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Archive for the 'Movie Reviews' Category

The Bourne Legacy Movie Review – Just Seen It

Spoiler Alert! Salim and Sean Love it. Teresa doesn’t. Watch and see why. Starring  Salim Lemelle, Teresa Lo (@TeresaLo_Tweets), and Sean Wright.Directed by Amy Taylor.

Synopsis: Like Jason Bourne, Aaron Cross is a trained government assassin for the Program. But the government decides to kill the program and everyone involved in it. After Aaron narrowly escapes, he starts his search for answers and while trying to stay alive.

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Watching ‘Total Recall’ Makes Me Want To Forget (Movie Review)

Be as it may, I tried to sit down this past weekend and for the first time ever watch the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic Total Recall.   Needless to say, I did not make it all the way through.  I know.  Boo!  I became extremely bored and restless half way through. Like my experience with Serenity, I yet again seem to be in the minority when it comes to appreciating Sci-fi classics – although oddly enough, I do utterly adore and appreciate The Fifth Element.  I don’t think I’ll fully understand why that is, but I try not to question logic too much when it comes to my love of certain quirky movies.  My take away from last weekend’s viewing was that I finally got to experience the three-breasted-woman and appreciated how good looking and yummy Sharon Stone really was back in her Basic Instinct days.  However, I won’t let this past weekend discourage me from everything I have seen so far since it was showcased at last year’s Comic-Con in regards to this rebooted title.  Hear me world?!  I’m coming in with an open mind. Continue reading ‘Watching ‘Total Recall’ Makes Me Want To Forget (Movie Review)’

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Red Hook Summer Movie Review – Just Seen It

Rachel, Leah and David have VERY different opinions about this new Spike Lee ‘Joint’. Is it worth a trip to theater? See what our three reviewers have to say about this controversial movie. Starring Rachel Appelbaum, Leah Aldridge(@leeleereads)and David Freedman. Directed by Amy Taylor (@WalknCandyApple). Edited by Zack Delman. Produced by David Freedman, Aaron Fink(@AaronEvanFink), Pedro Raposo and Cooper Griggs.

Red Hook Summer stars Jules Brown, Thomas Jefferson Byrd and Toni Lysaith. This drama was written, directed and produced by Spike Lee.

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days Movie Review – Just Seen It

Teresa, Sean and Liz review the newest in this kid’s movie franchise. Is it better than Brave? Funnier than Ice Age? How does it compare to Madagascar 3? See what they have to say. Starring Teresa Lo (@TeresaLo_Tweets), Sean Wright and Liz Manashil (@LizManashil). Directed by Amy Taylor (@WalknCandyApple). Edited by Brian Jahns.Produced by David Freedman, Aaron Fink(@AaronEvanFink), Pedro Raposo and Cooper Griggs.

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‘Total Recall’ Has An Identity Crisis

Get your ass to…London?  It seemed like it would be easy to constantly compare this remake to Paul Verhoven’s excessive, but entertaining Arnold Schwarzeneggar sci-fi/action flick, Total Recall, but the film has lifted so many different elements from an assortment of other action and sci-fi films that comparing it to just one movie would not do enough justice.  The worst thing about this new Total Recall, similarly based on Philip K. Dick’s science fiction short story, “We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,” is that it drops the most interesting aspect about its story – the idea of whether or not we are supposed to believe what is happening.  The lack of ambiguity, along with the lack of much in the way originality or personality in the filmmaking, make this a very expensive film that has little to offer, beyond some fancy special effects, which will only be blandly recalled after. Continue reading ‘‘Total Recall’ Has An Identity Crisis’

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The Watch Movie Review – Just Seen It

Teresa, Sean and Rachel review the new comedy from Ben Stiller about four average Joes who discovers an impending alien invasion and decide that they alone must stop it. Watch what  they have to say about The Watch and make sure to give us your comments. Starring Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill and Richard Ayoade. Directed By Akiva Schaffer. Written By Jared Stern and Seth Rogen. Produced by Shawn Levy and Tom McNulty.
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‘Step Up Revolution’ Is A Dance-tastic Step Down

