My First Reaction: YOUNG JUSTICE TV PILOT

Don't call them sidekicks...because they'll probably kick your ass if you do

From left to right: Artemis, Robin, Kid Flash,
Superboy, Miss Martin, and Aqualad

My First Reaction: RED RIDING HOOD TRAILER

Review for HARRY POTTER and the DEATHLY HALLOWS Pt. 1

ABRA-REVIEWUS!!

My First Reaction: GREEN LANTERN TRAILER

Review for SKYLINE

Aliens and Brain Surgery...at least the effects are ok.

Review for PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2

A sequel that goes bump in the night.

Review for THE SECRET OF KELLS

Review for LEGENDS OF THE GUARDIANS

What can I say about this movie...it has talking Owls that are equipped with armor, swords and battle one another.  And surprising it was....a decent movie.

The movie takes place in a alternate world, where animals talk, have politics, and battle each other.  Our hero is an owl named Soren (Jim Sturgees), who has dreams of flying with the Guardians, a group of legendary owl warriors (no I'm not making this up). One night Soren and his brother Kludd are kidnapped (or should I say "owl"-napped) and they are taken to the Pure Ones and their leader Metalbeak.  Soren then meets a Elf Owl named Glyfie (who I believe the filmmakers were trying to make the love interest to Soren, but they didn't really establish that well) and they make a daring escape from the Pure Ones and they set out on a journey to find the Guardians.

Lets start with the things I didn't like with the movie.  The overall premise is a bit odd. Talking owls, with armor and swords, and they battle with evil owls....weird.  If the characters were something else I probably would have liked it more, like if they were more anthropomorphic, but it was based on a book series and I guess the author saw it like this.  The second thing, which I didn't really hate but found really unnecessary, was the song used in the training montage that was a tad bit annoying. It was called "To the Sky" by Owl City (HA! Get it?) and the reason I didn't like all that much because it felt TOO upbeat. I would have preferred if they used that song from the trailer to the movie, that felt more "heroic" for this type of movie.  The final thing I thought was "eh" were the scenes where it went to slow mo. Zack Snyder, director of 300 and The Watchmen, has a habit of doing this effect, and it kind get tiresome to watch, but in this movie it works fairy well, better than the other ones probably.

Now for the good, the visuals were outstanding. The studio that animated this was also was behind Happy Feet. I almost felt a sense of flying when Soren or his friends were traveling around and I felt emotion when there was danger. The showing I went to was in 3D and it made the visuals even more better. The 3D by the way was great as well.  The voice cast was superb and I believed in the acting and emotion in the acting as well. The overall tone of the movie is a dark fantasy, and I'm a sucker for movies that are like that, Labyrinth, Dark Crystal,etc. but rest assured it's still a children's movie and both parent and child alike may get a joy out of this.

MY RATING: 8/10 

Review for DEVIL & THE TOWN

The first one I saw was Devil, a movie that probably surprised me the most of the two.  This movie has M. Night's name attached to it, but the only involvement he had was the credit for the story and being one of the producers, so you're safe so far.  The movie takes place in Philadelphia in some sort of business building (what kind, I'm not too sure but I doubt it makes too much of a difference).  Five people, who don't know each other in anyway, end up together on an elevator which gets stuck about 20 floors up.  Slowly but surely, weird things start to happen while they hang there and one of them may not be who they seem to be.

I just need to say this first. After M. Night's horrific move on making The Last Airbender, I thought NOTHING would redeem him for it.  This movie barely does it. Since he actually direct this movie, he still has a way to go to earn the respect of the average moviegoer.

This movie was actually pretty intense. Director John Eric Dowdle (Quarantineand The Poughkeepsie Tapes) seems to know what he's doing when it comes to thriller/suspense movies. The movie often does the movie trick to completely shut off the picture to take us into the darkness of being trapped inside a small space like an elevator, which I found to be a good thing.  I especially like the concept of the story, in which the Devil comes to Earth in human form and when that happens, everything is ends up going bad. One way they make that assumption was when the religious security guard tosses his toast with jelly in the air and it lands jelly side down....a useful test to see if the Devil is here.  Another thing I liked about this movie is the cast itself. Each person trapped is very different and you may believe anyone of them is the one behind it. The thing that I did find a tad annoying was the acting of Logan Marshall-Green, one of the trapped. His acting was a bit off in my taste, but it's nothing that would distract you from the rest of the movie.  I'm not going to reveal who the "Devil" is, but me personally, I had a guess and I was right.  The twist on who is the devil may be obvious to some, but the overall twist kinda catches you off guard.

The next movie is Ben Affleck's second directorial movie, The Town.  It takes place in the city of Charlestown, MA, where apparently there are a mass amount of bank and armor car robberies.  Ben Affleck plays Doug MacRay, the leader of a crew which robs said banks and armor cars. In this team includes Jem Coughlin, played by Jeremy Renner (who has a great performance in this movie), and two others (who are pretty much no names in Hollywood), and each of them are just as bad ass as MacRay.  The opening scene has the team robbing a bank, while they wear Grim Reaper-like masks, and we get introduce to our leading lady Claire Keesey, played by Rebecca Hall. The robbers go through this entire bank with precision and grace that it looks almost like an art.  However, the silent alarm is tripped and they end up taking Claire as a hostage, just in case. When the close is clear, they drop her off unharmed and the FBI immediately ask her what she knows.  With the possible risk of her identifying the culprits, MacRay takes it upon himself to check on her and see if shes going to talk, but by doing this leads to an unforeseen relationship between the two.

This is the first movie directed by Affleck I've seen (haven't gotten around toGone Baby Gone), and I'm impressed on his work. People often comment on his acting ability but as for his directing, it's top notch.  The movie has the intense feel of a crime thriller and makes you care a little bit for Affleck's character, who is just trying to get out of the heist game and make a life thats better than this. Not only is Affleck on par with the movie, but the rest of the cast is great as well. Jeremy Renner gives a great performance as Affleck's best friend/partner in crime and Rebecca Hall is a great leading lady.  Even Chris Cooper, who plays Doug's father is good for the short time he has on screen. The camera work could of used slight improvement, because it does the "shaky camera" technique, and often gives me a headache.  The other thing I guess i have a problem with is Affleck as the lead. It kinda seems like an ego trip for the director to be also one of the lead stars, but most actors/actresses are starting to direct and put themselves in their own movies, and it works occasionally , and this is one of those times where it does work.

Both these movies were great in my opinion, and I recommend both for everyone.

My Rating:

Devil - 7/10

The Town - 9/10