems with this movie, overall.  My main complaint is that the humor seemed to dry out as it went.  The story was great, and the visual humor was excellent, but the jokes seemed to get a tad repetitive as the movie progressed.  I still laughed, so the jokes are still good, but the humor seemed to be the same throughout.  This can be a good thing, or it can be a bad thing, and Space Chimps pushes it a bit.  Either way, it's a good laugh the whole way through.

There's one thing I never like when I go to see a movie, and that's see the best stuff in the commercials.  Unfortunately, a lot of the best jokes in Space Chimps are already seen in the commercials for it.  There are a lot of laughs, but if you watch the commercials, which is really the only way to know about the movie, you see some of the better stuff in the movie.  It's so common nowadays that it can be dismissed as something that happens every day, and this movie can do fine enough on its own.  There are plenty of extra laughs to have in order to make up for the advertisements.

My final word, Space Chimps is definitely worth the watch.  It's not the best animated movie of the summer, and if you'd prefer to wait until it was released on video, you wouldn't be missing too much.  Even so, this is one movie that should not be passed up.

Tags: chimps, space, space chimps
Current Mood: amused

The clash between the social life of Bruce Wayne and the crime-fighting life of Batman is one of the major plot points of the movie, and it comes up fairly often, especially in scenes involving Rachel and Harvey.  Bruce is often forced to decide which he values more, and has some trouble keeping his secret life a secret.  There are even points where his identity comes close to being blown, due to incidents on his end and outside of the bat cave.  Even with the internal conflict, there's plenty of action and explosions for the rowdy crowd.

Like almost every movie today, The Dark Knight has a feel to it that's rather, well... dark.  For instance, the Joker differs from his past incarnations by being more of a maniac.  Granted, he murdered people in the original movie, but this time around he seems to kill for the sake of killing.  The dark feel of the movie could be scary for some younger viewers, and some of the imagery can become fairly unpleasant as the movie progresses.  Fortunately, Dark Knight stays well within the limits of its rating.

One of the best things about the Dark Knight is that there are plenty of plot points that the commercials don't reveal.  Not many films in this day and age do that, so Dark Knight stands above the rest by keeping some good surprises for anyone who watches.  A couple of these surprises, however, will probably be seen from miles away by the most avid of superfans.  That being said, any fans of Batman prior to Batman Begins might be able to notice it partway through the movie.  Even so, there are plenty of surprises for anyone who sees this movie.

My final word, The Dark Knight was worth the wait.  It was an amazing movie, and it is a real shame that Heath Ledger passed on after the filming of the movie was finished, rest his soul.  I feel that any fan of Batman should go see this movie while it is still in theaters, as it won't feel the same while viewing it on a television set.

Tags: dark, dark knight, knight
Current Mood: amused

As you have noticed, I haven't posted any reviews lately.  While I have seen movies, I haven't had the time to settle down and write anything.  I'll attempt to post two reviews tonight, if not Thursday.

Thank you for your patience.

To the extent of my knowledge, Hancock is a completely new superhero.  To say the least, I hadn't heard of him before this movie was advertised.  It's the typical action movie; lots of destruction, lots of cliffhangers, a few plot-twists, and even some tender moments.  To mix with Hancock's initial personality, however, there's also a good amount of laughs to be had.  Some of the humor is crude, but it's still a good laugh.

That being said, there's a more than fair amount of swearing in this film.  There's an abundant use of the word a**hole, especially since it's a word that ticks Hancock off.  Regardless, parents should still watch out.  It's a great movie besides the swearing, and they even make sure to cover up some stuff (censoring some subtitles and removing some bad lyrics from a song early on).  The dialog itself, however, is laced with multiple variants and occurences of the a-word.  It doesn't try to push the limits of its PG-13 rating too hard, but it does appear to take advantage of them slightly.

Unlike most superhero movies nowadays, Hancock doesn't start with how he became a superhero.  Don't fret, however, as it is explained.  As much as I'd like to share that, it's a lead-in to the biggest plot twist in the movie.  As a result, I can't say what happens, but I will say that it's quite an interesting development.  Definitely nothing I've seen in a superhero movie before, on the good guy's side, at least.  There are other things about Hancock, besides Hancock himself, that make this movie differ greatly from the average superhero movie nowadays.

