iP3K

I’ve been intrigued by this movie since it’s first trailer. But since I have yet to see “The Fighter” I told myself this film looked to aim for similar sensibilities. The plot seemed pretty simple, there is this huge competition organized in order to have the world’s best Mix Martial Arts (MMA) fighters tap it out until one stands above the rest. Those looking forward some UFC rounds will need to wait until the last third of the movie to be satisfied. But this flick is all about being an underdog that breaks all expectations, could be considered there is nothing new there. However, it does not follow tired beats of the regular underdog story, most importantly you don’t feel the presence of any antagonists, that is not what the movie is really about.

The story unfolds and feeds you the life of these characters “post-facto”, alcoholic father, divorced family, loss, and failures. The protagonists are played by Joel Edgerton and Tom Hardy, the latest who’s fame grew after his role in Inception and his upcoming portrayal of Bane in the next Christopher Nolan adaptation of Batman, The Dark Knight Rises. Tom Hardy is one of these actors that goes all the way in order to get the role, he goes through actual physical transformation and he plays it real though in Warrior.

The movie is mature and is somewhat inspiring. Possible spoiler, but the drive of the film is that the two fighters that end up in the finale are brothers. Both fighting for their honor and the prize money. You feel that they both deserve to win, but you’re shown that family ties a so strong that they can overcome almost anything. There is an entire sub-plot with one of the brothers who was in the military, whereas the other was a physics school teacher. The broken family and the past of their father, played by Nick Nolte, is a great portrayal of how bad things can get before they can get better.

I’ll give Warrior a few thumbs up, it’s a definite “Must Watch” in my book, it goes past the silliness and grounds itself in reality in a satisfying way. Watching the trailer might give you the missing incentive to get out there and watch the movie this weekend.

Rottentomatoes: 87% | Metacritic: 74/100

 

A few weeks back I got to experience my first movie in Cineplex’s UltraAVX format. This new tier in movie admission has been introduced a few months back but I’ve managed to shrug past it until now. It’s presented as having better picture, better sound, better seats and other perks.

In order to enjoy their UltraAVX screening you must add 3$ to your regular admission price, once you step inside you immediately notice the area was built recently. The seats are a bit more spaced, they’re leathered and can be reclined a bit. The screen is definitely larger and the digital picture quality is really satisfying. The promos say we’re enjoying 7.1 surround sound and I can tell you that for Super 8, it was worth it.

Also consider the fact that the tickets you buy include reserved seating. The best scenario is if you purchase your tickets online and get to reserve a row for you friends and not having to worry you’ll get the worse seats (even if you run late into the previews).

I feel like all the rooms should be this great in a movie theater. But the premium price starts to take it’s toll if it’s a 3D movie, because they add an other 3$ for these showings. For now I’ll enjoy this kind of screening on a Tuesday evening where prices are reduced.

I was not expecting much when I sat in the theater to watch Rise of the Planet of the Apes, featuring James Franco and motion capture by famed Andy Serkis (Gollum – The Lord of the Rings). In all honesty I was taken by surprise and clearly entertained by the movie. It was funny, had a good plot, and was not filled of exposition. This movie acts as both a reboot and prequel to the Planet of the Apes franchise which has seen better days since Tim Burton’s version back in 2001.

The story takes place in the near future where a scientist is experimenting on an Alzheimer cure, and during testing it so happens that primates benefit from increased intellect after being exposed to the drug. Most of the action takes place around Caesar,  a young chimp raised by said scientist leading to a series of events that will provoke the rise of the apes.

The movie is a fun ride and I highly recommend it. Fans of prior movies will recognize to nods and famous quotes from the series and there are legitimate “oh snap” moments. In my book this is the last of the summer feeling movies of the season, grab it in theater while you still can.

IMDB: 8/10 | Rottentomatoes: 82% | Metacritic: 68/100

When is the last time you heard about the fifth movie in a franchise of being one of the best? Well Fast Five aka Fast and Furious 5: Rio Heist might be just that. I definitely had a great time watching this movie, in a sense it departs from being about the street race elements, and much more grounded in the crime and corruption themes present in previous movies.

Visually outstanding along with the usual gratuitous eye-candy in the form or girls and cars. This film also brings back most of the original cast while integrating some characters for subsequent movies. The movie is silly and there is nothing wrong with it. It’s action packed and is a great outset for the summer.

The mind that brought the Watchmen and 300 to life has a new pet project hitting the big screen. Sucker Punch is the story of a young lady unjustly put in a mental institute from which she must try to escape. Now, Zach Snyder is known for his impressive visual work on film and he delivers in a big way.

