Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Tim Burton is an interesting director.  His style is far more bizarre and unusual than most directors.  You can tell how off-beat his style is when you watch movies like Beatlejuice, Batman, Corpse Bride, Sweeney Todd, and now, Alice in Wonderland.  Even when he's producing movies, his style is very evident in the movies that he's involved with, like A Nightmare Before Christmas.  

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland is basically a kind of a retelling of the original story by Lewis Carroll.  In Tim Burton's version, Alice(Mia Wasikowska) is about to be proposed to by a stiff-ass British....dude, when she notices a strange White Rabbit(voiced by Michael Sheen) wearing a waist-coat.  She follows the rabbit and falls into a hole.  She winds up in a strange land inhabited by strange creatures and talking animals.  She eventually meets the Cheshire Cat(voiced by Stephen Fry, in a brilliant performance).  But something is amiss as some think that she's the wrong Alice, despite it being her dream.  Then she's meets two strange fat little twins named Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum(Matt Lucas).  Then she's attacked by a strange creature called the Bandersnatch and chased by Red Card Knights and the Knave of Hearts(Crispin Glover).  She eventually runs into the Mad Hatter(Johnny Depp), who wants to help the White Queen(Anne Hathaway) defeat the evil Queen of Hearts(Helena Bonham Carter).

It's definitely a different take on Lewis Carroll's story, but Tim Burton's vision and direction really make it work.  The performances of all the actors also help bring this fantastic world to life.  Johnny Depp's turn as the Mad Hatter is nothing short of brilliant, even though the actor is known for playing bizarre characters.   But he does it very well.  He even changes accents at random from a lispy English accent to a brash Scottish accent.  It doesn't even LOOK like Johnny Depp, with the wild make-up, contacts and hairdo.  He completely disappears into the character.  The other actor I should mention, even though he doesn't make a physical appearance is Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat.  He's somewhat soft-spoken and somewhat subtle but also playful and has very dry sense of humor.  Overall, the acting in the film is amazing, even the voice work.

This being a Tim Burton film, you would expect the environments and characters in Alice in Wonderland to be somewhat....twisted.  He does not disappoint in this regard, as the environments have a more dark and unusual vibe and appearance, than in Disney's original film.  The way the characters are designed are just as incredible.  From  the Bandersnatch to the dragon-like Jabberwocky, each character has a distinct personality and look that really place them in such a bizarre world.  Some of this stuff can be a little....creepy.  So it would be best for children to watch this film with parents...just in case, but it is a PG film.

What also helps in this film is the music, and Danny Elfman really pulls out the stops here.  As far as I'm concerned, Danny Elfman is basically an extension of Burton as those two are two peas in a pod.  They're both equally bizarre.  And seeing as how Danny Elfman has basically done the music for most, if not all, of Tim Burton's films, it was a really good choice as the music has an epic feel to it, particularly during the final battle, and it seems like only someone like Elfman could pull off.

I could honestly say that there really are no pacing issues.  I think some of the performances could've been handled better, and that Johnny Depp's character can sometimes ALMOST go off the deep end.  But, overall this film is incredible in almost every way, with some of the most unique CGI I've seen, this movie is a spectacle.  It's fun, funny, action-packed, and somewhat twisted.  Only Tim Burton can pull off a film like this and not have it be a crappy film.  I give Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland a 9.5/10.

We Were Soldiers

This is a thing unheard of for me, the other reviews I've written, I had a clear outline of what I wanted to do, but with We Were Soldiers, I'm not entirely certain where to begin.  The Vietnam War became truly controversial with the American public once they got wind of what some our troops were doing to the people in Vietnam, but I digress.  The main purpose of our going to Vietnam was to stamp out Communism.  We failed.  But the truth is never that simple.  As to WHY we failed, the answer is much more complicated, and I really won't go into it here.  Let's just say, by the end of the Vietnam War, over 58,000 American troops lost their lives.  We Were Soldiers takes a look at one of the first major battles of the war, the Battle for Ia Drang Valley in the highlands of Vietnam.

