Movie Reviews: Tron²

Back when Tron Legacy released, I had huge interest in it. All I knew was it was the sequel to a cult hit from almost 30 years ago. I was determined, though, to watch the original first. Unfortunately, Netflix didn't have it for rent so I saved it for later. Months went by and it all of a sudden appeared in the mailbox. I'm glad I saw Tron before Tron Legacy. I don't think it's necessary, but it certainly added a lot the sequel.

Movie Review: Super 8

There's not much to say about Super 8. Personally, I found Super 8 to be super great. As a result, this movie review will end up being on the short side. If there's one word to describe the film it's "nice". By the end of it, you just end up feeling good. The film certainly has it's dark moments, though, and starts with the death of the main character's mother. The story, you see, focuses on a group of kids trying to film a zombie movie to enter a film festival with a Super 8 camera. That's the only mention of the title in the entire movie, and it's irrelevant other than that. They could have called this movie anything, really. Anyway, after sneaking out one night to film by a train station the kids witness the most extreme train crash in the history of film. Seriously, it was ridiculous. I'd say Super 8 is worth seeing for that moment alone. After the crash, the children and their families get wrapped up in some crazy government conspiracy involving the mysterious train cargo. There's not even a whole lot I can talk about without ruining things, but I can say that this movie has been compared to Spielberg's sci-fi classic E.T. (he produced Super 8). That's a fair comparison, I'd say, as this is reminiscent of it. It also reminded me of District 9. If you've seen D9 then you'll probably understand what I mean while watching Super 8.

Movie Review: Batman Under the Red Hood

Holy awesomeness, Batman! Now this is what animated Batman should be like. I haven't enjoyed me some animated Batman action this much since, well, Batman the Animated Series. The Batman was good, and The Brave and The Bold has it's followers but if they ever make a series like this movie, I would need a change of pants.

Review: Kick-Ass

Oh man. Wow. This. Yes. So. Good. Can't. Speak. See. Now. Click. Read. More.

Clash of the...ehhh I guess they're titans

Well to me, this movie was a bust. They had been showing adds for it for a year and a couple months and I was totaly psyched for it, I mean like about to go crazy with need. Wow, what a let down. The special effects were good , but that was about it.....and I guess the acting wasn't that bad. Basically they blew this movie up to look ultra emic in the trailers, but then the movie didn't live up to the hype. The ending was anti-climactic and the story was beyond simple. I guess I could be expecting to much from a movie that was a remake of this,



But come on they could have done better. And while I love Liam Neeson as an all powerfull, glittering super diety, there is a line. Anyway, that is how I feel. If you agree or disagree or if you are totally indifferent and are just reading this to distract you from some upcoming test than comment, let me know how you feel and maybe you will be able to change my mind.

Network

Dear Readers,

I recently watched a film titled "Network". The actors in it do a great job of portraying the ideas of their characters. Its a satirical film about the television industry, but can be applied to any media form. It even though it was released in 1976 its message still holds true today. It points out and exagerates ideals that newer generations and the media seem to hold. It is slightly disturbing in its accuracy and portrail of how the media is run. If I say much more it will give away the film, but please, take the time to go rent and watch this movie. And before you blow it off as being ridiculous, think hard about it.

Movie Review: Daybreakers

Daybreakers is a vampire movie with an interesting plot concept. In this film vampires are the prominent species on earth. Humans have nearly gone extinct, and are harvested for their blood in order to feed the large vampire population. However, a problem arises when the vampires start running out of humans to extract blood from. This long period of blood deprivation starts to cause vampires to transform into extremely violent feral monstrosities.

Now, faced with this dilemma, the main character of the story Edward Dolton tries to formulate a blood substitute which would satisfy the vampires blood cravings. In addition it is important to note Edward is different from most Vampires, and pities the humans. He ultimately hopes that his substitute will eliminate the need to hunt humans so that perhaps humans and vampires will be able to coexist peacefully. Edward later on encounters a group of humans which show him that there is in fact a cure for vampirism, despite what everyone else believes. The rest of the movie involves Edward trying to harness the cure and regain his humanity, while trying to hide from a group of elitist vampires who fear the idea of a cure.

