Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I Review

Hi, MBJ here. Thanks for checking out my review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.


The Good: Man, oh man. This is the best Harry Potter movie by FAR. Has the best of everything in it. The best action sequences of the Harry Potters, the best humor, best acting, best story, and pretty much everything else. HP7: Part I had a different feel from the other Potters, such as a moody atmosphere, no Hogwarts, no Quidditch, nothing. The story has many elements that make it a dark and emotional story.

The Action Sequences were OUTSTANDING. There are some very intense, exhilarating, and thrilling scenes in this movie. There was an awesome fight between Harry, Ron, and Hermione, a nail-biting chase sequence through the forest, and a truly amazing fight sequence in the climax. In short, this is the most exciting and action-packed Harry Potter yet.

The Acting: Acting, I think, in the HP series has been only above-average at best. In this one, the 3 main stars prove themselves to be Oscar-worthy actors. Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Daniel Radcliffe bring these characters to life, and gave the performances of their career.

The Story: I won’t spoil any of the plots of Harry Potter 7, but it is a great story, and the most emotional one. Characters die in this movie, characters the audience truly cares about. The acting and story really pull off a dramatic and exciting plot.

True to the source material: The books was astounding, and Part I takes the first half of the book and really makes it true to the story.

Special Effects: I’ll keep this short and sweet, but the visual and special effects in this movie are so special, you won’t even notice them.

The Bad: Not very much, but the story does kind of drag on a little bit during some parts of this movie. It can be confusing, but it all makes sense in the end.

Abrupt ending: I don’t know if this is necessarily a bad thing, but the movie does kind of end without a real warning. This could be a good thing, though, leaving an exciting cliffhanger to Part II.

Overall: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I is one of the best films of the year. Easily the best Harry Potter movie, with an incredible and emotional story, rousing and truly excellent special effects and action sequences, and lovable and unforgettable acting and characters. I’ll probably love this movie even more after Part II releases, and I can’t wait to see this movie again. HP7 is a must-see. A

inFAMOUS Video Review

Here's my video review of inFAMOUS. Enjoy!

BIG ANNOUNCEMENT

Rest your eyes, ladies and gentlemen! From now on, I'll will start doing video reviews, instead of written ones. I like to show footage as I tell about the movie. I will use the same review techniques along with trailer and clip footage. This will be a fun time for MBJ's Blog. ENJOY!

Iron Man 2 Review

Thanks for checking out my Iron Man 2 review.

THE GENERAL IDEA: Robert Downey Jr. returns as Tony Stark, the wealthy playboy whose exploits as Iron Man are now public knowledge after his admission at the close of the first film. In the follow-up, Stark is pitted against his Russian arch nemesis, Whiplash (Mickey Rourke), and corporate rival Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). Also making their Marvel debuts are Scarlett Johansson as the beautiful Russian spy Black Widow, and Don Cheadle, who takes over the role of Colonel James Rhodes from Terrence Howard.


First off, before I start the review, if you’re wondering which movie is better, the first Iron Man or the 2nd one, you’re asking the wrong guy. This movie has more and better action than the first one, is funnier, and a better bad guy. The first one, however, has a better story, more realistic, and has a good lead character. So, it depends what you’re after.


The Good: First off, I have to say I really enjoyed this movie. It had much better action than in the first one, and better visuals. My personal favorite fight in this was the one on the race track with Whiplash. Great job, Jon Favreau!

This film is just bleeping HILARIOUS. I laughed so much during this movie. I almost walked out of the theater thinking that Iron Man 2 was an action-COMEDY. Seriously, really hilarious dialogue and great acting!

The Bad Guy (Whiplash) is AWESOME. Definitely up there with the top villains, with the Joker and Lex Luthor. This guy has a great story, and Mickey Rourke does a GREAT job playing him.

The acting in this movie is surprisingly good. The cast does a fantastic job playing their parts with charm and causality. RBJ is just a brilliant actor, no question, and no one could play Tony Stark better than he can.

Don Cheadle takes over the role of Tony’s friend. He plays him great, also. Same was

Samuel L. Jackson, who plays Nick Fury just tremendously great.

This film has a “touching” scene with his father. I was about to cheer in the theater.

As a side note, this film has a dazzling beginning.


The Bad: Sorry to be a drag here, but the story actually kind of bugged in this movie. Not at the beginning, though, just in the middle. I don’t want to give spoilers openly here, so I’ll give a warning. SPOILER*: Tony has to discover an element that has not yet been found, and yet he does it I think from few hours to a few days. *END OF SPOILER! That part of the story really annoyed me. It wouldn’t bother me so much if it wasn’t a sequel to a fantastic predecessor with a more realistic story.