This film screams of geek themes, steam-powered zombies, samurai, dragons, orcs and androids. Along it’s punchy soundtrack this movie hits actions beats  from the start. It doesn’t linger on plot details, but you have to be able to fill in the blanks and enjoy the ride. You are taken through the imagination of these girls, that have to overcome a series of obstacles in order to achieve freedom, but instead of being presented with their literal challenge the movie turns it into an epic battle. The trailer below illustrates best what you can expect through most of the film. (more…)

This new movie written by Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg star a family of four, composed of a young teenage boy who has questionable friends, a daughter heading off to college and their two mothers. You guessed right, it’s a modern family and that’s what the movie is all about. It’s not really a drama nor a comedy but you have plenty of both weaved into this adorable movie. Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening) made use of a sperm donor in order to have both of their children. To each their child, but you quickly realize that this family has been living just like any other family has to live. It’s funny how much I could relate to their family dynamics, the movie does not take itself too seriously as it sometimes felt into clichés. But you clearly feel that they portrayed an emotional story with a light heart. It’s the summer for crying out loud! I had more laughs that I would of imagined, the execution is solid and I was surely in awh, waiting to see what the next reaction would be. Not to be seen with your kids, but I believe parents and couple will truly identify as to what goes into a relationship. Not to delve in the plot too much, but the movie kicks into gear when the kids decide they want to meet their biological father. This new person, new father, they most connect with will have impacted their lives in ways they could not of imagined. Trailer is after the jump, I liked the movie, I could recommend The Kids Are All Right, but you need to be open-minded enough to pull some life lessons out of it. (more…)

This newly released movie took me out of blogging hibernation and compels me to write more than 140 characters. Dear, M. Night Shyamalan, thanks to you I have seen in theaters a movie that greatly disappointed me as a fan of the original material. Avatar: The Last Airbender, was a gripping cartoon, it brought me joy as action scenes were exciting and characters had a depth I enjoyed. Obviously it’s only a cartoon, but I had always felt it could be taken seriously at times, and every episode was a joy ride.

The Last Airbender movie was none of that. At times I felt the characters were dangled by strings, instead of actual bending (using their abilities to manipulate: fire, water, air or earth), they were actually doing a bunch of yoga poses. If you’re looking of a bad cinematographic adaptation this movie is all you need. The current Tomatometer keeps it below 10%. I yawned, I turned left and right not believe how everything felt stitched together and rushed. It was an accurate re-telling of the events of the first season, but I no way did I feel attached to ANYONE, and understood how any of the characters had any emotions towards each other. The special effects might of been cool, I’ve my theater had the options to see it in 2D, how the movie was originally developed. I curse, figuratively, studios that spin a movie in 3D just to jump on the bandwagon, if it’s not made for 3D don’t bother showing it in 3D.

I’m getting ahead of myself, my point is that you should avoid this movie for as long as possible. You may allow yourself to catch of glimpse of it if it ever airs of TV. The value of the production seriously felt like a direct to TV movie.

I’ve allowed myself several days of reflection before posting about the Watchmen. I was never raised in a way that made me read comics, however I had my fun with their Saturday morning cartoon versions. As studios started releasing comic book based movies, I found myself to be quite a fan of the genre in general. However I had never really heard of Watchmen until I saw the trailer.

Somewhat after seeing the feature film I found myself craving to learn more about the property. I found myself reading the graphic novel, watching interviews and documentaries on the making of this movie and the book that inspired it (iFanboy 111 & 112). I’ve even tried my hand at the demo if The End is Nigh, a Watchmen brawler. All that to say, that the movie can give you so much content to think about. Not just plot wise or the themes of humanity. The film itself, by the way it’s made, tries to provoke. I clearly remember telling myself halfway through the movie: “I don’t think I’m really going to like this movie”.

But somehow by the end, everything made sense. The awkward music, the shots, the convoluted dialogue, the nudity. Everything came full circle, that may very well be attributed to the fact that I had not read the graphic novel prior to seeing the movie. I did not know the conclusion, I did not know who lived and died, who the villain really was. Discovering those characters was by definition a “geekgasm“; the character of Rorschach and Dr. Manhattan alone, were more developed than Spider-Man was in three movies. The opening sequence provides, on it’s own, an amazing amount of back story into the Watchmen universe. I’m not a history buff, and I clearly missed on several references, but the existence of these masked heroes altered the timeline as we know it.

The movie was rated R, meaning people under 17 have to be accompanied by a consenting adult, we’re clearly departing from comic book properties targeted at kids. The movie is DARK, DEPRESSING, VIOLENT, CRUDE and GRITTY. By doing so, it feels grounded in reality, the same way Battlestar Galactica feels. It’s like Science fiction, with less fiction. The movie sticks the original material like a gum under your shoes, dialogue and shots are reproduced with great fidelity. We have Zack Snyder to thank for this feat, the work he did for 300 surely helped some fans understand he could pull it off.

In my book, I consider this movie to be a triumph, what it represents as a medium, art form, entertainment media. It does justice, in my opinion, to a graphic novel that was considered “un-filmable”, this property was put in the spotlight, sales of the book sky rocketed in anticipation of the movie. But I consider myself happy to have experience the film first. Things are constantly thrown at you stimulating your brain, when it comes to reading content, everyone has his pace, can take the time to discover the subtleties of each frame. You experience a movie as a whole, not knowing and discovering can be a blessing. What I learned about Rorschach was truly disturbing and came right at me. No famous Hollywood actors where used in this picture, many I’ve seen before, but they out performed any of my expectations. This movie goes right beside V for Vendetta in terms of meaningful movies.

Feel free to share love or hate in the comments.