MicroMovieReview: 2012

Every year around the Holiday season, Hollywood always comes out with a couple of "feel good" movies to get you into the joyous spirit. Then there's 2012. This is the depressing film of the Holiday season. Seriously, it makes you feel down. Why they would release this weeks before Holiday is anyone's guess. Nothing is happy about this movie. Not even the ending is happy. I'm sure it's supposed to be uplifting, but it's just not. Although the movie studio really dug themselves in a hole with this one. I'm pretty sure it's impossible to make the end of days any happier.

MicroMovieReview: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Well, it's Tuesday December 1st and you know what that means: time for new content. I have no idea what those two statements have to do with one another but yeah, content time!

District 9: A Review

I don't often review movies for whatever reason, but this one is just so unique it actually warrants one. I want to get the word out to as many people as possible to go see this movie. There are not enough unique movies coming out of Hollywood these days and this one needs your support!

Do you get the idea I liked it?

New Dragon Ball Z Special “Doragon Boru Ossu! Kaette Kita Son Goku to Nakama-tachi” review

Before I start with this review I feel obliged to explain why this movie came out and why its name is so long. Well as some of you Manga fan boys (and girls) may know this year marked the 40th anniversary of Shonnen Jump in which Dragon Ball Z has been one of the mangas to reappear monthly due to its unwavering fans. This new DBZ special Doragon Boru Ossu! Kaette Kita Son Goku to Nakama-tachi which sadly translates to Dragon Ball: Yo! The Return of Son Goku and Friends! would make any true DBZ fan really ponder on if they preferred Dragon Ball GT (which was horrible). Now before I totally right this one off as a waste of 35minutes, I would like to say that with all of it’s set backs I was happy to see DBZ back to being written by Akira Toriyama and not lame ass Funimation. In keeping to the original DBZ theme and style I applaud this movie,This is unfortunately the only thing I find going for this anime with a plot a 5th grader could have mustered up and villains that look like they came strate from Sesame Street (until they fused) I found this movie a real disappointment.

The Movie starts like GT never happened and two years after Goku defeated Majin Buu. As the movie starts Goku, Chichi and the family are around the table watching Goku stuff his face when Gohan gets a call from videl inviting the gang to Hercules a.k.a ( Mr. Satan) new hotel to celebrate the beating of Majin Buu. When they arrive there a mysterious sayian pod crashes on earth and reveals Vegeta’s long lost brother Tarble (get it vega..table… vegetable? … o dear) who seeks vegeta’s help to fight two of Freeza’s remaining men who were stationed on a different planet when Freeza died. the two aliens named Abo and Cado described by Tarble as being as strong as Freeza. In comparison to Buu the Sayian fighters treat this fight as a fun sparring match for the children (Goten and Trunks). Long and short of it Goten and Trunks manhandle the two aliens until they fuse. Goten and trunks fuse as well, becoming Gotenks and defeat Abo and Cado. Goku and friends then go back to eating in what is left of Hercules hotel. There in a nutshell is Dragon Ball Z Doragon Boru Ossu! Kaette Kita Son Goku to Nakama-tachi, A nice little movie to reminisce on the good old days for the die hard DBZ fans, but for anyone else they might prefer getting there backs waxed by a infuriated Hungarian butcher who lost his pet goat.
Rating: 6 of 10
Links to the movie on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SIsCdT_IiA (part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsjzDJ76NEg&feature=related (part 2)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVSl02KcwJA&feature=related (part 3)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xd9HlZLPjJw&feature=related (part 4)

Review: The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight, the most anticipated movie of the year, is finally here. It's hard for me to review The Dark Knight because I have mixed feelings about the movie. You should see it for sure, that's a given, and you probably will even if I don't tell you to. The Dark Knight is a sad case of how too much hype can ruin an otherwise good thing. By the time I actually watched the movie, I felt like I'd already seen it. There was just so much hype surrounding the movie that, by the time I saw it, I was already tired of it.

It's just as you would expect: dark, story driven, and with fantastic acting. The Dark Knight is not just an excellent Batman film, it's a great film in general. The believability factor that I seem to love so much is as high as it can be in The Dark Knight. Everything that happens is completely plausible in real life and that really sucks you in. The characters are obviously very well developed, even the Joker and Dent which really have no back story and are "just there". Dent obviously was elected Gotham's DA recently which basically tells you that there is a time gap between the two films. The Joker has no back story in the film and it simply chronicles his rise to power. Of course the Joker is captivating; I enjoyed just hearing him talk simply to try and figure out more about how he ticks. It's a shame that the Joker's gone for good now (though he doesn't die he's been written out of the third film's script) because, even though Heath Ledger is dead, I would have liked to see someone else try to fill his shoes.