Jack Hammer (the other bad guy) is not a good bad guy. Yes, he’s evil, but he’s actually kind of a weak bad guy who doesn’t really do anything in the movie. Yeah, he may be funny, but you need a bad guy like Whiplash to make it better.

Here’s a thing that bugged me really bad. Tony Stark is more unlikable than he was in the first movie. That set up a problem involving a fight while being drunk in one scene. I wish they made him a bit more likable for the final scene. Yes, he was supposed to be unlikable due to a plot twist in the middle, but throughout the movie, he just seems obnoxious until the final scene.


Overall: Iron Man 2 is a PERFECT way to start the summer blockbuster season off. This movie has better action, acting, characters, and a better bad guy than in the first one, but also has a few problems. Still, Iron Man 2 is definitely worth seeing for its spectacular entertainment value and blockbuster ego. See this one in theaters, and you will not be disappointed if you don’t compare it to the first one. A-.

Clash of the Titans Review

Thanks for checking out my late Clash of the Titans review.

“In 'Clash of the Titans,' the ultimate struggle for power pits men against kings and kings against gods. But the war between the gods themselves could destroy the world. Born of a god but raised as a man, Perseus (Sam Worthington) is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld. With nothing left to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson) and unleash heck on earth. Leading a daring band of warriors, Perseus sets off on a perilous journey deep into forbidden worlds. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, he will only survive if he can accept his power as a god, defy his fate and create his own destiny.”

The Good: I love the feel of this movie. It definitely had a fantasy “feel” to it like how we got it from Lord of the Rings or any other epic fantasy movie. It feels like a great fantasy adventure. Well-done!

The Action in this movie ROCKS. Seriously, the fights are great and you can actually see what’s going on, the fight with Medusa, the scorpions, and the Kraken is spectacular.

The Visuals are stunning and impressive. From start to finish, the movie looks great. Note to the scorpions, which looked great. Medusa, however, was the only bad visual effect. Everything else, though, looked absolutely amazing.

The Story is classic. I love the basic plot of cutting off Medusa’s head and defeating the Kraken.

Liam Neeson did a great job, as usual.

This movie is just flat-out absolutely fun to watch. It’s not an Oscar-political drama or boring movie, it’s just a fun and enjoyable popcorn movie.


The Bad: Wow. I’m really upset about the dialogue in this movie. Yeah, yeah, I know it’s a popcorn movie, but you know you’re in trouble when you’re actors in the movie say the B-word when it’s like 10,000 B.C. or something. They added humor in here, and while it’s funny at parts, it’s ultimately a disappointment from taking the fantasy out of the scene.

Sad to say, Liam Neeson gives the only truly good performance in this movie. Sam Worthington, I thought, just walked through the role with no effort. That made an uninspiring hero. The other actors did average in this movie as well.

I would have liked the conversations between the gods a little bit more interesting than just slight nods and no words.

Overall: Clash of the Titans is a great popcorn movie, but as a movie in general, it’s only good, not great. If you’re in the mood for some great action and visuals, Clash of the Titans is your choice for a "Kraken" good time. This movie has some great energy and a great plot that sets up the action, but could’ve been better with a little more depth, seriousness, and a better script. B+.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Review

Thanks for checking out my review of Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

Overview: "Diary of A Wimpy Kid" follows the travails of wise-cracking middle school student Greg Heffley over the course of an academic year.

The Good: First off, the marketing. Oh man, the marketing and trailers for this movie made me want to avoid this movie like the plague. I hated the trailer. I saw it anyway because I had nothing better to do. (LOL). First off, this movie is much better than the ads they're showing.

The humor. The trailers showed that the humor is crude, stupid, idiotic, and unfunny. Surprisingly, they took some of the humor out of the movie that we saw in the trailer. Yes, some humor is unfunny and crude, but this movie is actually (dare I say it) FUNNY. I laughed multiple times, enjoying the pop-culture references, awkward moments, and great characters.

The characters: Greg Heffley is actually kind of a jerk throughout this movie, but what makes him so likeable is his believability and the fact that he doesn't know he is a jerk. Zachary Gordon plays through the role very well, and plays like a true wimpy kid. Plus there's the other likable and funny characters from the books in here as well.

The Story: I don't want to give any spoilers here, but the filmmakers added some stuff in the movie that wasn't in the book. There's a speech in the end that Greg makes but don't want to give it away, but it's sort of the moral of the story, which was nice and touching. Nice story about the dangers of middle-school.

The relationships between Greg and Rowley: Rowley, Greg's best friend, is a likable guy but kind of clueless. When they (minor spoiler) aren't friends anymore, it's actually kind of sad and makes Greg realizes what he had done. Great relationship and acting between these actors.

