This Rotten Week: Predicting Jack Reacher, This is 40, And More Reviews

After weeks of skating by with one movie here, two there, the studios saw fit to dump a full on smorgasbord on us all at once. No time or words to spare. We’ve got Jack Reacher, guilt trips, manhunts, mid-life crises, and acrobats.

Note: Won’t be doing Monsters, Inc (3D) because Rotten Tomatoes combines its reviews with the original making a prediction moot. Instead, replacing it with Zero Dark Thirty in a slippery slope effort to hit on limited releases garnering a fair amount of buzz. Started this precedent with Lincoln and in time will probably regret it. All for the greater good.

Just remember, I'm not reviewing these movies, but rather predicting where they'll end up on the Tomatometer. Let's take a look at what This Rotten Week has to offer.

Jack Reacher

Having never read any Jack Reacher books, I decided to do a little research on the guy. By research I mean reading his Wikipedia page. And by guy I mean fake book character. Reacher at 6’5” 215 pounds, is a hard-around-the-edges drifter, smart as a whip, reserved in groups, level-headed, agoraphobic, and a killing machine. The choice to play this man? The 5’7’, 170 pound, clean cut, crazy-ish, serial dating/ marrying, spotlight-seeking Scientologist, who jumps on couches to profess his love for girlfriends. Yup, seems like perfect casting.

Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher might not be exactly how Jim Grant (non de plume: Lee Child) drew it up in his head. But whatever, Cruise will be Cruise and this flick looks like the kind of action-y TC vehicle we’re used to. Think a mashup of Knight & Day (53%) and the Mission Impossible‘s with a sprinkling of War of the Worlds (74%). It’s got that kind of feel. And though Tommy might do a bit more scowling in this one than his other work (and plenty of fish-tailing in his roadster, seems to happen every third frame and replaces his signature running straight ahead move), the film at least looks entertaining. If nothing else, Cruise does entertaining flicks.

Christopher McQuarrie (wrote and produced Valkyrie-61%, directed The Way of the Gun-48%) adapts the book character into something that looks like it plays on the big screen. Early reviews are positive and point to a crime thriller that has enough fun playing to Cruise’s on screen sensibilities. But I don’t see it maintaining the 70% it has now. In fact, I think we see a drop of about fifteen percent going forward. The early reviews have that good, not great, feel that can indicate an impending dip. The Rotten Watch for Jack Reacher is 55%

Source : cinemablend

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Zero Dark Thirty

The scene you may be expecting from Zero Dark Thirty comes at the very end of the nearly three-hour film, as director Kathryn Bigelow precisely recreated the raid on the house in Pakistan that led to the Navy SEAL team assassinating Osama bin Laden. It's a spectacularly tense and realistic scene, full of the same adrenaline you remember from Bigelow's Point Break and The Hurt Locker, and suffused with both films' sense of male camaraderie and macho strength.

But the two hours that come before that tell a very different story, with a woman--Jessica Chastain's Maya--at the center and a much different kind of drive that led to finding bin Laden. The 10-year manhunt, including setbacks like the 2005 London bombings and several CIA deaths, is recreated in unbelievable detail, with screenwriter Mark Boal's journalist's eye cannily setting up the major and minor players who led to that dramatic SEAL Team Six raid. And before we even meet Maya or any other agents, Bigelow bombards us with an audio recreation of 9/11, using phone calls made from inside the World Trade Center; it's a harrowing and unforgettable scene, setting up the incredible stakes for finding bin Laden, and plunging us immediately into that post-9/11 atmosphere of fear and lust for revenge.

Maya embodies both of things perfectly, though it takes a while to see it; we first meet her as a silent, shocked witness to a CIA agent (Jason Clarke) as he tortures an al-Qaeda detainee, derisively calling him "bro" and promising "If you lie to me, I will hurt you." With her delicate features and flowing red hair Maya looks out of place in the dingy torture chamber, but she knows what she's doing; when the detainee begs her for mercy, she refuses, setting the tone for her tough and unrelenting character as well as the movie's attitude toward torture. Bigelow shoots the torture scenes in grim, uncomfortable detail, but she also allows that such intense interrogation leads to a key piece of information that helps Maya hunt down bin Laden. Though Zero Dark Thirty deals with incredibly politicized topics, its only bias is toward the devoted CIA agents who were willing to do absolutely anything to find their man.

