Inception Review

Every so often there comes a movie so smart and so incredibly thought-provoking that you think about it weeks after you've seen the film. Usually these movies are lost in the shuffle with remakes, sequels, and movies based on something else. These smart films never make it as big as mediocre movies like Transformers (dare I even call it a movie?), and its a real shame. Movies are made to tell a story, not show off how a computer can make some realistic looking explosions. What makes Inception so great is that it tells an incredibly intricate story while delivering exciting visuals and action to keep our brains from completely exploding.

Inception is a completely original idea, not a sequel or anything, and Christopher Nolan (director and writer) has been working on this for 10 years. And now after seeing this masterpiece, I understand why. The story is so complicated that it is impossible to understand everything happened, why it happened, and how it happened, with only one viewing of the movie. The awesome thing about Inception is that you can watch it again and again and get something new every time. I mean, they go inside someone's dream, and in that dream they go into another dream, and in that dream they go into another dream, and finally, well, I won't spoil it.

The amazing thing is how Nolan crafts his storytelling. If anyone else made this movie, it wouldn't make any sense and it would be too confusing to appreciate. Somehow, Nolan had the audience in mind as he created this story, but at the same time let his story have no bounds. There will be no one who can tell what happened at the end, except for Christopher Nolan himself, who is the only person who fully understands it.

The visuals are also stunning, even more after I found out that nearly no CGI was used (hotel scene, exploding tables at the outdoor restaurant, that was all real). I even read that the actors actually had to sleep during the epic car chase scene! But seeing the hotel room changing gravity as two actors battle is an unforgettable sight, and that has to be one of my favorite action sequences of all time.

If you've seen any of Nolan's movies before, you probably noticed that they dont really have much heart, and while the stories are always well told, you dont always care about characters that you were intended to care for. Nolan knew this was his weakness while writing the script, and with the help of Leo DeCaprio, created a backstory that really does give the character personality. You actually really care for every character in the movie, and many scenes are extremely sad (but like I said, no spoilers!).

If you are debating whether to see this movie, then here it goes. If you have no brain and just like special effects, go sit on your couch, eat some potato chips, and watch Transformers 2. If you are a person that actually does have a brain, and perhaps maybe even uses it, then Inception is THE best movie ever made. There, I said it. Nolan has topped his Dark Knight masterpiece and created the most astounding visual and cerebral experience the movie industry has ever seen. You honsestly cant watch any movie the same way after seeing Inception. Because of this, I am awarding Inception with my first ever A+. If you dont see this movie, well, I hope bad things happen to you. Just kidding! No really, I'm serious.

A+

Toy Story 3 Review

Anyone who grew up with Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the crew have been eagerly awaiting the sequel to our favorite childhood movie. All the voice actors returned, and everything is just like how it used to be. But is the 3rd film in the series enough for Toy Story fans, or is it dissapointing to the fans?

The story of Toy Story (thats a lot stories!) has Andy going to college, which ultimately has the toys going to a what seems like a toy's heaven, but of course its not what it seems. There aren't too many twists, but was anyone really expecting any? Actually, towards the end I heard some people crying (not me of course), but I'm not gunna spoil that. The film ends bittersweet, but it is completely satisfying (there's no Toy Story 4, is there?)

The voice acting is as good as ever, with all the same cast as the original. Looking back on the old ones and seeing this new one, CG animation has improved since then but not a whole lot. I guess thats what happens when something is revolutionary.

So the story's good, the visuals are good, whats a negative of this movie? Well, besides the slightly sad ending, the only thing that I disliked was the omission of Emperor Zurg, who was my favorite character growing up. But I guess the Ken doll makes up for that.

While Toy Story 3 certainly didn't exceed my expectations one thing is for sure: Pixar is the king of animated movies, and everything they make is genius. The third Toy Story film is no exception, and if you liked the originals, you cannot miss this.

A-

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time Movie Review

Mostly anyone who knows me knows I am a huge Prince of Persia fan, and if you ask me any question about the series, I'll know it. That why i was looking forward to and dreading the film based on the first game of the PS2 trilogy.

The thing is, it really isn't based on the games. While it has the same title, there is virtually nothing the same as the PS2 game its based on. Heck, they didn't even keep the same names (besides King Sharaman)! The only thing similar is the dagger of time, but even that is different from the game.

So needless to say, I was disappointed. I thought the plot of the game could easily have been made into a feature film, if not the whole trilogy. But instead of doing a comparison to the game, I decided to review the movie as its own. The hard part about that is that this movie is compared to so many things (Pirates of the Caribbean, the game of course), so forgetting that, here's my REAL review.

