Youngbuck11 Reviews

TMNT (2007)

The Turtles are back...

[7/10 · 28 March 2007]

Back when I was a small child, I liked to watch the live-action Ninja Turtles films, but you couldn't really call me a fan. I first found out they were making this last fall, and while I was looking forward to it, I wasn't really highly anticipating it. So when the day came that it was finally released, I wasn't bouncing off my seat ready to see it. But I still went, and was very surprised.

A lot of people didn't like the idea that a Turtles film was going to be made in CGI. For some reason, it seems that a lot of people who want to look like that are 'artistic' talk crap about CGI, but I for one thought that the Ninja Turtles are more suited for a CGI film rather than live-action. With animation, it doesn't really look silly. But with a bunch of guys walking around in fake turtle costumes, it looks a little too ridiculous to take any of their problems seriously.

This film had a very unique look to it. It's locations seemed to be very stylized, as if from a painting, only 3D. It was very beautiful to watch and only went to further enhance the experience of TMNT.

The story they followed is very different from anything we've seen in a Turtles film. It seemed like it fit more in the Yu-Gi-Oh! Cartoons, but wasn't too bizarre. However, I think that, while there is a sort of overall group of bad guys that the Turtles must destroy, and there is a whole sort of back story, the main focus of the film is on the Turtles struggling to hold together as a family. Sort of like, they're retired and miserable.

The voice acting for the Turtles themselves was very well done. In fact, the only problem I had with it was the voice of Splinter. It just seemed very awkward and it didn't fit the design they had. But after a while, I guess it sort of grows on you. There weren't that many scenes with him, either, so that helped.

Overall, this film was an action-packed, fun restart for the Turtle franchise. It manages to capture the sense of humor the old films have, but also manages to wake you down a more dark and serious road.

Bridge to Terabithia (2007)

Brilliant only begins to describe it...

[8/10 · 23 February 2007]

The advertising for this movie mislead everyone completely. Everyone was expecting a coming-of-age story that would involve a kid creating a fantasy world and having to save it.

But what we get is something way different and much better. This movie spends 80% of the time in the real world, and actually only spends a small bit in the fantasy world.

This movie is not your average children's film. It's much deeper and deals with more mature things than just imagination. It touches on redemption, kindness, friendship, forgiveness, violence, and guilt just to name a few.

The development of the characters was done extremely well, and the characters were very realistic. You really seem to be friends right there with the two main characters. This makes Leslies death much more affective. The death comes at a moment when byou would least expect it. And when it is finally revealed that she is dead, it seems almost as unbelievable and horrible to us as it does to the main character.

It seems like there can be no resolution after the death, which is just perfect, because that's exactly how the main character feels. You actually feel that everything is going to be horrible from that point on, and it makes you want to hopelessly cry.

The acting itself is wonderful. I don't know how they managed to find such talented children, but however they did it, it really paid off. They were amazing and believable, not overly dramatic.

This film is never boring, and you care about the characters from the first time you see them until the end. The filmmakers did a brilliant job and this is an absolutely amazing debut for the director. I wholeheartedly recommend this film to you. There is very little wrong with it and it's refreshingly original.

Eragon (2006)

A fun, magical experience...

[10/10 · 16 December 2006]

I was a semi-fan of the book, but realized it's cliché's and realized that it wasn't anything extremely special, so I really didn't care how close they kept the film to the book.

I already knew the film would be cliché, as it is based on a cliché novel. But I really wanted this film to be fun and I wanted to see a good dragon film. I got what I wanted.

Ed Speleers does a good job for his first film role. There are moments in there where you wish he'd done it a little better, but compared to the kid who plays Harry Potter, this guy is awesome.

Jeremy Irons is THE perfect Brom. His portrayal of the character is a bit different from the book, but there are quite a few lines that the character says that are directly from the book, and he felt so right for the part. I was sad to see him die.

Arya is also portrayed a little differently than in the book, being less of a butt hole to Eragon and being a little more flirty with him. However, it doesn't go to far with it.

Durza ROCKED! He was so creepy. I was very impressed by that performance, as well as Galbatorix's.

The special effects were also amazing. Saphira was awesome! And her as a baby...well...awwww. :) I loved the score to this film. The main theme was cool and I liked how they kept that same theme in every single track. Hopefully, if and when Eldest is made, they'll expand the score int o multiple sub-themes and...well...I enjoyed the score. :) I think the two major flaws that I noticed in the film were that it was way too short for it's on good. It felt more like an outline of Eragon rather than what it should've been. And the second flaw being some of the dialogue was a little wooden in parts. Especially with Eragon and Durza.

