World War Z (2013) (PG-13)

     Every year, the summer offers countless options for moviegoers. The summer blockbuster is one of the biggest money makers across the country. Unfortunately, these films are often pretty awful, and are often indistinguishable from one another. That is what I thought this movie was going to be: another quick cash-in that tries to entice viewers with the now pretty stale gimmick of zombies. However, what I got was the biggest surprise of the year so far, and an extremely decent movie.

Plot

     The movie starts like most zombie flicks: Gerry Lane (a former CIA agent) and his family are going about their daily lives, when all hell breaks loose. Through his connections Gerry gets his family safely on board an aircraft carrier, where he learns that the plague is global and that he needs to come back into service to help the government determine the origin of the disease and a way to stop it. This begins a globe-trotting adventure that spans several countries. The story of this movie focuses much more on the plague aspect of a zombie apocalypse than previous undead thrillers I have seen. The scope of the disaster is evident throughout this movie, and really gives a glimpse of how destructive an event like this would be if it really occurred. Personally, I prefer the smaller, more personal stories of zombie outbreaks, but this was an interesting change of pace and I give the creators props for trying something different. The plot is rather holey, and there are some unintentionally funny moments, but zombie movies have never been the most believable movies around. I myself have not read the book, but from what I've heard, this is not a faithful adaptation of the novel. It is more a movie inspired by the book, or a movie set in the same universe. 

Acting/Writing

     The acting in this movie is by no means spectacular, but there aren't really any poor performances either. Brad Pitt as Gerry is easy to root for as the guy that's just trying to look after his family, despite coming off as a little wooden at times. Mireille Enos plays the part of the worried wife well, although her  character can be annoying occasionally. What is it with female characters in zombie movies messing things up? She seems to be at the wrong place at the wrong time at several instances in the film, which comes off as just annoying rather than intense. The rest of the side characters don't really have much script to work with, and are only really there as plot devices. However, this is to be expected with a movie with this broad a scope. The only other characters that stuck with me from the movie are several of the military operatives. They are instantly likeable, and capture the mindset of a soldier in the zombie apocalypse very well. 

Visuals/Audio

     This movie shows zombies in a way that they have never been shown before. Shrieking undead pile on top of one another, climb over one another, even trample each other in a mad frenzy to infect as many people as possible. The launch themselves into a crowd without even a thought for their own well being. Also, these zombies do not eat their victims; rather they bite and move on. This takes away some of the need for an R rating, and removes some of the trademark zombie gore. However, don't think that this movie is tame by any means. This movie pushes the PG-13 envelope in the violence department. One complaint I have with the movie is the large amount of CGI used. For some scenes it is necessary, like for the depictions of large swarms of undead, but I found myself missing the traditional effects and makeup of a typical zombie movie. The creatures lose some scariness when they're completely computer animated. The movie provides many interesting, varied locales for the scenes of the movie; everywhere from Jerusalem to Philadelphia. This helps alleviate the tedium and show the tremendous scope of the disaster.  The soundtrack of this movie is surprisingly good, and provides some intensity and build for the jump scare moments.

Content

     Like I said earlier, this movie pushes the limits of what is allowed in a PG-13 movie on the violence front. Many many people and zombies meet their demise in many gruesome ways. The only reason that this movie was allowed to have a PG-13 rating is that there isn't any blood or gore. Kills are bloodless, but no less disturbing. Language is low for a zombie movie, and is what you would expect from a PG-13 film. There is no sexual content whatsoever. Want a more in-depth content review? Follow the link below!

http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/world-war-z.aspx

     In all, this is a very surprising movie to me. I was a bit leery about a PG-13 zombie movie, thinking that it would be a zombie movie "for the masses", and lose some of it's impact. However, while this is certainly a more mainstream flick than say, Dawn of the Dead, it is good in a different way and shows a different side to the nearly exhausted genre. Score:7/10

Oz The Great and Powerful (2013)

     Gorgeous visuals! An intriguing tale of another world! Amazing witches and wizards! That is what this movie could've been. Unfortunately, however, this movie is a large disappointment on almost every front. 