Prince of Persia follows Prince Dastan, the adopted child of the King of Persia. The prince has never been good at following orders, and often goes against the plan. This is where Prince of Persia becomes formula. The Prince gets framed, goes on a journey with a princess to prove his innocents, becomes the hero, etc. There isn't anything here that hasn't been done before, unlike the game, which was revolutionary at its time.

But, like most summer blockbusters, your here for the visuals. This is the redeeming factor of Prince of Persia. Every action sequence, especially the finale, is absolutely incredible. This is one of the few similarities of the game, with amazing visuals throughout.

So while the story isn't original, but the visuals are amazing, Prince of Persia fits in with the average summer flick. While it isn't a memorable experience, and it certainly is disappointing seeing its potential, Prince of Persia accomplishes what a summer movie usually does: createsa visually exciting experience that will soon be forgotten once the next summer movie comes out.

B-

The Burger--An epic masterpiece

The first movie from MBJ Productions and Skyler Olson Films made together, the Burger is an epic tale of romance, passion, and love. For burgers. Manual Huffstutter and Gastan Kupferberg (yes, those are real names) have an epic conflict for the burger of a lifetime. Blood, blood, and blood only add to the fact that this movie is entirely kid friendly and will bring the whole family together. Watch the award winning (by us) masterpiece known only as-- The Burger.

Prince of Persia Review Marathon

Over the next few days, look for these reviews:

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time (film)

Prince of Persia: Two Thrones (PS2, Mac, PC)

Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands (PS3)

Prince of Persia: Warrior Within PS2/iPhone/iPod Touch Review

Graphics: Darker theme than most other PoP games allow for some top notch dark visual design. iPod Touch version is lower resolution and fairly blocky, but still the art style is great. 9/10

Story: Decent story, but this time around the prince is a jerk and we dont care about him much. Still, a great lead in for two thrones. 8.5/10

Sound: PS2 version had awful hard rock heavy metal music, but thats been replaced by decent adventure music in iDevice version. Voice acting is mostly alright, nothing that great hear though. 7/10

Gameplay: The platforming and and puzzles in this is some of the best of any PoP. This has an "upgraded" combat system. The big thing here is the dual-wielding, allowing for some customization. You can use weapons left behind from enemies to either combine it with your sword to create some cool combos, are you can just throw your secondary weapon at an enemy. 10/10

Overall: 8.6/10 The darker theme adds to the experience of the platforming and action, causing for an extremely fun game.

Alice in Wonderland Movie Review

I have to be honest-- I never watched the original Alice in Wonderland when I was a kid. I always thought it was too "girly". And I probably would have been the same way this time if it weren't a Johnny Depp/Tim Burton project. Anything Tim Burton directs is astonishing, and any character Depp plays brings the viewer into the movie like no other actor. Thats why I picked up this movie, not for any childhood memory crap or whatever.

Anyway, the story shows Alice, now 19 years old, and the actor was perfect for the role. In the movie, Alice is about to be married to a man she doesn't love (how cliche is that??). She then sees a small rabbit that no one else seems to notice she the follows it to a hole, falls in, and boom, shes in wonderland.

This storyline wouldn't interest me in the slightest if it weren't for the characters in this movie. Like I said before, Depp can play anything, even if the role is as mad as a hatter. You pretty much fall in love with each characters, like the twins, the floating cay, the smoking caterpillar, etc. No exciting plot twists or any really that unpredictable, but its not terrible.

The thing about Burton films is always the visuals, and I'm telling you, this film has some of the best visuals ever seen in a motion picture. Its like an artist came in, and painted a beautiful picture, and somehow brought it to life. The first time Alice enters wonderlands is a contender for top visuals of the year.

So while light on story, Alice in Wonderland exceeds at being an excellent visual treat that anyone can enjoy. Just dont expect it to be up to Nightmare before Christmas or Corpse Bride standards.

B

What's really going on with Fated

Over the past week a lot has been going on with Fated. First, I said I was going to finish it in Utah. Then I said that I was canceling it altogether, but now I have some good news for Fated fans. I am shortening the story a little bit into a trilogy. When all 3 episodes are finished, I am combining all 3 episodes into one movie, and making a DVD release with an alternate ending. Also, I'm entering the movie into the Reel Teens Movie Contest in new York. So, will Fated be an award winning movie? I guess we'll find out!