Either way, this film was far better than the reviews were saying. Go there expecting a fun film, not an epic Lord of the Rings, and you'll enjoy it. And don't got there expecting a direct copy of Eragon the book. Think of it more of a new version of Eragon.

The Incredibles (2004)

An 'Incredible' Experience

[9/10 · 15 December 2006]

Out of all of Pixar's films, this is my second favorite. Toy Story comes in at #1, but this is right on it's butt.

The trailers hadn't really got me hyped up for this film. I had actually, at the time, fallen out of the "3d animation movie phase" and preferred live action. But when it came out, something got me wanting to go see it, so we did.

This movie sort of re-introduced me to the awesome world of animation. The story itself keeps the same morals every Pixar films teach children, but amps them up and shows them to us in a whole new way. This movie is probably more for children 7 and up. Not because it's inappropriate for small children, but because the small children would be bored for the first half of the film. One thing I've found is that small children are not entertained by a good story but by loud sounds and flashing colors. And in the beginning--apart from a quick prologue--this movie doesn't have any "action." Some of the struggles that Bob goes through would probably not be understood by a child under the age of seven. However, the later half of the movie is fast-paced and action packed. The story is interesting for older audience members and the noises are now louder and a lot of explosions and stuff flash across the screen, making it interesting for babies. :) I think the only bad thing about this movie is it's pacing toward the beginning. It's extremely slow and, even to an older audience member, it starts to get a little boring.

So if you want to see a fresh, original, action-packed, and technically brilliant film, then see this film.

-Chris

The Nativity Story (2006)

The Christmas Story

[10/10 · 8 December 2006]

This movie tells the true Christmas Story. This is a near perfect adaptation of from the Bible, and all Christians should go see this, as we should always support what is good.

The acting was great. I'm not sure what their names are, but whoever played Joseph was brilliant. The characters had so much depth. This story has very little 'action' and is very much emotionally based, meaning the acting had to be brilliant...and it was.

The pacing of the film was very good. It wasn't very long, but the story isn't very long. So the 101 minute running time was perfect. I never got bored during this film.

I'm glad they decided to go with a more realistic telling of this story rather than a "mystic" version. This film is a constant reminder of the true meaning of Christmas and never compromises it's message.

Non-Christians are rating this film 1 out of 10 for no reason other than to bump it down on the rating list. I'm sure a majority of them haven't even seen the film. Because even if this film wasn't true, and I weren't a Christian, it's still an entertaining film. If I were a non-Christian, or if this was a fictional film, I'd still probably give it a 7 or 8 out of 10.

This movie is the perfect family movie. Go see it if you are tired of the recent "family films" that are filled with crude humor and sexual references.

Happy Feet (2006)

A REVIEW: Happy Feet

[6/10 · 28 November 2006]

Happy Feet is classed as an animated/comedy/family film and inappropriately so. This film went out of it's way to contain quite a few sexual references that were completely obvious. In one scene, a penguin says "It's the males that give woman their BOOM" and he does an awkward movement with his hips, if you get what I mean.

Apart from moral problems, this film's quality lacked in fresh storytelling. There was nothing new about this. It was a "stock-animated film" that was created to capitalize on the random success of "March of the Penguins." In fact, the story became slightly boring half-way through, but semi-paid off with an environmentalist climax, saying that fishing is wrong, which is completely absurd.

While it had fairly good animation, this film was certainly not break-through material. In fact, seeing nothing but white for so long got a little dull, but it wasn't too bad.

Overlooking all the bad, this film was fun and had some very funny moments. However, the jokes didn't make up for it's lack of uniqueness.

MORAL RATING: C+ QUALITY RATING: B

Eragon (2006 Video Game)

An excellent adventure game!

[8/10 · 24 November 2006]

While this game is certainly nothing extremely special compared to a lot of other games, it is a fairly enjoyable movie tie-in adventure game.

It's main problem is that it isn't very challenging. It only took me about four hours to complete it, and I'm not even a "gamer" or anything. The most I've ever played is Battle of Middle-Earth on the computer.

The other problem it has is that you can't control the camera. This means that when you need to see something from a different angle so you don't fall off or something, you can't. You get used to it after a while, and most of the time the camera angle isn't too bad, but it does get frustrating sometimes.