Plot

    The movie follows Oz, a selfish, small-time wizard who works with a traveling circus. One day, a tornado comes through the circus, carrying Oz and his hot air balloon far away, and placing him the strange and wonderful world of Oz, a world which strangely has the same name as him. Oz comes to realize that his coming was foretold, and that his is destined to stop the wicked witch that has been plaguing the land. Along the way, Oz will have to confront his selfish, greedy nature and learn some valuable lessons. The story, although being very basic, manages to be confusing somehow. Several completely unnecessary twists add to the confusion in an attempt to make a complex and intricate plot. It would have been more effective to stick with a more simple, less hole-filled story. Also, there are many characters in this movie, very few of whom receive any development whatsoever. One thing that the movie does that is interesting is that it introduces some elements from The Wizard of Oz (book) that were not present in the movie, such as the town made of fine china and the quadlings. However, correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't The Wizard of Oz a dream? So this movie's story is a prequel to a dream? Doesn't make much sense to me. 

Acting/Writing

     The acting in this film ranges from passable to cringe-inducing. James Franco as Oz is, while not particularly good, acceptable yet predictable as the self-centered Oz. You really feel his jerkishness in many scenes. Rachel Weisz as Evanora is also fair, delivering some sassy wickedness as one of the two witches of the story. The other witch, however, is not as likeable. Mila Kunis as Theodora is often unbearable. She attempts to be rage-filled and spiteful, but the combination of her awful dialogue and her lack of acting prowess nullifies any good intention that she had. Michelle Williams is not as grating as Kunis, but is so bland that she is instantly forgettable. I can barely remember anything she said in the film. The other characters are forgettable as well, and don't bring anything new or unexpected to the film. So, as a whole, the acting in this movie is subpar.

Visuals/Audio

     So, you're probably hoping that the redeeming factor of this movie is its eye-popping visual style, right? Unfortunately, this is not the case. The visuals in this movie look distinctively videogame-ish, and aside from a few scenes, look pretty awful as far as today's movies go. Nothing looks real, and is so unpolished that you can see unfinished work in the CGI in some scenes. The movie does have some interesting visual concepts, such as flowers made out of jewels, but in execution most of these ideas fall through quite badly. As far as the audio goes, the soundtrack was boring and generic adventure movie fare which only is noticeable in a few scenes. The visuals and audio of this movie were deeply disappointing for me, because I thought that if nothing else, this movie would be cool to look at. I was sadly mistaken. 

     So, as far as adventure movies go, this is a resounding disappointment. Your small children may enjoy this movie, but if you're looking for a truly good movie, look elsewhere. Score:4/10

Content

     This movie is very tame as far as negative content goes. Language is at a bare minimum, with only very occasional mild profanities. Violence is also low here; I don't think there are any deaths in the the film. Suggestive content is mild as well, with the only element being that Oz is a bit of a womanizer, and flirting with several women throughout the movie, often at the same time. However, this is portrayed as a negative thing. In all, this movie would be acceptable for children of almost any age. Want a more detailed content description? Visit the link below!

http://www.pluggedin.com/movies/intheaters/oz-the-great-and-powerful.aspx

Man of Steel (2013)

     Finally, one of the summer's most anticipated movies is here. Ever since its very interesting trailers began to debut online, Man of Steel has been rapidly gathering hype, causing people to ask questions such as "Can there be a good Superman movie?". "Will this make up for the AWFUL Superman Returns?" "Is Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan really a good match up to make this movie?" The answer to all of those questions is, fortunately, a resounding YES.

Plot

     One of the things I like the most about this movie is how it manages to take a story we all know by heart and make it interesting again. The movie opens on planet Krypton, a world about to meet its end. Jor-El and his wife have just had a child, the first natural birth on Krypton in centuries. Knowing that Krypton is lost, Jor-El decides to send his son, Kal-El, to earth, along with the genetic code for all Kryptonians, so that Krypton will live on someday. Kal is sent into the depths of space just in time, despite the efforts of General Zod to stop the launch. Zod then swears that he will find Kal one day and retrieve the codex. Without revealing too much of the plot, from this point it becomes the Superman story we know and love. Kal is adopted by the Kents, and is renamed Clark. Eventually, when Clark is about 30, Zod comes to earth, having located him. Crazy battles ensue, and so on. I appreciate that the writers weren't afraid to spend a good amount of time on Krypton. In a very short time, they have created a very rich world with rich history. It makes the rest of the movie make more sense and feel more real. However, the really interesting thing about the plot of this movie is the fact that you find out things about Clark's history on earth throughout the movie, rather than all at the beginning. Halfway through the movie, backstory is still being provided in small bits. This keeps you guessing throughout the film as to why things are happening, and makes it all the more satisfying when you learn the reasoning behind characters' actions. The themes in this movie are also very interesting, and haven't been explored before in a Superman movie. The movie wonders, 'what would happen if there really was someone as powerful as Superman?'. Superman is treated with suspicion and fear, as he would be if he was real. Superman doesn't reveal himself to humanity until he is over 30 years old, because his adopted father thinks the world isn't ready for someone like him, and that society would reject him. So he doesn't, even to the point of not saving people to conceal his power. The movie explores themes that go much deeper than the average superhero movie. In all, this is just a very solid, interesting story with almost no holes, which is uncommon for most movies nowadays. 