The movie obviously plays off emotions like fear and all that very well and is basically "true" to Batman. To try and say that the Joker steals the movie is wrong. All the characters are equally important and necessary. In my opinion, it's an ensemble thing and everyone plays their part amazingly. I even like the new Rachael better than the old one. There's really not a whole lot I can say about the movie without spoiling plot points but I will say that a major character dies, but it's not who you think it is. The one other thing that bothers me about this movie was that everyone was obsessed with the Joker. Was I the only one who wanted to see Two-Face? Several people I know didn't even realize Two-Face was in The Dark Knight or they thought he was just at the end for two seconds. I can assure you that not only is Two-Face in the movie for a good amount of time, and he's awesome. I read somewhere that all the pictures online of him were fake. Well, guess what? That picture I posted a few months back that was a Two-Face concept image was pretty accurate. If you must know, here is a picture:










It's very deep. Too deep for a superhero movie- which is why it's not. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed The Dark Knight. I'd see it again, too. Maybe it'd be better the second time. In any case, go see it. But you were going to do that anyway, weren't you?

MEGA MOVIE REVIEWS

No posts for a week. That's because I've been watching movies. Lots of movies. I give you five movie reviews:

Hancock
Hancock is a very unpredictable movie. You may know what it's like, but you don't. You know what the first half of the movie is, but you'll soon find that the film is not what you thought it was. It starts out with the Hancock from the commercials. He's a bum, people hate him, he meets a guy who tries to reform him, Hancock becomes a better hero, blah, blah, blah. But then, the tables turn with the inclusion of a major twist. You spend half the movie wondering what the hell Hancock's story is, only to be bombarded with it half way through. It's not what you'd expect, and it's from an unlikely source. Unlike the first, the second half is very much serious. Hancock is a different kind of super hero movie which I, personally, find refreshing. It's humorous, packed with action, and a lot of fun. Go see it. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Get Smart
Unlike Hancock, Get Smart is exactly what you'd expect. It's just a fun action/comedy and nothing more really. It's not deep, there's not underlying meaning. You know what you get with Get Smart. Though it is funnier than I thought it would be. If your looking for some fun, go see Get Smart. If your looking for substance, look elsewhere. At least Steve Carell's character is not a total moron this time around.

Kung-Fu Panda
I liked Kung-Fu Panda better than Wall-E. As with all animated movies, it's geared toward kids, but has some underlying meaning and jokes for the adults. Kung-Fu Panda is a great example of this, but it's not at all depressing like Wall-E. The animation is great and the cast is amazing. In animated movies, it's really the voice cast that makes it, and Kung-Fu Panda has a superb one. Though I can't figure out why they would hire people like Jakie Chan when their character has only two lines of dialog. Nevertheless, Panda is a great, stereotypical, Kung-Fu film, but animated and with animals instead of people. Why aren't there ever CGI movies with people as the main characters?