Lt. Col. Hal Moore was brought in to test new military tactics to use against the enemies of the United States.  He and chopper pilot, Maj. Bruce Crandall helped usher in a new method of transporting soldiers to the battlefield.  Later, Col. Moore and company are given orders to go to Vietnam.  I'm oversimplifying the story, but the film was based on the book that was written by Hal Moore himself, "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young."  The story is really good, and as it progresses, it shows the consequences of war, on all sides, the American soldiers, the Vietnamese soldiers, and the wives of the American soldiers.  When Hal Moore, played by Mel Gibson, enters the film, he's a father and a husband, and very likable, even the soldiers under his command respect him a great deal.  Moore is also a brilliant battlefield tactician, which is one of the reasons he was recruited for testing new methods of warfare.  Mel Gibson as Hal Moore is nothing short of genius, as he lends a major presence and some humor to the role, but also gets very serious when he needs to, particularly during the battle.  He's very effective.  Greg Kinnear as Maj. Crandall is also very good.  Sam Elliott is...well....Sam Elliott, what more can I say about the man, he commands the screen almost as much as Mel Gibson.  His turn as Sgt. Maj. Basil Plumley, is what you'd expect from Sam Elliott: Gruff, hard-ass, and a damn good shot with a pistol.

The battle scenes in We Were Soldiers are very intense, and can get really gruesome at times, which helps making the scenes that more realistic.  But the scenes that really tugged at my heartstrings didn't take place on the battlefield, but back in America when the wives get word that their husbands were killed, it really hits home about the consequences of war.  When Julie Moore(Madeleine Stowe) is approached by a stranger from a taxi cab holding a telegram, she lashes out at him, because she thought her husband was killed.  Turns out, the telegram was for someone else.  And cab guy says, "I'm sorry, Ma'am.  I don't like this job, I just have to do it."  And that I think really nails it about war and duty.  I honestly, don't know if I could handle a job like that, I don't think I could.  Not emotionally.  I can't even imagine.  Julie then asks the cab company to hand to her all the telegrams of the soldiers that have died.  That particular scene and sequence is very poignant, and really drives home the consequences of war and the toll it takes on not just the soldiers and wives but the people who have to deliver the message.  The rest of the film takes place on the battlefield  The war is being photographed by a journalist, Joe Galloway(Barry Pepper), who is thrust into the war, and is eventually forced to pick up a weapon himself and fight.  Barry Pepper brings an earnest look at someone who wants to try to understand a war, and help the American people understand it.

The performances in this film were just fantastic, from Mel Gibson and Sam Elliott to Madeleine Stowe, it really helps bring an emotional and realistic feel to a film such as this, which is primarily a war film.  Now, the film takes place in 1965, before everything really went to hell, so it manages to avoid dealing with hippies.  This is a film about the soldiers, and their fight for each other, because on the battlefield, that's all they had.  The war scenes were incredible, with the American soldiers going up against the seasoned Vietnamese soldiers.  You've got big explosions and gunfire just tearing up the place.

I'm reviewing the Blu-Ray release of the film, and visually it's very sharp, but then I don't really have an eye for the exact details, I just know it looks good.  Audio-wise, this one is amazing, especially during the battle sequences.  Gunfire, explosions, airplanes, choppers going on all around you, it makes you feel like you're there in the midst of all that chaos.  It's really well done.

I'm nitpicking, but I think the film went on a little too long at 138 minutes.  It does drag in certain places, but overall the pacing is still pretty good.  The action gets intense and doesn't let up until the film is almost over.  I can't really attest to the historical accuracy of the film as I'm still fairly unfamiliar with the battle that it portrays.  The film doesn't really have an overall message about the meaning of war, if it's good or bad, no.  We Were Soldiers tells the story of a group of soldiers who were willing to put their lives on the line for each other.  I give We Were Soldiers 9.5/10.