If that didn't make any sense to you, here's Larry King and Sarah Palin clearing everything up:

Important News Concerning Fated and my upcoming projects

Since you all know I'm moving to Utah, the second episode of Fated cannot have the actor Andrew Johnson, so instead I'm considering the first episode a prequel to the upcoming movie. Its been renamed "Fated Origins". Also, I have had some complaints about some lines being too hard to hear, so subtitles are being added immediately. I might actually hold off a while on because of my new sci-fi action thriller project, "On the Run". More details about my next film will be released soon, but I'm telling you, this is gunna be one of my best films yet.

Iron Man 2 Review

Iron Man 1 was a huge success, critically and with the box office. It was a no-brainer to create a sequel. The only question is, is there any possible way to make it better than the first one?

This time around we have a new villain. Mickey Rourke, who plays the character/villain Whiplash, does an excellent job at playing the evil russian. His greatest scene was when he sliced Tony's car in half, but I'll get to that later. RBJ as always preforms top notch. An interesting plot element added to Iron Man 2 was actually Tony growing as a character. Yeah. you never thought you'd hear me say that! Tony Stark is still the rich billionaire hotshot at the end of the first film, but this time its a lot more personal when he learns about his dad's involvement with S.H.I.E.L.D.

Tony's dad, while only seen in video recordings from 1974 that Tony finds, plays a huge role in Tony's character. He grew up all his life thinking his dad hated him, but he learns thats not true when he finds hidden secrets about a new type of element within a Stark Expo scale model. This leads to Tony getting a new triangle heart, but thats all I'm gunna say about that.

Another role that Tony's dad plays in the plot is (like I said) S.H.I.E.L.D. As you've probabaly heard, theres a bunch of upcoming Marevl movies coming up:

Thor: 2011 (stay after the credits at Iron Man 2 to see a secret scene relating to "Thor")

Captain America: 2011 (Cap's shield is in a small scene in Iron Man 2, but I'll leave that up to you look for)

The Avengers: 2012 (Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, and Thor are to be the main characters of this movie)

Iron Man 2 is a great lead-in for these movies, mainly because of the subtle references to each of the heroes. It making this Marvel project seem a whole lot more real. Anyway, the point is, Tony's dad has an important part in Tony's growing of character, but also a big part in Marvel's big picture.

With all that said about the Avangers films, that wouldn't mean anything unless the movie was actually good. The thing about Iron Man (1 & 2) is that it a super hero movie done right. No one could really ask for more. Its got the action for the teenaged guys like me, its got the romance for the girls (maybe some guys like that kinda stuff, not me of course), and overall it is just plain fun to watch. Iron Man 2, while not as good as the first movie, is an excellent start to this years summer movies, and I am ANXIUOSLY awaiting Marvel's next movies (except the Spider-Man reboot, cause come on, who actually think that will be good?).

A-

Smallville Season Finale Trailer

By the way, my Iron Man 2 review will be up tomorrow asap.

Sherlock Holmes Film Review

Over the past few years, Robert Downey Jr. has earned his place on my top my favorite actors. He plays the smart, but just a little to crazy character he is always likeable. He showed his great acting in Iron Man, and he shows it in Sherlock Holmes, too.

Serlock Holmes is about, well, you know who he is. But this time around, instead of being just a sleuth, he's also an action hero. Kinda hard to get used to at first, but it ends up being a perfect blend of action and smart humor.

The special effects are great in this film. The action scenes are near perfect. There wasn't a single part where I was thinking, "Hey, James Cameron could do it better". The bleached lightning effects add to the eerie puzzling plot that make the movie's cinematography outstanding. In English, the movie's style is very artistic.

The plot is very thought out and very fun to watch what happens next. It kinda reminds me of if Scooby Doo and The Prestige (thanks uncle Cameron for recommending that movie) combined into on plot line. This provides fun, edge-of-your seat suspense that never slows down.

Like I said, RBJ is great as he always his with acting. His partner (name slips me) is also funny and well-played. There isn't anything groundbreaking here, but it certainly is enjoyable. The villain is also a good actor, and he seems pretty scary.

An unexpected pleasant surprise was the amazingly composed music. Hans Zimmer does a great job, with odd and quirky yet just plain awesome music that fits Downey's personality incredibly well.

With all that said, that doesn't mean there isn't drawbacks. The first, maybe 15 or so, minutes of the film drag on a bit too long, with not much progression in the story, but it starts to pick up after that. Other than that, there really isn't any flaws with the film.

Overall, this is a great action flick. Its smart when it needs to be, action packed when it needs to be, and just outright hilarious when it needs to be. The film will be a fun Friday night for anyone looking for some smart action packed humor.