Though embedded deeply in the dirty and sometimes dull work of the CIA, from tapping phones to bribing sources and, yes, torturing them, Zero Dark Thirty's winding story dovetails occasionally with more famous history-- a brief sequence of the 2005 London bombings is unbearably tense, and protests in Pakistan surrounding U.S. drone strikes affect one character we've come to like without even knowing his name. For anyone with only a passing knowledge of modern CIA history, though, there are plenty of surprises, from the details of how we found bin Laden's hideout to a few moments of explosive violence that, to me at least, came as a complete surprise. The film moves at a methodical, professional pace as Maya conducts her investigations, but in the occasional pops of suspense Bigelow's action directing skills truly shine.

It's frankly incredible that, in the middle of such a complicated story, Zero Dark Thirty presents such a complex character in Maya, a tough woman in an impossible job who sidesteps every imaginable possible cliche. Everything about her, from the way she wears a scarf over her head when interrogating a detainee to the false smiles she gives to put powerful men at ease, speaks to her unusual position as a woman in the Middle East, but that contrast never becomes text, just another fascinating layer in a story with no simple conclusions. Not all of the characters around her are equally as complex-- Chris Pratt, Harold Perrineau and Joel Edgerton are just a few of the big names who are gone as soon as they arrive-- but Jennifer Ehle, Kyle Chandler, James Gandolfini and especially Clarke all make their impact, though all somewhat overshadowed by the powerhouse that is Chastian. Like the woman at its center, Zero Dark Thirty exudes a constant, quiet confidence, telling a story with an ending we all know and making it feel thrilling, suspenseful, and completely vital.

Source : cinemablend

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Rise of the Guardians

Rise of the Guardians
Production year: 2012
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Chris Pine , Isla Fisher, Jude Law

Just to confirm that the noughties' golden age of animation is behind us, here's a bland, underpowered, humourless feature from DreamWorks. Rise of the Guardians is about an Avengers-style grouping of all the mythic heroes in your childish imagination: there's Santa Claus, voiced with a Russian accent by Alec Baldwin; the Easter Bunny (Hugh Jackman); the Tooth Fairy (Isla Fisher); and the silent Sandman, and they are all subordinate to the Man in the Moon. The story insists so fiercely on the moral superiority of saucer-eyed, childlike belief in these figures, that the film could be a massive satirical hoax by Richard Dawkins. Anyway, they're taking on an evil bogeyman with a prissy Brit accent named Pitch Black (Jude Law), who's attempting to poison kiddies' dreams. Unfortunately, he is often addressed simply as "Pitch!" I expected lines like: "You! Pitch!" and "Oh Pitch, please." To help combat this evil-doer, the Guardians try to recruit a new warrior, supercool teen badboy Jack Frost (Chris Pine). Jack is revealed to have a tragic, premythic, human existence that gives meaning to his heroic destiny: it's the film's one flicker of interest. Compare this moderate entertainment to, say, Monsters, Inc., and it really looks feeble.

Source : guardian

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Movie Review: "The Hobbit"

By Stupid Celebrities, Mon, December 10, 2012
‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey‘ is a prequel to ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy and the latest movie reviewed by Stupid Celebrities. Peter Jackson returns as the director. It starts off really slow and a tad on the boring side. You’re going to have to fight to stay awake for the first quarter of the film! I had to nudge my tween niece to wake her up! Needless to say, it’s more for adults than tweens and teens. But a tween falling asleep speaks volumes about the pace of ‘The Hobbit.’

I saw it in both High Frame Rate 3D and plain old 2D. I’ve read reports where some people suffered nausea from the 3D version. I was fine. But I warned you! This film is best in the 3D format. High Frame Rate 3D felt even more real than the usual 3D.

The highly anticipated film follows the adventures of Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) and a group of Dwarves led by Gandalf the Grey (Ian McKellen.) They embark on a journey to recapture the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from a dragon. On their trek to the Lonely Mountain, they have to fight off Goblins, Orcs and Wargs. Oh, and the oddly loveable Gollum makes a special appearance. Bilbo’s encounter with Gollum resulted in a glimpse of the “precious ring,” which gave Bilbo some sort of special power once he wore it. The beautiful elves were also back in the picture. Sorry, Orlando Bloom was not a part of this film. I know, I was sad, too. I loved his role as Legolas in ‘The Lord of the Rings!’ So dreamy!

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ is definitely a setup for the next two films. This certainly wasn’t as exciting as ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Trilogy. It didn’t quite live up to that. I was slightly disappointed. But I was much happier after meeting the director Peter Jackson! Check out the photo! I apologize for the poor quality. I didn’t expect to snap a photo with him!