People may have to stick with me on this, but I, myself, have stuck with this Step Up franchise for no discernible reason, beyond the fact that the choreography has always been impressive.  Despite the lack of Channing Tatum (who began as a bland, pretty face in the first Step Up and is now a hot commodity all over), the series has actually gotten ‘better’ with each entry…until now.  Yes, Step Up Revolution has a similarly generic story and weak characters that serve as the same elements that we are not supposed to care about, but the other films seemed better.  I was still more engaged with the previous entries and found the dances to be really involving.  This film has some elaborate dance sequences and the 3D looks pretty good, but everything around those aspects feels even lazier this time around than normal.  I don’t ask for a lot from these movies, but I do wish I was more entertained with this one. Continue reading ‘‘Step Up Revolution’ Is A Dance-tastic Step Down’

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‘Step Up Revolution’ Jams to Similar Beat

Director Scott Speer is the man in charge in this fourth go-around in the Step Up franchise. He picks up where Jon Chu’s third installment left off in 2010…sort of. What was arguably the best film in the series, Step Up 3, or Step Up 3D as it was originally called, is a tough one to top. Sure the acting is rather unnoticeable and the story was cliche, but here comes Speer’s version!

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Here Comes ‘The Watch’ And There Goes The Neighborhood

I am all for a good comedy and fun & games, but I do also appreciate when the pieces of a film, no matter how initially scatterbrained, eventually work out within the realm of logic that said film has established.  The Watch is very funny in various moments, because it features funny people getting to say and do funny things with each other, and I am sure the blooper reel is probably hilarious.  That said, the film, as a whole, is really messy and does not come together in a way that could be considered clever or successful in a way that would make me find the film to be memorable.  Bits of it work really well and put it in the league of Ghostbusters, but by the end, it really just turns out to be more like Evolution. Continue reading ‘Here Comes ‘The Watch’ And There Goes The Neighborhood’

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The Dark Knight Rises Movie Review – Just Seen It

Batman is now a criminal after taking the blame for Harvey Dent’s murders. But he discovers that a new villain is planning to destroy Gotham City. Together with both allies new and old, he fights against murderous Bane. Starring Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy and Gary Oldman. Directed by Christopher Nolan. Written by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan. Produced by Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven and Emma Thomas.
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‘The Dark Knight Rises’ And Batman Ends

Back in 2000, director Christopher Nolan was just starting to build acclaim with his second feature film, Memento.  Twelve years later, he has now directed his third film in an ambitious Batman franchise, which happens to also be one of the most anticipated films of all time.  The Dark Knight is admittedly a tough act to follow and despite sky high expectations, I was not really expecting The Dark Knight Rises to surpass what I consider the best Batman film of all time.  Putting that thought aside, The Dark Knight Rises still managed to be a rousing and emotional spectacle that puts a fine cap on Nolan’s Batman trilogy.  Wherever people end up in regards to this film, I am just pleased that the Caped Crusader was able to go out in heroic fashion. Continue reading ‘‘The Dark Knight Rises’ And Batman Ends’

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The Dark Knight Rises (Movie Review)

When Christopher Nolan rebooted the Batman franchise with Batman Begins, I was ecstatic to see the Batman I had always imagined from the comic books come to life. Then came The Dark Knight which in my book was utter perfection in every way possible.  At now sadly, we’ve come to the end of this amazing Batman trilogy with The Dark Knight Rises which is damn good but it doesn’t reach the same heights as The Dark Knight, even though it is without a doubt the biggest and most ambitious of the three.  The Dark Knight Rises provides some old-school grand spectacle which looks fantastic on an IMAX screen and serves as a fitting end to the trilogy.  Previous cast members Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Gary Oldman return along with newcomers Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Matthew Modine, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt to bring this trilogy to an exciting and moving end.  Continue reading ‘The Dark Knight Rises (Movie Review)’

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Prepare to Soar: The Dark Knight Rises (Movie Review)

You can ask anyone that knows me…go ahead…that very little in this life brings me more joy than my anticipation of the dramatic conclusion to Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight franchise.  That’s right.  If you are reading this, then somehow I survived and made it through unscathed because the only thing I have had consistently cared about and had on the brain as of late (well not the only thing…lol) has been Tuesday evening’s press screening to the epic finale to the Nolan gangster/crime/superhero saga, boldly titled The Dark Knight Rises.  There is no word that accurately describe the level of excitement I had going into the empty theater on Tuesday, nor is there now to describe the exasperate level of satisfaction I possess within as I pound this review out on the Macbook Pro, my weapon of choice.  And now…without further ado…I present you The Dark Knight Rises, my most anticipated film of the decade.  Yep.  You read that right.  The decade! Continue reading ‘Prepare to Soar: The Dark Knight Rises (Movie Review)’