True to the books: Look, I loved the books. Just loved them. This movie adds animated cartoons from the book into here, and it is just fun and great to watch. It adds a lot to the story.

The Bad: This movie had some unnecessary parts to it, such as some dumb and unfunny humor, language, and gross parts.

Somewhat unsatisfied ending: Really, it's a cute ending. Seriously, happy ending. BUT they could've shown a little bit more footage of what happens that could've gone on for 2 or 3 minutes, just to tie up some loose ends. Not that bad, though.

Overall: Diary of a Wimpy Kid is one of the most pleasant surprises I've seen in a movie. Marketing should have showed what good a movie this is. Hilarious, touching, cute, likable, believable, true to the books, and ultimately a great movie that's definitely worth checking out. A-

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief Review

Thanks for checking out my Percy Jackson review. Here's the basic plot.

"It's the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters have walked out of the pages of high school student Percy Jackson's Greek mythology texts and into his life. And they're not happy: Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect. Even more troubling is the sudden disappearance of Percy's mother. As Percy adapts to his newly discovered status as a demi-god (his father is Poseidon), he finds himself caught between the battling titans of Mt. Olympus. He and his friends embark on a cross-country adventure to catch the true lightning thief, save Percy's mom, and unravel a mystery more powerful than the gods themselves. (moviefone.com)

The Good: I really enjoyed these books. Very entertaining,with great action and humor. Great series, and people would expect them to ruin it by marketing for their new movie. I enjoyed the trailer, but just didn't see like the book. But this movie doesn't hit the ground at all, no sir. It's just about as good as the Harry Potter series, seriously.

Great special effects and action. Harry Potter has good CGI and some definitely intense and scary moments. Percy Jackson has all of that, if not more so. Lots of intense action that may be too exciting and scary for the young ones. So with nonstop action (and some actually frightening moments), this movie is very enjoyable and entertaining.

Good story. Based on the books, Percy Jackson goes into another world (hint, hint, harry potter) and realizes what he's capable of. (Do I have to say it again?) But the plot is good enough to keep it going along, with some great twists if you haven't already read the books.

Actually good with the source material. This movie actually follows the books pretty well. There's still a ton of material they left out (probably for runtime reasons), but it follows the book pretty much how I imagined it. Good job!

Hilarious. It's hard to make a movie like this funny. Wrong. There are some great laugh-out-loud moments in this movie, not only from the dialogue, but because it's extremely fun to watch and easy to enjoy.

The Bad: Not-so-bad bad guy. I won't give it away, but the "actual" lightning thief in this movie is actually not so evil. This person steals it because he/she wants revenge from his/her father/mother. But it's a pathetic reason to start a war. This bad guy's reputation is disappointing, and is not like in the books.

Annoying cliches. Not so many, but you know how the bad guy has the good guy on the edge of death? Always waits until the last minute talking and babbling on what he's going to do after he kills the hero. Then a miracle happens for the good guy and the bad guy loses. Always. Well, that happens in here. It's actually pretty pathetic, because he talks, and waits for a few minutes not saying a word, because he's amazed at the miracle that's happening right in front of him! That's just so annoying to me.

Overall: Movies and books are like apples and oranges. Both great, but have different tastes. I won't just this movie based on the book, and when I do that, I realize I've seen a pretty darn good, enjoyable ride. Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief is definitely worth checking out, with its fun story and great action and visuals. A-.

Top 5 Favs of the Decade

Here it is!

MOVIES:
1. THE DARK KNIGHT (PG-13) I’ve said this a million times before, and I’ll say it again: The Dark Knight is not only the best superhero movie ever, and not only has the best villain ever, but is the best movie of all-time, ever since July 18, 2008. It gets better every time I watch it, and The Dark Knight redefines movies.

2. Taken (PG-13) My favorite genre is action (believe it or not), and Taken has perfect action sequences, along with a great story and effective performance by Liam Neeson. Perfect action movie.

3. Avatar (PG-13) James Cameron really knows how to combine an original and awesome story, with amazing and mind-blowing action sequences with great visuals and special effects. Avatar is his best work, and this movie will blow you away.

4. Sherlock Holmes (PG-13) All I said throughout this movie was…WOW. Although this movie’s a little short (could’ve been 15-20 minutes longer), Robert Downey Jr. gave a really brilliant performance in this movie, with some pretty ingenious fight scenes and explosions, a couple of pretty big belly-laughs, and a great lead character. Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorite movie characters ever put on screen.

5. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (PG-13) Besides a pretty weak story (makes it up as it goes along), and some pretty inappropriate humor for a movie based on kids’ action figures, Transformers 2 has excellent action and special effects that make this worth #4 on this list. I could watch these action sequences for a long time, with slow motion and some epic explosions.