The story of the game is a bit confusing. I've read the book and everything, so it wasn't confusing to me. But to anyone who hasn't read the book won't know what the actual plot is. They might have a small idea of what things are, but nothing is explained too deeply. Which is weird, considering this is based on a book.

This was enjoyable, however, despite it's flaws. It's fast paced and the levels aren't too hard to beat for anyone who just wants to get introduced to the gaming world. The movie should be a lot better than this, but still, this was a great start to what should be a successful franchise of films and games.

-Chris

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Nothing special...

[6/10 · 22 November 2006]

I admit to not being a huge fan of the other X-Men films. I'd much prefer to watch Superman than these guys, but I when I had nothing else to watch, they were quite enjoyable.

So now, a few months later, I decided to check the third film out. I liked it and found it to be fairly entertaining, but nothing special. I can't say which of the three films are my favorite, but this one probably isn't it. It just seemed far to mediocre. It didn't take any risks and did nothing new for the series. Just another X-men film to add to the list.

The acting was fairly good. Pacing was good, as it kept me pretty much interested the entire time and I never felt like turning the film off. There were only a few places in this film that it felt sort of corny. But it was the same way with the other two films, so I expected it.

Overall, I'd much rather Singer direct this film, but I'd much rather him direct the next Superman, so hopefully he won't. :) I'd say rent it on DVD as I did, don't buy it unless you are a hardcore fan of the film.

It was nothing special. Just another action-hero movie.

-Chris

The Prestige (2006)

A confusing yet brilliant work of art...

[8/10 · 2 November 2006]

This was the first time I've been to the movies in a long time. I wasn't really planning on seeing this until a week before it came out when I saw it's trailer and me and my cousin thought it looked pretty cool.

The movie never really gets boring at all. It is very clever. However, I must say that unless you pay extreme attention-as if it were a magic trick-you will be very confused. This movie cuts back and forth and goes all over the place. I mean, you really have no clue what it all means until the end...when they explain it.

Apart from that, this is a wonderful movie. Christian Bale and Hugh Jack man are two of the greatest actors I've ever seen. And Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors I've ever seen. He was able to take a film that could have been boring and stupid and made it into an awesome film. I mean, while watching a magic show is cool, a movie based on how magic tricks are done doesn't sound very appealing to me. However, this movie proves that wrong and gives the audience an exciting ride.

Because of the language and a few sexual references, I would not recommend this movie for children under the age of 10. But even if you are a parent who doesn't care about that stuff, your child is likely to fall asleep because he won't understand a single thing that is going on.

There is always that point in the year that starts in August and goes all the way through the end of October, that not one appealing movie comes out. At least, not for me. Well, as we move into the Christmas season, the movies are starting to get better and better, and I'm sure more reviews will start coming in. This movie was the perfect movie to kick off this new season of good movies. If they keep getting better, the Oscars will be very tough.

The Guardian (I) (2006)

A great film...

[6/10 · 15 October 2006]

This is a beautiful film that, I think, deserves a a better rating than 6.5. I think it at least deserves 7.5 if not higher. This was a great film.

That isn't to say it didn't have draw backs. It's the rather common tear-jerker-style film where the main character dies to save his friend in the end. But it was told in a fresh way.

It was also fairly long, which isn't so bad. I mean, it wasn't hard to get through the extra time. I just think they could've cut out a few scenes to make it a little less dragging.

At the beginning, the CGI looked a little fake. The ship being tossed around in the water looked a little fake in that scene. But other than that, it had fairly realistic CGI in it.

The love story behind this is nicely done...though a little cliché, when you think about it.

All-in-all, it was an above average film that really honored the Coast Guard and shows you exactly what those guys go through.

As I said, good film. But I doubt it'll be remembered. But what the heck, I might just pick it up on DVD when it comes out...maybe.

-Chris

Doogal (2006)

OK animation, horrible film...

[2/10 · 5 September 2006]

I was looking forward to this, being a Lord of the Rings fan, I couldn't wait to see how they would spoof it.

What got me was how over the top with the kiddy dialogue it was. I mean, this had Bob the Builder dialogue.

The animation was a step up from Hoodwinked, but unfortunately, it didn't save the film. In fact, Hoodwinked was much better than this and was the complete opposite. It had horrible animation but a great story that saved it.

This, however, has unbelievable characters, horrible writing, and doesn't deserve to even have plot similarities to Lord of the Rings or any other film it spoofed.

This seemed more of one of those kids films that you see on film that is made for TV and isn't that great. I mean, it's good for little kids, but come on. When there are so many films by Dreamworks and Pixar, that doesn't mean anything.