Acting/Writing

     The acting in this movie is also very solid. Henry Cavill gives a brooding, troubled version of Superman that gives the character a  more realistic feel. If a man had been through what he had, he wouldn't be cracking jokes all the time. He is slightly awkward in some scenes, but this could be intentional. After all, this is a character who's only just coming on to the superhero scene, and might not be completely comfortable with himself yet. Amy Adams brings a departure from the usual sharp-faced, black-haired Lois Lane that we're all used to, but still delivers on the feisty attitude that is essential to her character. She doesn't receive much development in this movie, but I think we can expect that to come in later films in the series. Another excellent actor in this movie is Michael Shannon as General Zod. Zod burns with intensity and determination consistently throughout the movie. When he screams at Lara that he will find her son, you really believe that he will stop at nothing to follow through on his threat. However, he is not completely ill-intentioned, which makes him an even more interesting character. There are many supporting characters in this movie, all of which are steady, particularly Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent. His loving yet gruff demeanor is instantly endearing. The writing in this movie is, while mostly simple, very powerful. The script is short and to the point for most of the movie, and delivers its themes very effectively. The plot has a few twists in it that really deepen both Superman's character and the characters around him in ways that have never been explored in the shallow Superman movies that have come before Man of Steel.

Visuals/Audio

     One thing that we know about Zack Snyder is that he has always been able to bring us some completely crazy fight scenes, like in 300 and Immortals. Man of Steel is no exception, and it brings some of the most awe-inspiring, completely destructive fight scenes I have seen in a long time. When it comes to destruction, Avengers has got nothing on Man of Steel. Buildings are toppled by single blows, steam engines are hurled as weapons, and combatants are knocked miles by the force of the blows exchanged. This movie definitely makes up for the relatively action-less Superman Returns, and then some. However, it does all this while still looking very good. Never does the action become muddy, or unrealistic looking. It really looks like if there were fights like this in real life, this is how they would look. Also, the visuals during the scenes on Krypton are stunning. They really took their time with creating the world, even though only 20 minutes are spent on it. All of the design on the Kryptonian vehicles and armor is top notch, and is a joy to look at. The movie in general is just beautiful to behold. Also, the soundtrack is one of the best I have heard in a long time. Hans Zimmer delivers another masterpiece, full of heroic, wistful, and just plain superman-ish emotion. In all, the surface level stuff on this movie is just as good or better than the deeper material. 

     This movie has rekindled my love for Superman. When I was little, I loved Superman, but after watching the previous films, my interest turned away. Man of Steel movie has shown me that, given creators who are willing to take risks, a Superman movie can be a deep, emotional, visually-captivating experience. I'm greatly looking forward to future films in the series. Score: 9/10

Content

     As far as negative content goes, this is about the same as other superhero movies that have been released in recent years. Language is kept to a minimum, with only occasional uses of mild swear words. Violence is a big part of this movie, and many people meet their demise at the hands of the villains. However, this is not a bloody movie, and the violence is largely comparable to The Avengers. There is no sexual content in this movie; only a few kissing scenes.

Mama (2013)

     I have always been a big fan of Guillermo Del Toro. He has always been able to create visually arresting, fascinating, often disturbing worlds, as we see in films such as Pan's Labyrinth or the Hellboy movies. So, when I heard that he was creating a horror movie, I was pretty excited. I couldn't wait to see what horrible creatures he could dream up to haunt my dreams. What I got from Mama was actually quite different, but not necessarily worse. This is a very slow-burning horror flick that stumbles at some points, but overall delivers a very creepy experience.