Most Anticipated Games for May 2010

Video Games | Lost Planet 2 | Preview

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

Video Games | Prince of Persia: TFS | Preview

XBox 360 | Playstation 3 | Nintendo Wii

2 different Lost Planet 2 demos are out now, I would suggest trying both of them, they are completely amazing (Especially 4 player co-op)

Ghost Rider Extended Cut Blu-Ray Review

I never saw this when it came out in theaters or even on DVD, for reasons I honestly don't know. I decided to get this on Blu-Ray from Netflix when I heard they are making a sequel. Here's what I thought.

Marvel has proved that comic book movies can be great blockbuster films, with the Spider-Man trilogy and the recent Iron Man series. I had never heard of Ghost Rider since the movie came out, but from what I've read, there seems to be a big fan base for the character. I just think it's odd that Ghost Rider gets a movie instead of better known Marvel heroes like Captain America (its a good thing Cap is getting his own movie next year).

Anyway, I'll start with the acting. It's outright atrocious. Remember when I made fun of Nick Cage in Knowing when he drops to his feet when his child gets taken away by the aliens? Well, when he turns into the flaming skeleton, its even worse. It almost looks like he's having a seizure, and if I was the director, I would have called an ambulance. The girl thats in it (don't know her name, she's from Will Smith's Hitch, though) does a pretty bad job as well, making a lot of the scenes painfully awkward when Ghost Rider tries to implicate a love story into it. But by far the worst is the actor for the villain, Blackheart. They couldn't have picked a worse actor for the antagonist. They basically picked a really nerdy guy that makes you want to laugh instead of scared. His cheesy one-liners make it all the worse, and I found myself actually lauging out loud when he said something like "You'll pay for this!". The acting in this film brings it down a lot.

I think the plot is alright. Its the standard cheesy comic book story that I think a lot of fans would appreciate, but regular film reviewers frown upon. Theres nothing incredibly exciting here, with not too many plot twists or surprises, but us comic book movie fans are used to that and we except the fact that we're here to watch the cool stunts and effects, and this is where Ghost Rider really shines.

Considering this is 3 years old, the effects are pretty good. If this movie came out today, I might compare it to Avatar and say that special effects are backtracking, but for its time its pretty cool. I really like how the character himself was done, and man, that bike was flippin sweet. My favorite part of the whole film is when Ghost Rider jumps right off the building, and we get an awesome slo-mo sequence. But the visuals of Ghost Rider can't save it entirely.

So overall, Ghost Rider isn't anything that special. Its acting is terrible, but the light plot that doesn't take itself too seriously and the fun visuals make Ghost Rider a decent movie, but not one you will be watching over and over again. I would not recceomend the Extended Cut, as the movie seemed to drag on a little to much, especially in the last scene. I will be looking forward for the sequel, but I don't think there's anyone who will be counting the days until the release date. Ghost Rider is decent, and if your in the mood for some cheesy comic book action, this wouldn't be a terrible choice.

C+

SMALLVILLE TRAILER

Smallville 9-18 "Upgrade" Review

Since I haven't had much to review lately, I decided to do TV show reviews BY EPISODE, and fpr the season finale review (well, instead of it) I'll do an entire season review (sorta like tv.ign.com). So here goes my review for last week's Smallville episode.

After those 3 or 4 episodes after "Absolute Justice", I had lost all the hope I had for Smallville Season 9 that i had for the first half pf the season. I mean come on, Pink Kryoptonite? Sometimes I wish the WB still had the rights, not the CW. Anyway, 9-17 "Checkmate" Got me a little more excited about this season's finale, and for this episode (9-18), I finally realized that season 9 can redeem itself, though it hasn't yet (I'm still trying to get over that Valentines Day one, and then the horrible Silver Banshee...never mind, I'm just going to continue with my review).

Upgrade brings the return of one of my favorite Smallville villains from one of my favorite Smallville episodes, Metallo. It also brings one of my least favorite season 2 storyline of Red Kryptonite. I absolutely hated that season 2 to season 3 transition where Clark is evil and leaves to metropolis. The writers actually integrated the Red Kryptonite into the Zod story arc this time, so it actually makes sense. I never thought I'd say this, but Red Kryptonite does actually work in this episode.

Of course, this also means Clark and Zod go to Seattle and make it snow.