My final word, Hancock was quite a thrill to watch.  I enjoyed it, and I'm pretty sure any other fan of action and destruction movies will enjoy this movie as much as I did, if not more than me.  It's good to see that people are trying to create new superheroes instead of glorifying the superheroes of yesteryear; nothing wrong with seeing a fresh face.  Hancock is definitely a worthwhile experience if you go to see it in theaters.

Tags: hancock.

Like a lot of Pixar movies, Wall-E has humor in spades, and plenty of sight and visual gags.  Most of said gags include the many things he finds and keeps when doing his job as a trash compactor.   I don't want to go into too many specifics, as Wall-E is something people should experience for themselves.  From simple little chuckles to heavy guffaws, no laughter will be spared when viewing this movie.

The emotion in this movie, since there isn't as much voice acting early on, is mostly conveyed through what you see; something that Pixar is amazing at pulling off.  No detail is spared, and it's a brilliant spectacle that conveys just what you should be feeling as you watch.  There's awe, there's excitement, there's suspense... such a great wealth of emotions conveyed by means other than speech, it's easy to consider Wall-E a work of art.

Wall-E isn't a movie about sight gags and humor alone, however.  It also has a message to it.  An obvious message, yes, but there's several other messages that go with it.  Humans have left the Earth because they polluted it so badly, and they decide to just leave and have someone else clean up their mess for them.  They rely on machinery to do everything and everything to the point that they don't even notice what's in front of them any more, and even the simplest of tasks can't be accomplished without help from a machine.  So many messages in addition to the ones that I have shared, and hopefully they will get across to the viewers, as the effects could benefit greatly.

My final word, Wall-E is without a doubt an instant Disney classic.  I laughed.  I cried.  I cheered.  I applauded at the end of the film, which isn't something I do very often.  Pixar is a magnificent company that produces magnificent movies, and Wall-E is one of their greatest yet.  Wall-E is, without a doubt, my favorite movie of the summer.

Tags: wall-e

This Thursday I will be in town for an extended period of time.  From about 10 in the morning to 7 at night.  As such, I have decided to take advantage of this.  What does that mean?  It means that The Beret will be hosting it's first...

DOUBLE FEATURE

That's right, whenever I have a chance of seeing more than one movie, you're in for extra movie reviews.  Not only do I get caught up with what's in theaters, but you get the scoop on new releases that much sooner.  What are the movies?  Well... it's a surprise.

Enjoy, and be expecting at least two reviews this Monday folks!  As always, this is The Beret, reminding you to sit back, silence your cellphones, and enjoy the show.

Current Mood: excited

I said previously that I'm not familiar with the TV series, but I didn't have to be.  That's always a good thing to have in movies like this.  In fact, it's the best quality they can have, as they help those who are new to the series enjoy the movie on another level.  The explanations were short but simple, and didn't dominate the screen for longer than necessary.  There are also some cameos that even those who have only seen a few episodes of will recognize and admire.

Story wise, it's pretty simple, but definitely entertaining enough to keep a person hooked.  It revolves around two organizations; the CIA-esque agency of Control has been protecting the world from the agents of terrorist group Chaos for a long time in secrecy, and Max is an analyst who desires to become an agent.  The movie then follows the story of his first, and possibly biggest, adventure ever.  There's humor to spare while watching the antics of Steve Carell as the story unfolds, and I'll be stuffed with feathers and called a pillow if I didn't laugh the whole way through.

Get Smart is definitely one of the better experiences that I've had in theaters this summer, and it was well worth the seven bucks for the ticket.  It was funny, it was exciting, it was funny, it was entertaining, it was funny, it was funny... did I mention that it was funny?  Seriously, this is one that you don't want to pass up on, so see it as soon as you can.  The overall movie was great, from the small features that showed real attention-to-detail to the story as a whole to the well-executed action sequences, Get Smart is without a doubt my new standard for action-comedy movies.

My final word, anyone who liked the TV series will like Get Smart.  Anyone who likes laughing at humor based on klutzy mistakes will like Get Smart.  Anyone who just plain loves a good comedy will love Get Smart.  This is without a doubt one of my favorite comedies of the summer, and currently my favorite live-action comedy.

Tags: get, get smart, smart