Hellboy II
I have come to the conclusion that Guillermo del Toro is an imaginative genius. He, no doubt, created a more fantasy-oriented Hellboy to prove to the world that he was ready to take on the Hobbit. He has proved his point well. This movie kicked some major ass, though it definitely takes a different direction than Mike Mignola's Hellboy comic series, though not too much different. I'm fairly certain that this film wasn't based on any particular Hellboy story arc like the first movie was, and was probably written by del Toro himself. It's very full of fantastical creatures and the scene in "the underground troll market" reminded me a lot of the cantina scene from Star Wars. The creatures look very real, too. That's probably because del Toro opts for the use of makeup and real people rather than relying on CGI. The CGI that is in the movie is awesome, by the way.
That all being said, the movie itself was solid. I enjoyed the atmosphere that del Toro created and the main characters (well, three of them anyway) were very well acted and fleshed out. The story is strong and at the same time weak. It seems good at the start, but by the time you get to the end it really doesn't seem that threatening. The story, of course, revolves around The Golden Army, an army of indestructible robots created to defend the elves against the humans in an age long past. A truce was made and the crown, which was used to control the army, was split with one piece going to the humans and two going to the elves. The truce was that the humans get the cities and the elves get the forest. The elvish prince returns to get the third piece of the crown and seek revenge on the humans for destroying the world. That part could have been fleshed out more. I would have liked to seen more of the elves' side of the story. The side of the story we do see is the human side where the BPRD tries to stop the activation of the Golden Army. Though the movie is called Hellboy, I couldn't help but notice that the movie seems to be more focused on other characters- Abe in particular. Which is fine, because Abe is totally awesome. But there was never really a sense of impending doom that would have kept me on the edge of my seat. It seems as though a deus ex machina randomly pops out at the end of the movie so that it can actually have a conclusion; the situation that our heroes weave themselves into would have been impossible to conclude otherwise. There was a scene towards the end that kind of sets up things to come and now I can't wait for the sequel! And I especially can't wait for The Hobbit!
Oh, and as a random factoid, Seth McFarlane voices Johann Krauss (another totally awesome character who consists of ectoplasm in a scuba suit).

Batman: Gotham Knight
The film bridging Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is very unique and well done piece. It consists of six interlocking short films chronicling Batman's rise from a nobody to the caped crusader. Each film has a different director, artist, and writer making for six truly unique experiences. The first, Have I Got s Story For You, tells the story of batman's fight against crime from the perspective of three kids, each with their own interpretation of the Dark Knight. The art in this piece is very stylized, and the most unique of the six. Next, is Crossfire, the story of two cops who get caught in the middle of a gang war and are saved by Batman. This is the most badass batman yet! He walks through freaking fire! Third, is Field Test, in which Batman tries out a new magnetized bullet deflector only to dispose of it after it injures a civilian. In Darkness Dwells is probably the best of the six. While many of the other shorts resemble anime, Dwells is more like a living comic book. It tells the tale of Batman's journey through the sewers of Gotham in pursuit of Scarecrow. Batman must first fight off Killer Croc, however and ends up with an injury with leads to the next piece. Working Through the Pain gives viewers the untold tale of Bruce's journey to India where he trains to suppress his pain. The final film is Deadshot in which Batman must take down Deadshot before he can assassinate Commissioner Gordon. All six films are very well done and, really, you've never seen animated Batman like this before. It's actually very dark and violent... and awesome. I'd give this one a look before you see The Dark Knight this weekend. It'll quench your Batman thirst.

More Movie Reviews!

Hooray! Everyone loves movie reviews! Expect this many pretty much all summer long.

Wall-E

Wall-E is a sweet tale of a robot love story. Wait. Robots can fall in love? I want' even aware that robots had emotions. As Bender once said: "Robots don't have emotions. And sometimes that makes me very sad." Anyway, it's all rather touching and well done unless your a sad lonely person with no love in your life. Then it just makes you depressed. Other than the whole "love story" thing, the sub-plot/ underlying meaning of the story is enough to make happy people depressed. In Wall-E, earth has become so full of trash that the government tricks its inhabitants into a "seven" year space cruise. Those seven years become seven hundred as they find out that the job of cleaning up was to daunting for the Wall-E robots left behind. So the people of earth evolve into obese, mindwashed blobs as they float through space. Though there was an original intension of recolonizing earth, it was scrapped because the earth was apparently no longer life-sustaining. And so, the captain of the ship sends out robot probes every so often to search for plant life on earth. If one comes back positive, then it is safe to return home. The problem is, shortly after the cruise took off, the ships "AI" was instructed never to return home because it couldn't sustain life. Well, that's where Wall-E and Eve come in. Eve is the probe robot sent to earth who is given a plant that had been accidentally discovered by Wall-E, the last operational clean-up bot on Earh. The two fall in love and... I pretty much just ruined the entire plot. I'm going to shut up now. On one final note, this movie had the best CGI animation ever.

