Movie Review : White House Down

Spoiler Alert!

It’s been a while since I've reviewed a movie, but this one deserves it. I mean, anytime you put Channing Tatum in a movie it needs to be talked about. Because he’s sexy and I want to have his babies. But I digress.

Angels & Demons - Movie Review

Ron Howard has done it again! Or did it first? Whatever the confusion is surrounding the timeline of the two books-turned-blockbusters, Angels & Demons has come out as a very well done adaptation of Dan Brown's first Robert Langdon book.

In many ways it is hard for a movie to come out as the sequel to such a controversial topic, such as The Da Vinci Code amplified. Angels & Demons is quite worthy to be the sequel given the action and controversy and mystery centered at the core of the plot. The movie does a wonderful job of flowing through the events of the book without either much hesitation or rush. The pace was set and it was followed well. The cast was wonderfully picked and, though there were still a few awkward lines, everyone was able to bring their many parts into a whole.

Praises be said, there were a few points which I felt were lacking in the film. Namely was the subtle lack of any blatant attack on the Roman Catholic Church. I suppose given the trouble that The Da Vinci Code stirred up, Ron Howard may have been a bit loathsome to conjure up more trouble. I understand that the events in the book are disturbing enough, but I did not find any offense with them. I sense a more subtle controversy in the actions of the Camerlengo and the decisions of the Cardinals, all of which are very progressive. I suppose the progressiveness of the events is what lends itself to the controversy.

On the whole, Angels & Demons is very much worth the trip to the theater. It's even a good watch for those who have not yet read the book, or if it's been quite a while. I, in fact, will soon be re-reading the book so that I can have the fullest appreciation for the movie adaptation.

Enjoy!

Hellboy II: The Golden Army Review

*** Spoiler Alert! Huge spoilers at the end of the review! I ruin the end of the movie!***

This movie was definitely kick-ass. From the fight scenes to the character development, Hellboy II rocked my socks. This time around, the producers included a few different twists that I was totally not expecting from a comic book movie.

As usual, the fight scenes are worthy of supernatural creatures and comic book glory. I particularly enjoyed when the extra comic, over the top, hilarity ensued during fights such as in the Troll Market, with all the tossing around and face slapping. These kinds of fights are definitely worth the laughter. Yet there is still the epic boss fight at the end of the movie with it’s ‘on the edge of your seat’ holy-cow-ness that leaves you anticipating the final outcome. And of course there are a few moments of Hellboy hilarity that ease the tension of the fight scene. All of the fights are well choreographed and showed the particular talents and flaws of the characters involved.

I was forewarned that the movie is quite long but flows well. I would have to agree with this person’s opinion. Coming in at just under two hours long, Hellboy was one of the longest movies I’ve seen lately, but I was definitely not bored during any part of it. The producers and writers did a fairly awesome job of filling up every moment with meaningful material relevant to the story-line and characters. Even if these moments were totally cliché or excessive or absolutely adorable, they were there and well played.

The one thing that threw me off most within the movie was the central theme of love and family. The theme is almost pounded into you at every turn. It was a bit excessive to me, very contradictory to what I think of concerning comic book stories. That said, this theme is well played throughout the movie, being infused to every aspect of the plot. From the beginning short of Red and his ‘father’ to Liz’s pregnancy to the twin royals to Abe’s falling for Princess Nuala, the theme of love and family influences everyone’s decisions and eventually the outcome of the story. Liz’s love of Red leads her to decide to condemn the world to hell in his hands and the knowledge of her pregnancy to bring him back to life (aw!). The cliché of Abe’s love of Princess Nuala leads him to deliver the last piece of the crown into Prince Nuada’s hands to save her, which, again cliché, doesn’t happen anyways (poor Abe). And Princess Nuala’s love of Abe takes her own life and that of her twin, saving the world for the love to come. I do absolutely love the use of these themes as a way to connect humans and mutants through the universal weakness and strength of love. Through the movie we see Red’s apparently failure to become a part of human society, yet in the end he achieves this goal through his love of Liz. Even Abe’s very human infatuation-turned love of Princess Nuala and the things he does for her is a mirror of a human relationship. This connection in itself is what made sitting through all the unusual yet cliché lovey-dovey moments in the movie, which were obviously several.

So in the end I would definitely give this movie a double-thumbs-up. It’s worth the money to see in theaters and makes a most excellent sequel to the first Hellboy movie.

'Wall-e' Review

This movie is absolutely adorable! Disney and Pixar did a wonderful job together yet again. All of the classic elements are here: lonely, orphaned main character, surprise villain, redeeming support character and a moral to top it off!

Wall-e is by far the cutest trash-compactor I have ever seen. His character development is remarkable. From the beginning you are introduced to an obviously driven little robot that does his job as expected. Then we discover his quirk: a sense of curiosity and even a level of sentience. We see not just a robot’s random findings but a collection of sentimental pieces. Even his love and care of the cockroach shows us this very human side. Even better, through the movie he is still evolving and learning from his adventures aboard the Axiom.

With EVE we see an emotionally torn probe robot who is cold and heartless on the outside but sweet and curious also on the inside. Her development and realization of feelings by the end of the movie are quite close to human. I know I fell in love with her trigger-happy free-spirit. Among the myriad of other robots, two contend for the spot of my favorite robot. Hal, I mean, Auto, runs a decent second for his reference to Hal of 2001: A Space Odyssey. His machine logic and single-mindedness mixed with a bit of sentience make Auto a powerful steering-wheel to be reckoned with. Now the winner of my favorite robot: Mo! That little thing is so absolutely adorable! His single-minded OCD and change of heart made me smile. “Mo.”

The satirical portrayal of human society is quite shocking, coming from a Disney movie. I know that was a part of the moral, but it was much too deep for a children’s movie. This portrayal, while amusing, really amazed me at the direction Disney is going with its allusions to real life. This outlook, though fictional, is very harsh. I would definitely need to question the writers and directors on their decision to include this portrayal. Surely there are better ways to show the humans’ dependency on robots without insulting us. At the same time though, they did a helluva job on the portrayal. It was completely believable, within bounds of course. I found it just as eye opening when Mary first realizes there’s life beyond the hover-chair.

So overall, I would not rave over Wall-e. However, the individual elements came together to create a movie that, as a whole, is worth seeing. Go out and see it! Wall-e is a wonderful addition to a Pixar fan’s collection.