Mr. Peter Jackson and Me

He was such a nice guy! I thought he did an extraordinary job with ‘The Lord of the Rings!’ I can’t wait to see what he has up his sleeves for the rest of ‘The Hobbit’ trilogy! He did a great job with directing this film but the story itself was a bit harder to sit through.

‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’ begins December 14 followed by ‘The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug‘ in December 13, 2013. And finally, ‘The Hobbit: There and Back Again’ expected in July 18, 2014.


Source : opposingviews

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‘Silent Hill: Revelation 3D’ Review

Director Michael J. Bassett has stepped into the terrifying world of video game-turned-movie franchise Silent Hill with his latest film, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D - a follow-up to Christophe Gans’ 2006 movie about the titular (and twisted) town. For a long time, video game adaptations have delivered underwhelming big screen experiences (and equally unimpressive box office returns), as directors (most famously Uwe Boll) pilfered one well-known gaming property after another (Alone in the Dark, BloodRayne, House of the Dead).

Many of these films were bizarrely selective in implementing the source material (see Doom‘s FPS sequence); however, as video games become more cinematic in presentation (and attempt to tell more emotionally impactful stories), the lines between big screen entertainment and interactive entertainment are beginning to blur. When it comes to distorting reality, Silent Hill is a perfect fit, but has Bassett successfully blurred the lines between movie and game – delivering a film that provides a great (and terrifying) Silent Hill experience with creepy monsters and an impactful story for non-gamers?

Unfortunately, Silent Hill: Revelation 3D is a mixed bag of creepy and downright captivating visual set-pieces coupled with melodramatic dialogue and an overly-complicated storyline. For every interesting creature moment that Bassett presents, there’s one or two lengthy scenes of convoluted and campy exposition that, instead of heightening the tension, deliver eye-rolling exchanges and provide unintentional laughs. The result? A movie that is easy to recommend to fans of the game (Bassett nails a diverse mix of creature encounters) but fails to hit the necessary benchmarks for non-gamer mass appeal.




Kit Harington and Adelaide Clemens in ‘Silent Hill: Revelation 3D’

While there are numerous ties to the 2006 Silent Hill in Revelation, the film starts with Heather Mason (played by Adelaide Clemens) – the guarded “new girl” in town. Game fans will remember Heather as the lead character in Silent Hill 3, and a lot of the same story elements are explored in the movie adaptation. However, instead of traveling to Silent Hill on a quest to avenge the death of her father, Revelation deals much more directly with Heather’s origins: on her eighteenth birthday, she is forced to confront her mysterious past. Heather’s search for answers leads to the Silent Hill Otherworld where she, along with friend Vincent (Kit Harington) come face to face with cult leader Claudia Wolf (Carrie-Anne Moss), and a laundry list of twisted monsters – including iconic series antagonist, Pyramid Head. In order to survive the warped Silent Hill nightmarescape, Heather must learn the truth about her life and put an end to a ruthless “darkness.”

Instead of enhancing the Silent Hill 3 plot with dynamic character moments and a fully-formed mythology, the plot relies heavily on a MacGuffin chase that throws Heather into one iconic creature face-off after another. Fortunately, a number of these encounters are downright chilling and provide smart tension plus fascinating (albeit disgusting) visual spectacle – especially in 3D. Bassett absolutely nails the Silent Hill horrors with a diverse batch of memorable sequences (most notably the “Dark Nurse” scene) that deliver truly unique scares for gamers and non-gamers alike.

That said, without an engaging context, the film is nothing more than a disorganized monster closet. For some, warped creature sequences and compelling visuals may be satisfying enough, but for anyone who expects proficient storytelling with their scares, the Silent Hill: Revelation narrative is a mess of cliches as well as uninspired twists that fail to deliver interesting character drama or captivating world building. While flat characters are forgivable in horror films (if the frights are good) Revelation spends entirely too much time educating viewers about the Otherworld, franchise folklore, as well as explaining where this story connects to the prior film. These expository scenes cause the movie to lose any momentum created by the intriguing creature set-pieces and few of these “explain the plot to me” dialogue exchanges actually payoff. While the filmmakers might have enjoyed winking at larger Silent Hill mythology questions throughout the film, for the purpose of Heather’s story, very little of that information comes full circle and ends up confusing the story instead of enhancing it.