War is an ugly thing, and the Vietnam War was as ugly as it gets.   With 58,000 American lives and 3 to 4 million Vietnamese lost, the toll that war takes on people is truly horrific, and not just on the battlefield.  I hoped that some of us would've learned from the past, but it appears that we haven't.  Or ever will.

The Lord of the Rings: Motion Picture Trilogy Blu-Ray

Again, it's been a while since I've posted a review, but I'm going to start doing that more and more.  This review is on The Lord of the Rings: Motion Picture Trilogy Blu-Ray.

I'm not going to go into the story of the Lord of the Rings, because I'm pretty sure everybody knows about it.  The people who have read the books and the people who have seen the movies know how it goes.  Basically, I'm going to go over the more technical aspects of the films.  The first thing that everyone should about the Blu-Ray release of Lord of the Rings is that this release contains the theatrical versions of the films, not the extended versions.  This has caused a certain amount of controversy among fans, because a lot of fans, including myself feel that the extended versions of the Lord of the Rings movies are the better versions.  The extended versions will hit Blu-Ray, no doubt about it, but they will be released in conjunction with the first of two Hobbit movies, produced by Peter Jackson and directed by Guillermo Del Toro.  As it stands, the current Blu-Ray release is still impressive, at least movie wise.

The Fellowship of the Ring:

Video:  Having seen all the films on Blu-Ray now, I can tell you that The Fellowship of the Ring is actually the worst of the bunch in terms of video quality, it's not as sharp as the other two.  It's not bad, but certain details are not as clear.

Sound: One of the things that I like best about Blu-Ray is that the sound quality has improved a great deal, and The Lord of the Rings delivers in spades.  Dialogue is clear, and the soundtrack has been pumped up to give a real "oomph" to the scenes, particularly in the Moria sequence, when the fellowship is being chased by the Balrog.  And surround sound-wise, when things come crumbling down, it sounds like it's coming down all around you.  It's incredible.

Special Features:  Here is where this collection lets me down.  On the Blu-Ray with the movie are the trailers for the Fellowship of the Ring as well as the Supertrailer for the entire trilogy.  It also includes trailers for two games.  Those are all in high-definition.  The second disc for each film is the same second disc for the initial DVD releases of the Lord of the Rings.  Same special features.

The Two Towers:

Video: The video for the second film in the trilogy is a large improvement over the Fellowship of the Ring.  It's really sharp and you can pick out the really small details on each of the characters.

Sound: As stated before on the Fellowship of the Ring, the sound here is amazing, it's very clear, and it comes in all around you if you have surround sound.

Special Features:  This is the same deal with the Fellowship of the Ring, first disc=high definition trailers.  Second disc=DVD with special features.

The Return of the King:

Video: This is one is the best of the bunch.  Even better than The Two Towers.  The detail, particularly on the clothing of the characters comes in crystal-clear.  The CGI stands out, but these movies are almost a decade old, but it's still pretty good today.

Sound: Definitely the best of the three as well.  Particularly during the large-scale battle scenes, it just envelopes you, making you feel that you're right there in the midst of two large armies going at each other.

Special Features:  Read above, same story.

The only other special feature that this release has is the Digital Copies for people who want to watch these movies on their ipods or laptops while they're on the go, other than that, what I have described is what you'll get.  Overall, I have to say the Lord of the Rings: Motion Picture Trilogy Blu-Ray is worth getting, but I will understand people who would rather wait for the Extended Editions to come out on Blu-Ray, especially if they already have the Theatrical releases on DVD.  I got rid of my Theatrical release DVDs when I got the Extended Editions, so it was kind of nice to see these films as they were originally released.  With better video and sound, I still recommend this set to fans of Lord of the Rings and fans of Blu-Ray in general.  Lord of the Rings has never looked or sounded better.  In terms of special features, this set IS a bit of a letdown, as the features are the exact same as on the initial DVD releases of the films.  I think the set is still worth the money.  I paid 75 bucks for this set.  I give it a 9.5/10.  It gets marked down because I was expecting more in terms of special features.