Do not buy this film or rent it. Even if you can get it for free, it is a waste of your time. Don't waste away over an hour of your life watching this!! -Chris

King Kong (2005)

A beautiful masterpiece...

[10/10 · 5 September 2006]

This was an excellent film. It think the only drawback was it's length, which isn't really a bad thing, because saying it's too long is like saying it's too much of a good thing.

"Kong" is an emotional and action packed adventure film that is, simply put, amazing on all levels. The CGI is awesome. The acting was brilliant. The story was solid and lacked many problems. The cinematography was wonderful. The directing/pacing was awesome. The writing was great.

I mean, there isn't much bad to say about this film. It not only is a good film, it is a great remake that adds so much to the original. How they managed to pull this story from the original is beyond me. I could've never done it.

This remake is, quite frankly, a hundred times better than the 70's "Kong." This film may be a little scary but doesn't deserve anything over a PG-13 rating.

All in all, this was awesome. It wasn't as good as Lord of the Rings, no, but what is?

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Something went wrong in post-production....

[8/10 · 5 September 2006]

Perhaps I've been a little too harsh on this film. I recently went back and watched Episode I and II and can finally say that this was my favorite of the prequel trilogy.

But that isn't saying much.

I wanted this to be something spectacular, and for the most part, it was. It had great action and CGI, it had an awesome story with brilliant duels. It had awesome music and all of that good stuff.

But sadly, something went wrong in post. Perhaps the acting was pretty bad. But that is the least of this films problems. It had the worst dialogue out of all six Star Wars films.

And on top of that, the editing/pacing in this film was HORRIBLE. This felt more like...I don't know...more of a really long trailer of a Star Wars film rather than the actual film itself.

It seemed to do what a trailer does, you know? Just when he's about to say a certain line, it has a fancy (and annoying) transition that cuts to a completely emotionally inappropriate scene for the moment.

The CG was good, but some scenes just looked horrible. Like, in the "Jedi's Die Montage" there was a scene where this Jedi is walking through a big "jungle" like place. It looked so horrible it wasn't even funny.

I think my favorite character in this whole film was General Grievous (sp?). He was awesome.

There are many continuity mistakes between this film and episode four that cannot be fixed in the possible TV show. I won't go into detail about those problems, though.

I guess the best thing about this film was the opening scene and the last duel between Obi and Ani. That was bloody brilliant.

This film had a little bit of everything, I guess, which made it the best of all three new films. It had superb action scenes and corny romance scenes and all that good stuff, whereas the other two either had an extreme amount of romance or...you get the picture.

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)

Good action clouded by boring romance...

[7/10 · 5 September 2006]

This is perhaps the most romance-centered Star Wars film that has ever been created. It had great action scenes, and the visual effects were awesome. But as I said before, that isn't hard to find in a film these days.

The first film was more of a documentary and very slow moving. This film kicks up the pace, but is still slow and boring in parts. George Lucas picked an actor that looked exactly as I thought Anakan would, but unfortunately, that actor can't act very good.

The dialogue in this was pretty bad, of course. It was probably on the same level with the first film. This film was definitely better than Episode I, but it was still too much of a romance.

The fact that there is a large amount of romance in this film isn't the bad thing. It's that the romance scenes were so poorly written that it makes the whole movie seem poorly written.

Perhaps the only solid acting in this film was Christopher Lee's. He did a wonderful job portraying Count Duku. He was wonderful.

The new CG Yoda in this was much better than the horrible one they had in Episode I. This one looks exactly like the one in the originals, only better. And we can finally see his feet! The battle between Yoda and the Count was pulled of great. It didn't look funny, at least not to me, and I quite enjoyed that part. It was a cool battle.

The actual big battle was, from a animation point of view, wonderful. It was absolutely wonderful. Once we get to that point, it was a fast and action packed ride.

So, basically, if you can sit through long, boring, and poorly written romance scenes for a little over an hour, you'll get a big action packed finish. Sadly, the boring romance clouds up the good action and makes this film seem rather bad.

This was, probably, the worst out of the prequel trilogy. It was also my least anticipated. I wanted to see episode one because, like everyone else, it was Star Wars again! After that, Episode II didn't really have anything about it that I was looking forward to.

Episode III was probably my most anticipated because of the story it told and because it finally showed how Vadar came to be.

Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

Sci-Fi documentary...