The ‘Silent Hill: Revelation 3D’ Dark Nurses

Remember, this is the second installment in the film series. Admittedly, the six years between Silent Hill and Revelation has likely left many moviegoers fuzzy on canon details, but the Silent Hill games have succeeded as a sandbox of mysteries told through focused character-driven story experiences. There’s no reason to think a similar approach wouldn’t work for the films. Unfortunately, Heather and Vincent are saddled with so much exposition that Revelation undermines any interesting developments as well as otherwise competent performances from Clemens and Harington, respectively. Similarly, the supporting cast – which includes Sean Bean and Malcolm McDowell – has little to do but spout platitudes about love and sacrifice.

Given that the success of the film rests heavily on visual spectacle, it’s easy to recommend seeing Silent Hill: Revelation in 3D. Despite a number of cheesy “in your face” shots, where blades fly out of the screen, Bassett crafts several surprisingly beautiful 3D moments. Revelation isn’t the most artistic use of the format that viewers will see all year, but there are sharp visual sequences – both subtle and over-the-top – that are absolutely enhanced by increased depth-of-field. Whether or not these enhanced visuals are worth the premium charge will come down to how excited an individual is for the film in the first place. The 3D in Revelation doesn’t make or break the experience, but should compliment some of the better sequences – for anyone willing to drop the extra cash.

Silent Hill: Revelation fails to elevate any element of the franchise through screen adaptation – in that none of the characters, mythos, or over-arching storyline are made better (or more interesting). Instead, the film succeeds only as a good game-to-movie translation – successfully bringing a number of iconic creature encounters into live-action. As mentioned, fans of the game installments will likely enjoy seeing Bassett’s visual set-pieces, but most viewers who can’t appreciate the director’s careful recreation of the Silent Hill horrors will likely be left underwhelmed by cliche character interactions and a convoluted plot.

Source : screenrant

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'Wuthering Heights' Review

A Drama Ahead of Its Time

When Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights was first published in 1847, under the name of Ellis Bell, it received mixed reviews. Although some critics saw the potential evident in the cyclical plot and other literary devices, many others were shocked and dismayed by the unashamedly dark storyline.
To be sure, Wuthering Heights was a very different book than what was generally considered acceptable during that era. In direct contrast to Emily Bronte's novel, Susannah Rowson's Charlotte Temple (1828) tells the story of a young lady who permits her beau to steal her away in the middle of the night. Predictably, he impregnates her and then abandons her, after which she dies of a broken heart. As was common in novels of the era, Charlotte Temple used a fictional story to instruct its readers--primarily young ladies--in what was expected of them.

In Wuthering Heights, one of the main female characters dies of what could also be considered a broken heart, but the effect is a very different one from that of Charlotte Temple. Instead of presenting an overly sentimental worst-case scenario meant to frighten its readers onto the straight-and-narrow, Wuthering Heights seduces its readers with its dark passion and misguided characters. Both Heathcliff and Catherine are flawed characters, but their flaws intrigue the reader just as surely as they repel. If there is any lesson to be learned in Catherine's death, it is the folly of denying your heart's greatest passion--a mistake completely at odds with the cause of Charlotte Temple's downfall.

Controversy & Obscurity: Wuthering Heights 

Due to the novel's tumultuous passion, the book received a mixture of responses. Eventually, those who were scandalized by the book's inappropriateness won out, and Emily Bronte's only novel was buried in literary obscurity. Decades later, when Wuthering Heights was revived by the interest of modern scholars, the unique literary devices used in the work began to earn more attention than its soap opera-like tale of obsession and loss.

Although the second part of the novel--the part that chiefly concerns Catherine and Heathcliff's respective children--is frequently overlooked in retellings and screen adaptations, many contemporary critics believe it holds the key to Emily Bronte’s real literary genius. The first generation of children--Catherine, her brother Hindley, and the gypsy child Heathcliff--had led miserable lives, and both Catherine and Hindley died young as payment for their misguided passions. As a result of Heathcliff's scheming prior to Hindley's death, he has inherited the Earnshaw home, as well as the care of Hindley's son, Hareton. After the death of Heathcliff's estranged wife--Catherine’s husband’s sister, his own son, Linton, comes to live with him as well, setting in motion his final push for revenge.

Generations: Wuthering Heights

The highlight of the second part of the book is when Heathcliff effectively kidnaps Catherine's daughter, who is called Cathy. With the three children now all under one roof, the latter half of the book parallels the beginning, when Catherine, Hindley, and Heathcliff were all children together in the same house. However, whether by a twist of fate or Heathcliff's mistreatment of the boy, Hareton's demeanor and place in the household resembles Healthcliff's childhood persona more than that of his own father, while Linton is so weak and sickly that he is the perfect opposite of Heathcliff.