James Cameron's Avatar

I know it's been a while since I've last posted.  But I figure this would be the best time to post a new review.

Yesterday I went and saw Avatar for a second time, having been duly impressed the first time, I'm still impressed.  Avatar stars Sam Worthington as marine corporal Jake Sully who we meet as soon as he gets out of cry-sleep after a 5 year journey to the world of Pandora.  He's at Pandora because he is taking part in a program which allows humans to control specially grown "avatars."  The avatars are grown from human and Na'vi DNA.  The Na'vi are the humanoid natives of Pandora.

We learn that humans are on Pandora because Pandora has a plentiful supply of Unobtainium, which is apparently key to energy production back on Earth.  The corporation mining the unobtainium has contracted the Marine Corps, under the command of Colonel Quaritch.  Jake Sully is there to infiltrate the Na'vi village and learn their ways so he can negotiate their relocation.  But he begins to have a change of heart as he spends more time with the Na'vi and the princess Neytiri, played by Zoe Saldana.  

Okay, the story is basically Dances with Wolves in space, but that's not a bad thing, as the story is still good.  James Cameron really isn't one for original stories, but what he does do is present the story in a different way, and he does so spectacularly with Avatar.  The world of Pandora looks and feels like a real place even though it's all CGI, it's extremely impressive.  The Na'vi themselves are really incredible, they look incredibly real up-close.  Of course, all the visual effects in the world won't mean a thing if the performances of the actors weren't up to snuff, and they really are here.  Sam Worthington as a paraplegic marine-turned Na'vi, really steps up to the plate and brings a strong and fearless presence as Jake Sully.  Zoe Saldana is impressive as Neytiri, as she presents Neytiri as a strong-willed, yet vulnerable Na'vi princess.  Stephen Lang as Colonel Quaritch is brilliant.  While the colonel is basically a cliche as the "evil" military leader, Stephen Lang really brings a menace to the character.  Giovanni Ribisi plays the scum-bag head of the corporation.  He does it very well, even though the character is a carbon-copy of Paul Reiser's character in James Cameron's own Aliens.

When it comes to movies like Avatar, one of the most important things you need is music, and James Horner's rousing score is second to none.  It really helps engage the viewer in the events on the screen and the battle sequences are truly epic.

One of the things that I should mention is that I saw this film in 3-D.  While the 3-D thing is a gimmick in most movies, in Avatar, it brings a whole new level of immersion to the film.  It literally adds depth to the film, and it really helps pull you in to the movie.  There are certain sequences that will have you on the edge of your seat, literally.

I should note, that during the Golden Globe awards on Jan. 18, Avatar won two awards, one for Best Drama and one for Best Director.  I can tell you now, that after having seen the film twice, it really deserves those awards.  Avatar is an experience that should be seen in theaters, even if it isn't in 3-d, although the 3-d adds something to the film.  Sure the story isn't original, but that doesn't hurt the film in any way.  I give James Cameron's Avatar a solid 10/10.  It's the best film I've seen last year, and one of the best films of the decade.

Drag Me To Hell

Howdy.  It's been a while.  I just purchased a new movie on Blu-Ray: Drag Me To Hell.  Drag Me To Hell stars Alison Lohman, Justin Long and Lorna Raver.  The plot of the movie is as follows:  Alison Lohman is a bank employee that hands out loans to people who need them.  One day, an old gypsy woman comes in to get another extension.  The old woman's request is denied and she is humiliated after begging to get an extension.  The gypsy curses Lohman's character with the Lamia, a demon that torments its victims for three days before dragging them to hell.