Wanted

Wow. Wanted is the best movie I've seen so far this summer and, quite possibly, this year. It's just so packed full of awesome that I can't even describe it. If you've even heard of this movie, then you know what it's about from the previews. Basically, a young man with a boring job is found by a fraternity of assassins and told he is the son of one of the greatest assassins ever. He's sent to take down a rogue agent that killed his father, but first must under go some (painful) intense training. That's about all you need to know. I don't want to spoil anything because the plot takes some surprising turns that I didn't see coming. Pretty much everything about this movie is awesome: the plot, the action, the special effects, etc. But am I the only one who thinks Angelina Jole looks completely goofy when she's angry? Ah, well. It doesn't matter because you get to see her naked ass. On a final note, I had no idea this was based on a comic. That puts it way up there on my list of best comic book movies. Oh, and if the name Sloan sounds familiar, that's because it's the name of a company that makes toilets.

Movie Review: The Beast With a Billion Backs

Let Deathball begin! Futurama returns once more with The Beast With a Billion Backs, the sequel to last year's Bender's Big Score. This movie picks up where the last left off. The crew sets off to fix the anomaly that Bender Created at the end of the other movie. First off, this movie is much more straight forward than Bender's Big Score. Second, in my opinion it's not quite as good either. I tell you though, it's still damn good stuff. Futurama is one show that has yet to run its course. Whereas Family Guy is getting stale, Futurama still delivers. There are some really great lines in this movie that I won't spoil you. Lets just say that Futurama is the king of one-liners and there are some here that rank up at the top. That being said, there really wasn't much that made me truly laugh out loud. I think Bender's Big Score was funnier, but that doesn't make TBWABB a bad movie. On the contrary, I'd pay $10 to go see it in theaters. The actual plot itself is pretty much what you'd expect from Futurama. Things get pretty zany when tentacles come out of the anomaly and seemingly take over the world. Yet, somehow it remains a touching love story in which Fry learns a valuable lesson about falling in love with tentacles and becoming the Pope of a new religion. Yes indeed it's touching, sometimes inappropriately. Those tentacles get around, you know. Really, there's not much I can say about the movie without spoiling the plot in some way- just know that it's exactly what you'd expect from Futurama. What I especially like about these Futurama movies is that they are actually full length, 90 minute films. It's a grand adventure through, love, loss, humor, heaven, hell, and Stephen Hawking. Yes indeed, Futurama is still as brilliant as when it first started and I'm extremely happy it's still around. I recommend this movie to everyone- fans and non-fans alike. Futurama will always be the best animated cartoon of its genre (until the next best thing) and I can't wait to see what it has up its sleeve next.

As I did before, here's a special preview for Bender's Game, the next film due out about December:

Movie Reviews

You Don't Mess With The Zohan

Adam Sandler is back and this time his crotch is stuffed with exotic cheese and hummus! You Don't Mess With The Zohan is a completely ridiculous movie with enough action to satisfy Master Chief and enough laughs to satisfy even Simon Cowel. Err, maybe not. That guy's a stifler. He'd probably call it "absolutely hideous." Well anyway, if you're not Simon Cowel you should enjoy this movie. It's about "The Zohan" a counter-terrorist agent for Israel who sneaks off to America to become a hairdresser under the name Scrappy Coco. Yes, it is quite ridiculous. What makes the movie especially funny is that Zohan does these completely crazy superhuman things that make him seem like a super hero. Everyone even treats him like a super hero. Then you realize he's just a regular guy and it makes the situations even more over the top and entertaining. Not only that, but it's kind of disturbing as well when Zohan bangs number of old ladies and one fat one with an enormous ass that, unfortunately, you get behold in all its nakedness. It's hard to describe this movie other than it's a very over the top, hummus filled adventure that's great to see if your up for some good times.

The Happening

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, we have The Happening. I actually found the film to be more sad than it was scary. A lot of people die in this movie. A lot of people. You find yourself saddened when even the most insignificant little kid gets a shotgun to the face. Yes, that does happen. I think I'll explain a little bit of what the movie's about because I had no idea what I was getting into before I went in. The movie is basically about a "happening" in the northeast U.S. in which the air all of a sudden becomes intoxicated and and ends up in bed with three hookers. No seriously, the air becomes intoxicated and when people inhale it they kill themselves. The movie focuses on one man's quest for survival as he tries to find out what the hell is going on. They never quite explain, but you basically get the idea by the end that the movie is one big PSA about how we need to take care of the environment. Lame. Still, the movie is not bad and creates a good sense of eeriness even though it's a pretty predictable. It's not really even that scary until the end when they run into an creepy old house in the middle of creepy old nowhere with a creepy bipolar old woman. I say, see it if you like that kind of stuff or if your a Shyamalan fan. Otherwise, skip it.