Despite the clear similarities to the old rivalries, though, the children begin to converge, rather than to follow in the footsteps of their parents. Maddened by a desire for revenge, Heathcliff attempts to play them against one another, forcing Cathy to marry Linton so that he may inherit the neighboring property that belongs to his rival, Catherine's widower. Linton dies soon after. After Heathcliff's own death, the tale comes full circle: the estates return to their rightful heirs, Hareton and the younger Cathy fall in love, and Heathcliff’s legacy of revenge disappears almost without a trace.
Despite its early reception, the combination of unbridled passion and a complex storytelling form makes Wuthering Heights a favorite in many modern literary circles. The darkness of the story and the lack of accompanying moral teachings shocked many of its contemporaries, while the intricacies of the cyclical plot--the destruction and ultimate reunification of the families--were overlooked until recent decades. A novel that combines masterful literary devices with all of the scandals of a soap opera, Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights was a drama far ahead of its time.

Source : classiclit.about.com

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Review: Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

After four years and five movies, it’s finally time to say goodbye to Bella, The Cullens, and teenage boys that turn into werewolves. As if the film wasn’t going to get enough attention, director Bill Condon took on the task of shooting the final installment – Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Previously on Bella wants to be a Vampire……

Bella and her 107 year old vampire boyfriend got married and he immediately gave her a vampire baby. Bella struggled to stay alive with the baby growing fast inside her belly Prometheus style. When it looked like Bella wouldn’t survive the child birth, Edward turned her into a vampire to save her and the baby’s life.

Breaking Dawn Pat 2 opens with Bella (Kristen Stewart) discovering her new found powers and adjusting to eternal life (no more alarm clocks) while learning to control her “thirst” aka wanting to feed on humans. Bella also learns her ex beau Jacob (Taylor Lautner) “imprinted” on her newborn baby Renesmee. Wait. He did what? There’s no way to explain “imprinting” without making it sound creepy, but Jacob does a great job of explaining to Bella that it’s a werewolf thing and he can’t stop himself from being around her. Still sounds creepy to me.

The happy family of four is disrupted when one of Edward’s cousins (Irina played by Maggie Grace) spots the vampire child. The Volturi are informed Renesmee is an immortal baby and seek to destroy her and anyone who stands in their way. The Cullens call friends and family, near and far as witness that Renesmee is not immortal and was born while Bella was still human. How did they inform them of her innocence I’m glad you asked, it was an unintentionally funny montage of Renesmee touching people’s face followed by them staring off into the distance like they’ve seen the Promise Land.

This leads to the big showdown: The Volturi vs. The Cullens, Wolf pack, and a ragtag group of vampires.

It’s easy to compare Breaking Dawn Part 2 to the previous Twilight films. The films carry a lot of the same elements- Charlie (Billy Burke) is still a cop who can’t figure out his daughter has been dating a vampire this whole time.  Jacob had to take his shirt off. Edward talks without opening his mouth. Bella stares at the ground 80% of the time. And Bella and Edward swap sappy love quips to each other.

Even amongst the hilariously bad acting, Breaking Dawn Part 2 delivers the series best action sequence during the final battle. For a PG-13 movie, the battle includes more decapitations than a season of The Walking Dead and vampires with X-Men mutant abilities. It was like watching a Goth version of The Uncanny X-Men. Can vampires even do that? This Twilight series has strayed so far from vampire lore it’s ridiculous. I’m sure Dracula is rolling over in his grave right now.

The silver lining to the ridiculous sequence was an awesomely evil Dakota Fanning killing people with her death stare and Volturi leader Aro played by Michael Sheen. Not enough can be said about how awesome Sheen is during the film’s final 20 minutes.  At times, it’s like he’s the only one who knows they’re getting paid to act.

Breaking Dawn Part 2 is far from perfect, but easily the best film of the series. Condon & Co. did a great job of hiding some of the films faults and giving the audiences something to cheer for after all these years.

The same reason people love the series will be the reasons why they’ll absolutely love the film.

Source : SETTLE PI

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E.T the Extra Terrestrial Movie

Welcome to USA Likes.This is more people like Film.I like intoduce this movie to you.becuase I 'll give latest productions.OK this is second Movie in this blog.now you can get more informations and Download E.T the Extra Terrestrial Movie.

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Red Dawn Movie

Welcome people...Today also I give you very advanced movie.This is first post of movie production in this blog.I said you that,I wiil give latest Films or movie productions.then you can read this post about Red Dawn Movie.....!

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