Scott Derrickson directs The Day the Earth Stood Still; starring Keanu Reeves, Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates, Jaden Smith, and John Cleese.
Put up against the original movie of the same name, this film doesn’t hold a candle. Although I would watch this movie again, it wouldn’t be with any lack of fast-forwarding through forced emotion, uncomfortable acting, and painful product placements.
Director David Yates is the fourth director to try his hand at guiding Harry Potter and friends successfully through Hogwart’s onto the big screen, and it would be a pretty good idea to keep him around for a while. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth installment of the Harry Potter film bonanza, and for fans of the series, it lives up to its billing.
Aside from the first Potter film, this may be my favorite of the series. Admittedly, this is nowhere near a stand-alone film. I’m guessing anyone that makes this their first experience into the Potter movie or book world will be completely lost from the beginning. But you must take this as what it is – the fifth-part of a seven-part series.
The young stars of the series (Daniel Radcliffe, Harry Potter; Emma Watson, Hermione Granger; and Rupert Grint, Ron Weasley) are coming into their own, and their acting has moved from innocent smiles and goofy looks to genuine feeling and emotion. The true gem of Phoenix is Evanna Lynch‘s performance as the spacey Luna Lovegood. Not enough Snape, but can there really ever be?
All in all, the Order of the Phoenix is one of the two best films of the series. Solid acting and fantastic special effects make for a great adaptation of a very long, complex book.
Michael Bay directs Transformers, a mind-blowing special effects masterpiece pitting alien, transforming, metal-giant beings against one another for the fate of the Earth.
The Transformers have been around before in comic books, television cartoons, and a feature-length animated movie in 1984, but these aren’t the same old Autobots and Decepticons that ran around (rolled or flew rather) back then. These robots are absolute digital magic. I never thought I would have come away from this movie thinking, “I never really thought that looked CG.”
The bottom line is this is a wonderfully entertaining film. If you want to go looking for things that are wrong with Transformers, you can find them: some over-the-top acting by some you wouldn’t necessarily expect (queue John Turturro), maybe a bit too lengthy fighting scenes, gratuitous hot chicks); however, my advice is to go to this movie looking to enjoy it. It’s fun, it’s exciting, and it’s movie making, special effects history.
The story began in December of 2001 with the release of Fellowship of the Ring, continued in the December 2002 release of The Two Towers, and culminates in the December 2003 with the Return of the King, a movie climax that has taken two years to reach. As it turns out, it was well worth the wait. Instead of going on and on about how this concludes what is, in my opinion, the greatest and most ambitious trilogy in movie history, I’ll try to stick to the RoTK. Although the movie could stand on its own, it is definitely the conclusion of a three part story and much would be meaningless to the casual observer who has decided to watch the last movie only.
The special effects of the movie are stunning and are on a much grander scale than either of the prequels. The primary battle, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, pits thousands upon thousands of bad guys against thousands of good guys in such an astounding way that you are almost out of breath during any lulls of the battle. You can feel the toil of the ring as it wears upon Sam (Sean Astin) and Frodo (Elijah Wood) during the final stages of their journey. You witness Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) grow from a ranger into a king. The characters of the story, their struggles and their growth are not lost in the constant bombardment of mind-numbing visuals.
The ending of the film has been criticized as slow and drawn out; however, it must be so to tie up the stories of so many characters over such a long period of time. The LoTR book lovers will notice many discrepancies in the movie, just as during the first two films, but a second look and careful examination will reveal that all the changes made work best for the story in this medium.
This movie was an absolute joy to watch, and I hope to see it again before it leaves the theaters. My only complaint is not having another one to look forward to next Christmas.
“Is that some kind of fireball?”
The story behind The War of the Worlds is overdone in our day and age, but at the time it was still quite new. Martians descend upon the Earth searching for a new home, and in short order begin the extermination of our planet.
The special effects of the film are fantastic for their time. The Martian war machines are uniquely designed and have some great sounding weapons. The destruction of major cities around the world is largely depicted through old war footage, and gets across the mood pretty well.
The stumbling block and alternately one of the more endearing qualities of the film is the gross overacting. Gene Barry and Ann Robinson‘s melodrama buffet is nearly too rich to take; however, in watching it again and again you grow to love it.
In any case, The War of the Worlds is a mainstay in any sci-fi library, and should always be consulted first before attempting the use of nuclear weapons against superior alien forces.