The Incredible Hulk

Now we're talking! This is the Hulk film you've been waiting for! It's really good in just about every way. This time around, the movie is more of a throwback to the old TV series and the comic book. During the opening credits, there is a flashback that basically says "Here's how the Hulk became the Hulk. Now, forget that 2003 Hulk crap." That's fine and dandy- if this were the first movie. But it's not. This actually is a sequel for that movie, strangely enough. I would have preferred if it was a stand-alone, though it kind of is anyway. I'm rambling now and not making any sense, so I'll get on with it. The movie starts with Banner in Brazil hiding from the U.S. government and Thunderbolt Ross. He's basically on the run the entire movie, which is the way it's supposed to be. The villain this time is an actual villain from the comic strip and he's awesome- The Abomination. The fight with him at the end is pretty epic, too. As good as this movie is, I have two gripes. One, I like Edward Norton but he just seems wrong for the part. He's such a scrawny long-necked nerd. I'd hate to say it, but I prefer Eric Bana as Banner. Second, this movie suffers from the same flaw as Iron Man. Though both excellent movies, they leave you wanting more. Both films seem like two hours of build up for a short fight at the end and a quick conclusion. That's fine to set up for a sequel, but I want more now! Only four times does Banner become the Hulk: once with no one to fight, once to fight some tanks and a helicopter, once to try and cure himself, and once for the all-too-short fight with Abomination. Same thing in Iron Man. Not enough epic battles. There should be a balance somewhere in between the action in Spider-Man (every 5 minutes) and Iron Man (short battle at the end). That's not to say there wasn't action, there was, but it's like having Superman fight mobsters- it's just not satisfying. That being said, at leas the Hulk looks awesome and not like Shrek. Despite its flaws, the Hulk remains a very good super hero movie and is now high on my list. Go see this one!

Movie Review: Indiana Jones

It's not quite the arthritic adventures of Harrison Ford that I was expecting. Actually, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is just the opposite. It's crazy. Remember that believability factor I spoke of with Iron Man? Well, it's almost nonexistent here. It's almost as if Indy was some sort of invulnerable super hero or something. And the plot? It's crazier than the action sequences. It would have been fine if they just left it at the legend of the Crystal Skulls. But no! They had to go and make everything totally out there! You'll see what I mean within the first five minutes. I'm really not sure what else to say about it. It's completely... weird. It all might have worked if it had been some other movie, but Indiana Jones? It was a fine movie, just not a fine Indiana Jones movie. In all, it was not bad, but not great. See it if your a fan. Actually, you'll probably enjoy it more if you're not.

Movie Review: Speed Racer

Wow. I hardly know what to think about this movie. It's definitely the most extreme thing I've ever seen in my life (well, maybe second- but only to Hot Fuzz). It's also the most colorful. Speed Racer certainly is entertaining, though... in a strange sort of way. What makes the movie so... unique, is that it takes itself seriously, but you can't possibly. There is a plot, and it's complex, hell, I even got lost sometimes, but the way it's presented completely cancels it out. Instead of paying attention to the plot you find yourself sitting there with your mouth agape trying to contemplate how impossible that thing that just happened was. I mean, everything looks like it's been ripped from the pages of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. And the dude's name is Speed Racer. No, his real name. His first name is Speed and his last name is Racer as in the Racer family. What. The. Fuck. And who can forget Inspector Detector. And Chim-Chim. Ah, Chim-Chim. He certainly makes the movie better. Who doesn't love monkeys in overalls?

That being said, the movie is extremely entertaining. It's supposed to be serious, but it's not, and maybe that makes it better. It sure is funnier that way. I must say, though, the special affects are incredible. The whole movie is basically green-screened, but that's okay because it's awesome. Speed Racer is obviously about racing and there's plenty of it. And it is fantastic. Completely unrealistic and crazy, but fantastic. In fact, nobody even drives. The racers simply push buttons as their cars spin around 360 degrees. The movie gets especially awesome when they start using crazy gadgets. Stuff blows up into neon colors, cars zoom by, hubcaps fight each other... it's crazy stuff. The kind of stuff you can really only appreciate on an acid trip. Maybe that's its called Speed Racer because you have to be on speed to understand it. The movie also has the greatest fight scene ever- with ninjas! Yes, Speed Racer has everything including the kitchen sink and ninjas.