Plot

     The story that this movie tells is one of the most interesting things about the movie. The movie opens with a father driving his two girls, Victoria and Lilly, into the woods, after murdering his wife. He finds a cabin, and intends to kill his daughters there, but something kills him first, leaving the girls alone with whatever it was. Cut forward five years, and we see that the girls' Uncle Lucas and Aunt Annabel have been searching for the two ever since they went missing. Eventually, they find them, feral and wild from living in the wilderness for so long. However, it seems that something was taking care of them during those 5 long years. Much to punk bassist Annabel's dismay, Lucas decides to adopt the troubled children. However, it soon becomes clear that whatever was with them in the cabin isn't quite ready to let go yet. It's a very interesting premise for a movie; one that's much more interesting than your typical "this person was murdered and now he's back to haunt the people who killed him" ghost story. However, around the 40 minute mark the story begins to drag quite a bit. The movie seems to rehash the same creepy moment several times, until it has lost all suspense. It picks up again after a bit, but you'll have to wade through some pretty boring scenes to get to the good stuff. Also, the ending of the movie (which I will not reveal here) is in my opinion, rather disappointing. The movie undergoes an abrupt tonal shift in the last 5 minutes that doesn't fit with the rest of the movie. The transition is too ragged. In all though, I give the creators props for trying something different and interesting, even though it doesn't always succeed. 

Acting/Writing

     Unfortunately, the acting in this movie is, for the most part, nowhere near as exciting as the story. Most of the characters are very two-dimensional and receive little to no development. A prime example of this is Lucas, played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. His character seems like a complete oversight, and carries no significance at all. It's hard to even tell what kind of person he is; he's just so bland. This is partly due to the writing as well, since they didn't give Coster-Waldau much to work with. It's the same story with Daniel Kash as Dr. Dreyfuss, who is very bland and uninteresting. In fact, there are only three actors in the film that have even a spark of interest about them, and those are Jessica Chastain as Annabel, Megan Charpentier as Victoria and Isabelle Nelisse as Lilly. 2012's Zero Dark Thirty showed us Jessica Chastain's acting prowess, and while this movie by no means lives up to that standard, Annabel is by far the most interesting character. She pulls off the jaded, immature rocker very well. However, she also rises to the occasion when her adopted children need her, despite her complaints early in the movie about adopting them. It is interesting to see her change from not caring at all about the girls to risking her life to save them. Speaking of the girls, Megan and Isabelle outshine almost every performance in this film as Victoria and Lilly. They give some of the finest child performances I've ever seen as the wild, feral, haunted sisters. It is fascinating to watch them return to reality, and leave behind the creature that cared for them all those years. However, despite these few standout performances and moments, most characters receive very little development and remain flat.

Visuals/Audio

      This is the area where the movie really came through for me, though not quite in the way I expected. I was anticipating all-out insanity, tons of horrifying imagery, and more Del Toro-isms. However, this movie is much more reserved and patient than that, and this translates into the visuals and audio. For starters, the entire movie is shot with a grungy, dull filter over it, casting a different light on ordinary things and making them strange. Also, for the majority of the movie, you don't see very much of the ghost, only brief glimpses in the background or flashing across the screen in a jump-scare moment. So what you have to rely on is the noise that the ghost makes, which is a deeply disturbing cacophony of gurgles, moans, and bone-cracking noises. Hearing these noises while not being able to see the thing making them is a very effective, creepy way to get the audience jumpy. However, the intensity does not diffuse near the end when the ghost is in plain sight, as is the case in many horror movies. In this case, the actual sight of the ghost is just as frightening as anything your mind could dream up. Del Toro has once again delivered an AWFUL creature design, and I mean that in the best way possible. I won't spoil anything for you, but the sight of the ghost might just keep you up at night. The only complaint that I have as far as visuals and audio go is that the score is very typical and boring. I expected a more intense soundtrack, but what I got was just your average horror movie music. So, while this movie was visually and tonally not quite what I expected, it delivered nonetheless. 

Content

     This is a very tame movie as far as horror films go. Language is kept to a minimum, with standard PG-13 fare. There isn't much violence in this movie, and there is no gore whatsoever. Sexual content is also very minimal, with only some mild suggestive content. This is a very creepy movie, however, so I wouldn't recommend watching this with younger kids.

     In all, this is just a very fun, scary movie with some very interesting ideas and creepy imagery. I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a good, old fashioned spookfest to watch with some friends. Rating: 7/10

Hello, World!

So, the blog is officially up and running! Let me just give you a brief overview of what this blog is all about. This is a movie reviewing site, with all reviews written by yours truly. I will put up reviews of all the latest flicks, as well as some older films as I see them. Not only will these reviews cover quality; they will also cover content (language, suggestive content, violence, etc.), so you can decide for yourself whether or not to watch. This will also come in handy for parents trying to decide whether a movie is acceptable for family movie night, and so on. So, I hope you guys enjoy, feel free to leave feedback (negative or positive) in the comments. My first review should be up within a few hours, so stay tuned!