[7/10 · 5 September 2006]

This film has a very documentary feel about it. It is very slow in some parts and in other parts, it just doesn't have the magical dazzle that the original's had. It has a good story, but it is badly written and the boy who plays as Anakan was poorly cast.

George Lucas thought, as he did with the other two prequels, that a million visual effects would make the audience drop their jaws like they did with the originals. And while this did have it's technical spectacles, nothing that would compare with other films that had been released at the time.

Visual effects are too common to be the best part of a film. There is only a small number of films that will come out every few years that will have a visual effect well worth remembered. Gollum, Kong, Aslan, etc. But this didn't have anything like that.

There were quite a few unnecessary scenes in this movie that could have been trimmed down to give the movie a faster flow. Things were recycled from the first film that were completely obvious. (i.e. Anakan flying up and blowing up the space station/Luke blowing up the death star.) The film seems more, like I said, a documentary made about the back story of Star Wars rather than the actual back story. We don't really get to know the characters personally like we did in the original trilogy and, all in all, a very poor film to be a Star Wars film.

I guess Star Wars films were great back in the day because they had effects that could not be beat. In this day and age, though, it has to have more than that. Because the effects CAN be beat and WILL be beat.

This wasn't the worst out of the new trilogy, but it certainly wasn't the best.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

A gritty masterpiece

[10/10 · 4 September 2006]

I'd say that this is the most action oriented film of the trilogy. It has so many CGI achievements that it isn't even funny. And, in terms of action, tops the Fellowship by a long shot.

This is a much more gritty war film, though, and doesn't have the cheery magical feel that the first film has. This is an action packed film that is pretty long. The only problem is, though I wouldn't really call it a problem, that it is kind of slow until we finally get to the big battle at the end.

The Merry and Pippin story is, obviously, the slowest because they are with tree-beard. But I enjoy watching those scenes. They are so awesome from a animation point-of-view.

But once you get to the battle and when the Ents start destroying Isengard, it's awesome!! (Not that the whole film isn't).

I think, though, that this is of the three films has the worst replay value. This is an awesome film to see in theaters and, maybe, watch it on DVD once or twice. But you can't watch it all the way through like you can Fellowship without nodding off a few times.

But still, this is an epic film that I love and wouldn't change a thing.

-Chris

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

An epic that will not be forgotten...

[10/10 · 4 September 2006]

This film isn't as gritty as The Two Towers, but in no way is it as magical and cheery as the first film, if you can call it that.

This film is a long and emotional story that has it all. Epic battles, emotional scenes, great acting, wonderful visual effects, superb directing, and, of course, a brilliant story.

This film was definitely the greatest cinema going experiences I've ever had and will, most likely, ever have. It was so huge and was just so much of everything anyone could ever want in a movie. It was flawless.

The only thing I think that this film doesn't have going for it is it's replay value. Fellowship of the Rings is a little bit more light hearted and can be watched on DVD multiple times without ever tiring of seeing it. The Two Towers is probably the worst when it comes to replay value, but this isn't much better. This one has a very complex plot and is extremely long and is really much better on the big screen.

All in all, this was the greatest of the three. You'll have to pick your jaw up off the ground after seeing this.

-Chris

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

A truly magical cinema experience...

[10/10 · 4 September 2006]

While technically this may not be the best film in the trilogy, and it obviously doesn't have as many battles, and at first glance, it isn't my favorite of the three films, this is definitely the most "magical" to watch. This film has that glow and otherworldly feel to it. The Two Towers and Return of the King have a gritty kind of war movie feel to it.

That's why I like watching Fellowship of the Ring more than the others. If I were only allowed to watch each of these films once in my life, my favorite would obviously be Return of the King. But being able to watch them again sort of turns the dial to this one.

The other films are to emotional and long and require too much thinking and, while that isn't a bad thing, it makes for a sleepy replay value. This, on the other hand, is an experience unlike any other film.

It isn't boring at all, and isn't as long as the others, and the plot isn't as spread out and as complex as the others, so it makes for an easier replay value.

This film gets 10 stars on all levels.

The visual effects were wonderful. There wasn't anything in this film that I thought was fake. The acting was superb and believable. And the directing was flawless. The editing was good, though I like the extended cut myself, and I thought that everything else was the same way. Superb.

Peter Jackson is one of the greatest directors in the world, in my book. It isn't just the fact that these films are brilliant in a technical and acting aspect, it's that Jackson actually did it. He, against all odds, brought this world to life and succeeded wonderfully.

Go see this film!! -Chris