Okay, so it's not the most original plot in the world.  What the movie does have going for it is Sam Raimi.  This guy knows how to really crank up the intensity in his movies.  Considering the last horror movie of his I saw was Army of Darkness(if you can call that one a horror movie).  What Drag Me To Hell also has going for it, are the performances by Alison Lohman and particular, Lorna Raver as the psychotic old gypsy.  Lorna brings a real intensity to the role.  She's vicious, but understandably so.  Alison Lohman is also very strong as her character, goes through a lot of punishment.  But unlike most horror movies, this one is tongue-in-cheek.  There's a lot of stuff in here that will make most people jump and go "Ewwwww!"  But at the same time, it's still pretty amusing.  The lengths that Lohman will go to avoid her arguably decided fate, is funny at times, even involving an anvil.  Yes, you read that right: an anvil.  The seance scene, I think is probably one of the coolest scenes in the movie.  It's very spectacular as you get to see the Lamia possess different people.

The video on this Blu-Ray disc is very exceptional.  It's extremely sharp and you can point out small details that you couldn't on standard DVD.  The sharpness of the picture certainly adds to the grossness of certain scenes, but it works.  Special features wise, there's a 33 minute Production diary featurette hosted by Justin Long.  It's very informative and there are interviews with the main cast and crew.

PG-13 movies suck.  All of them do....except this one.  Sam Raimi aimed for a PG-13 film and it works very well.  I was honestly very skeptical about Drag Me To Hell.  Now that I've seen it, I have to recommend it to Raimi fans.  And everyone in general.  It's a good movie and a good time. 

9/10

300 on Blu-Ray.

Tonight I'm reviewing Zach Snyder's 300 on Blu-Ray.  But before I get started, I'm going to let you know about the setup I'm using:  My PC.  That's right, I watch movies on my computer.  The same machine I play my games on, the same machine I surf the internet on, and the same machine on which I'm currently blogging on.  Okay, on to the review:

300 is the story of Spartan King Leonidas who takes...well....300 of his best warriors to the Hot Gates at Thermopylae.  He goes there to defend Greece against a second assault by the Persians led by the "god-king" Xerxes.  Well, anyone who has read the story knows exactly what happened. Leonidas and his soldiers fight to the death battling Xerxes' armies.  The actions of Leonidas and his men inspired Greece to unite and drive out the invaders permanently.

300 was directed by Zach Snyder, who also directed the Dawn of the Dead remake and Watchmen.  300 isn't based on the actual story.  The film was actually based on the graphic novel of the same name by Frank Miller, and as a result, has a particular style to it, that I enjoyed a great deal.  It was all filmed in front of a green screen, so the backgrounds are meant to give a sense of grandeur about Greece.   300 is not realistic.   At all.  It's too stylized with an overabundance of slow-motion, which some people may find irritating.  I didn't.  I thoroughly enjoyed watching Persian soldiers get their limbs hacked off in spectacular slow-motion.

The performances are also what helped the film, to a degree.  Gerard Butler plays King Leonidas.  David Wenham: Delios.  The beautiful Lena Headey plays Leonidas's wife, Gorgo.  Dominic West plays the slimy Theron.  The performances in a film like this I think, help drives the story.  Gerard Butler is great, as he brings a nobility and strength to the role, which helps us connect with Leonidas.

I watched 300 on Blu-ray, and I have to tell you, it's amazing.  The picture is crystal clear, even more so than standard DVD, and it has all the special features of the two-disc DVD set on one Blu-Ray disc.  I'm not going to bore people with the specifics of Blu-Ray.  Overall, I give 300 a solid 9/10.  And I recommend watching it in High-Definition.  It's much better that way.

Well....that's my first review.  It's probably not much, but I'm sure I'll get better as time goes on........I hope.

A New Blog! For movies, DVD and Blu-Ray. Reviews! YAY!

This is my blog for reviewing movies, theatrical and on DVD as well as Blu-Ray.  I'll be reviewing stuff soon.  Stay tuned.....