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‘Ice Age’ 4: Journey Through The Mists

The arrival of a new Ice Age film is not something that initially thrilled me.  I enjoyed the first film in the series, but was let down by the sequel, which led to me not even bothering with the third entry in the franchise.  Still, given the opportunity to see this latest entry, ‘Continental Drift’, I guess I just felt like taking a break after seeing the angst-filled Amazing Spider-Man and the brutal Savages, and settling in for something a little more light-hearted, before seeing the fire rise in just over a week’s time.  Fortunately, I found this latest Ice Age film to be quite enjoyable.  While it may be missing a major element that made me enjoy the first film so much, I was still pleased with a good amount of the humor and vocal performances, animation quality (particularly the action sequences), and of course Scrat. Continue reading ‘‘Ice Age’ 4: Journey Through The Mists’

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Brotherly Love Gets Serious In ‘The Do-Deca-Pentathlon’

The Duplass brothers, particularly Mark Duplass, must be doing something right.  This year alone, Mark has been in four movies and still has The League on FX coming back in the fall.  He and his brother Jay have also been doing quite well.  Earlier in the year, their film Jeff, Who Lives at Home came out in theaters and now they have The Do-Deca-Pentathlon hitting theaters and VOD.  ‘Do-Deca’ was actually made a few years ago, but between ‘Jeff’ and 2010’s Cyrus it would seem that the Duplass’ have been given the chance to put out their much smaller and more personal movie.  ‘Do-Deca’ is a minimalist sort of feature that doubles as a high stakes sports film and an exploration of sibling rivalry.  It is certainly small scale, but also well done. Continue reading ‘Brotherly Love Gets Serious In ‘The Do-Deca-Pentathlon’’

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‘Savages’ Is a B-Movie With Only So Much Bite

In theory, I should have been fairly excited about a gritty, R-rated thriller from director Oliver Stone.  After Stone’s last set of films, which includes Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, W., and World Trade Center, Savages seems like the kind of film that would bring him back to the edgy kind of filmmaking once utilized by the man who made Natural Born Killers and scripted Scarface.  It certainly looks like an Oliver Stone film, complete with brutal violence, the use and repetition of certain types of music juxtaposed with symbolic cutaways, and a cranked up sense of direction.  Unfortunately, the film falters by having certain key characters not really register as well as they should, ending quite poorly, and not having much of a sense of purpose, which seems key in all of Stone’s films.  Still, a few of the actors and a number of other elements in the film worked well enough for me to find a decent B-movie here. Continue reading ‘‘Savages’ Is a B-Movie With Only So Much Bite’

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‘Safety Not Guaranteed’, But It’s Enjoyable

Earlier in the year I saw Sound of My Voice, which pushed the limits in terms of being a low budget film that had time travel as a plot device (ok, so Primer is one that may have it beat).  Safety Not Guaranteed is a comedy/drama that does not aspire to be an ambitious film about time travel, but it does provide a reason to consider your options if you were given the chance to go back to a certain time.  It also has a likable cast and a sort of relaxed charm that keeps you invested with the film, even if it tends to stray from its main goal from time to time.  The film has its share of laughs, as well as plenty of touching aspects between the oddball cast members for it to work as a quirky, but audience-friendly feature. Continue reading ‘‘Safety Not Guaranteed’, But It’s Enjoyable’

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The Amazing Spiderman Movie Review – Just Seen It

Abandoned by his parents as a boy, Peter Parker is raised by his Aunt and Uncle. But when he finds a mysterious briefcase, it leads him to his father’s former partner.  Seeking the answers to his past, Peter must also stop an unimaginable terror. Starring  Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans. Directed by Marc Webb. Written by James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves. Based on the Marvel Comic created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. Produced by Avi Arad and Matthew Tolmach. Follow us on Twitter: @justseenit Continue reading ‘The Amazing Spiderman Movie Review – Just Seen It’

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