I say go watch Speed Racer for the experience. You'll have a good blast. Just be careful not to overdose on extreme.

And, yes, this is the movie referred to in the Iron Man review.

Movie Review: Iron Man

When I first heard they were making an Iron Man movie I thought to myself, "That's another comic book series they're gonna destroy with a bad movie." When I first saw a preview for it I though, "That looks like it's gonna be bad." Then, just prior to the movie's release, I read a review for it. What? It's a good movie? Can't be. Now I've got to go see for myself. Guess what? It was good. Real good. In fact, It's one of the better comic-based movies of recent times and probably one of the best super hero movies.

I especially liked how they brought the story of Iron Man to the present day. They took Tony Stark and made him a POW in the Middle East. They tell him they want him to build a missile for them, and they've got all the supplies. Out of desperation he creates a suit instead and out of necessity he creates the very thing that will both save his life and threaten to destroy it.

Iron Man isn't one of those movies that overwhelms you with special effects (unlike another recent release). Sure there's action and awesome effects, but they're used in moderation. The movie actually has a plot. And it's a good plot at that. My only wish is that maybe, just maybe, there could have been a teensy bit more of those awesome action sequences. But don't worry, that doesn't detract from the movie. You'll keep watching because you find yourself caring about the characters and the situations they're in. Did I mention Robert Downey Jr. does an excellent job with his character. Tony Stark is the kind of man that's selfish, yet caring, yet doesn't care what others think of him.

So the characters are well developed, the plot is good, and the action is awesome. What more do you need? I'll tell you something, in the end, what makes this movie so good is believability. Some super hero movies are kind of out there (*cough*hulk*cough*), but Iron Man seems completely plausible (though it's still impossible). Unlike another recent release I mentioned above, you don't watch Iron Man and say, "Stop yer damn talking! I don't care about the story! The story is stupid! I want more action and uber effects!" No sir, you say, "Whoa, I wasn't expecting that! I wonder what will happen next. Oh, look, uber effects!"

And that's why Iron Man rocks. Plus, they play the song at the end.

Double Review: Horton Hears a Who and Blue Dragon

I finally saw Horton Hears a Who over the weekend and I must say it's just as good as I thought it would be- which is really good. The very first thing you'll notice is the CGI. It's incredible. That's one of the two things that really makes the movie for me. Not only is it great, but everything seems... right. Very Seussish. The movie really captures the atmosphere of Dr. Seuss' artwork. The second thing you'll notice is the acting. It's great. Some people will go to see the movie just because Steve Carell and Jim Carry are in it. Let me tell you, both of them do a phenomenal job. I did notice, however, it was kind of hard to recognize them even though they were speaking normally. Although, that's probably because they're voices were coming from an animated elephant and a... who (whatever the hell they are). The rest of the voice acting is great as well. Then, there's the story. I have absolutely no idea if the original book was anything like this movie, but I enjoyed it anyway! It's really a film that anyone can enjoy and that teaches a nice lesson. I'm not entirely sure what it is but I think it has something to do with having the power of God at your fingertips and that you may be killing millions of tiny people just by breathing. But then again, I could be wrong. In any case, the movie is really funny and awesome entertainment. Go watchy!

I also watched the premier of Blue Dragon. How was it? Well, it's pretty hard to tell if you'll like a show from the first episode, but it was good enough to keep my attention and keep me tuned for next week. The show is about the invasion of darkness, or some such nonsense, and the warriors of light that will defeat them. The main character, who is one of those anime kids that's supposed to be 10 years old but acts much older than their age, is named Shu. His village is attacked one day by some evil dudes and some good dudes come to stop them. They just happened to be in town looking for the power of the Blue Dragon, which Shu turns out to possess. The cool part about the show is that characters fight with their shadows which transform into giant beasts of doom. The strange thing is that Toriyama has a unique art style and I can't help but think of Shenron when I see the Blue Dragon. Oddly enough, all the other characters remind me of Dragon Quest (which he also did the art for). It's a pretty good show so far, and if your a DBZ fan I ask you again to check it out and support Toriyama!