TV SHOWS:

1. The Office (TV-14) Not only the funniest show on television, but is quite brilliant and ingenious in so many ways. The show combines nonstop laughter with a great story, some amazing acting, lovable characters, and great direction.
2. Smallville (TV-14) I started watching this show thanks to a cousin of mine (thanks, Skyler!) and I never knew Superman started out like this. This show is an intelligent remaking of one of the most beloved superheroes of all-time, and a couple of amazing action sequences (with stopping and following bullets, and great slow motion work) never hurt either.
3. 24 (TV-14) Never has a show been so intense, and yet intelligent and realistic. Jack Bauer is an amazing character in an absolutely thrilling show that makes you addicted after the first couple episodes of a season.
4. The Simpsons (TV-PG-TV-14) Wow, a long-running show that still makes you laugh deserves applause. It’s hilarious, has great characters, and is just a great show altogether.
5. Glee (TV-14) Seemed great in the first episode, got inappropriate, and I decided to stop watching it. Big mistake. I watched some more episodes and it grew on me in a snap. Great music selection (much better than High School Musical), amazing characters, big laughs, and a brilliant story.

VIDEO GAMES:

1. Batman: Arkham Asylum (T) Whoa. As you know, the Dark Knight is my favorite movie, and the game is just as good, with really great writing, amazing visuals, perfect action, and an excellent and superb story. Can’t wait for Arkham Asylum 2.

2. inFAMOUS (T) Tried it thanks to a cousin (thanks again, Skyler!), and it was amazing. Free-roaming has never been more fun. You can truly interact with ANYTHING in this game, and a grand story and splendid action helps too.

3. Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune (T) (note: not that violent) Wow, some of the best visuals you’ll ever see in a video game ever, along with a blockbuster story and blockbuster acting, and some puzzles and brain use is good too. Can hardly wait to finish the game, so I can try Uncharted 2.

4. NBA 2K10 (E) Tried a demo and I hated it. But I got it for Christmas, and I tried it again and I loved it. Perfect basketball presentation, great gameplay, sweet graphics, and NBA Today (i.e. Today’s Jan. 2, so it’s Jan. 2 in the game with the exact schedule as in real life.) Best basketball game ever.

5. The Beatles: Rock Band (T) Love the Beatles (who doesn’t), and you get to play some great songs and a fantastic story with the Beatles throughout the game.

Sherlock Holmes Review

Thanks for checking out my review of Sherlock Holmes.

The Good: WOW. Just, I mean...WOW. This character (so BRILLIANTLY played by Robert Downey Jr.) is one of the best, if not THE best, movie characters of all-time. Sherlock Holmes is not only always one step ahead of everybody, and still played with charm and humor, but he makes the audience feel dumb for not realizing what he just solved! He is an intelligent, hilarious, brilliant, amazing character that made this movie worth the wait.

Robert Downey Jr. is just an amazing actor in this from start to finish. Jude Law as Watson is also very good.

Very good bad guy. Almost as smart as Sherlock. ALMOST.

Whoa. Some of the most breathtaking fight scenes and explosions in a movie I've ever seen. Here's the thing. Holmes plans his attacks to a perfect edge. It shows instructions and tells what he's going to do in super slow-mo with a perfect voiceover. Then it shows the real thing in real life with a brutal touch. Very great work from Guy Ritchie.

The Bad: The only bad thing I could come up from this movie is that it's TOO SHORT. That made a problem because near the end the plot was kind of mixed up and crazy. But it all comes together in an exciting climax that makes up for it and explains everything. (Again from Sherlock Holmes from a perfect solution).

Overall: It may be a little short, but don't let that stop you. Perfect character, perfect action, and hilarious humor make this movie a must-see experience. Better than Transformers 2, my 4th fav movie, and Sherlock Holmes deserves a very solid 4.5/5.

Avatar Review

Thanks for checking out my Avatar review.

The Good: Everything about this movie is just amazing. The visuals, action, special effects, acting, everything is awesome.

Action is amazing. James Cameron is one of the classic directors of action films(True Lies, Terminator, Terminator 2). Action scenes are absolutely amazing...

Sam Worthington is becoming a great actor. Really effective performance by him, and everyone else in the cast is stellar.

Visuals deserve an Oscar without even a thought.

Original and phenomenal story.

The Bad: The only problem with this movie for me was the first half hour. In that time, I thought the movie wasn't getting started very good. They explain it well in the first half hour, but it kind of dragged and took a while for me to get started. But after Sam Worthington becomes that Avatar, the movie is a breathtaking masterpiece.

Overall: Avatar is an epic, breathtaking, visually stunning, and amazing movie. One of my favorite movies of all-time, and I could see it again and again. A must-see. 9.5/10.