Zod takes advantage of Clark's new attitude and uses him as an ally against Metallo, who turns out to be good this episode. Due to Smallville budget (I hate that stupid budget that keeps cool stuff from happening), the fight scene wasn't as epic as I would of hoped (kind of reminded me of Doomsday's "death"). Still, we got some memorable moments from Metallo, and I hope he comes back to Smallville Season 10.

I was hoping for a bigger twist at the end of the episode, but I did like how Zod was giving all the Kandorians powers. This is getting me really excited for the season 9 finale. (see major spoiler here)

This season could be my best if they do the season finale right. Right now, I still need some episodes like season 8's "Bride" to get over those awful mid-season episodes.

Clash of the Titans

Its been a while since I wrote a review, but after seeing Clash of the Titans and having a lot to say about it reminded me (plus McKay told me that his friends were asking for new posts, so what can I say? lol).

Clash of the Titans is based of the 1980's film of the same name (and I don't know if that was based on anything or what). It's about the son of Zeus, who has to stop the Kraken (giant monster thing) by chopping off Medusa's head and making the Kraken look at it. To get this out of the way now, Clash of the Titans has a silly and simple plot, and there were no twists or turns to write about. You can't expect to walk into this movie and expect a deep, convoluted story with gripping characters, exciting edge-of-your-seat suspense, and to leave the theater feeling wowed and begging for a sequel. This is a popcorn flick, not an Oscar award winner.

Now the question your asking right now is-- "Is it worth my time?" The simple answer is yes. The long answer is as follows:

Sam Worthington, the main guy from Avatar and the side character on Terminator Salvation, doesn't give any surprises or anything mentionable, but he does what he's expected of, and at the same time I think he enjoyed his part in the movie. The other actor that isn't terrible is Liam Neeson, who also gives his average role. All the other actors on the other hand aren't so great. I mean, its not like Megan Fox bad acting, but its definitely not up to Liam Neeson's standards either. But like I said, this movie isnt about any of that stuff.

What the movie is about is the action and visuals, and of course, the dreaded 3D. If you saw Avatar in 3D, you were probably thinking "3D in movie theaters is actually starting to look good." When you see this movie, you remember how bad it used to be before James Cameron took it to the next level.

The visuals are great. The Kraken is amazing looking, and the scorpions look cool, too. Medusa looks like Dreamworks animation, but I won't go there. (mostly) Everything in this movie looks top-notch, and that what you really gotta see Clash of the Titans for.

Clash of the Titans is not the next Lord of the Rings or anything, but its fun an enjoyable. Watching the Kraken in the last scene is enough for anyone who likes awesome special effects to see it. So bring your friends, get some popcorn, and enjoy a movie that wont amaze you, but you will have a good time. See it for fun, and nothing else.

B+

Surrogates Review

Its been a while since I've given a review, so here goes nothing...

Bruce Willis is super old (well, if you think 55 is old). So thinking about him still being an action star seems a little odd, but I'll tell you now, he's still awesome.

Surrogates has an interesting concept -- In the future, people don't need leave there houses, because of robots that look like humans that can be controlled by the brain. In the time the movie is set in, most of the world use Surrogates almost completely (Except they can't go to the bathroom for you!). The story is fairly well-written with some plot twists thrown in there. My only complaints with the story are first, its extremely short, and second, we as the audience don't care about any other character besides Bruce Willis.

The acting is pretty good for the most part. But the best part about Surrogates is the extreme action scenes. I don't know how a fifty-year-old man can jump out of an exploding helicopter, survive a huge truck crashing into there little sports car, and save the world from the evil Surrogate killers.

So all things considered, Surrogates is not a bad movie at all. Its not the science fiction conspiracy thriller everyone has hoped for, but it is an entertaining thrill-ride with a cool concept and some great action scenes.

B

Absolute Justice Trailer

I cannot wait, here is the trailer that was shown after the episode "Disciple" yesterday (this isn't one that I made:

Smallville Absolute Justice Trailer (that I edited)

I made my own trailer (top one) because I hated the music in the original. But I posted the original one, too (bottom one).

24 Season 8 Premiere today, as well as Human Target series premiere

Bloodsnake Trailer HD

Not loading? Try the SD version here.

SMALLVILLE MOVIE POSTER! PLUS 24 SEASON 8 POSTER!

Happy New Year Top 5's

MOVIES:

1. Dark Knight Not only the best super hero movies out there, it is one of the best movies out there period. Awesome action and a great story may be a big part of the films success, but the best part about it is Heath Ledger acting role as the Joker.

2. Avatar James Cameron's newest epic adventure is worth the 15 year wait. The story is great, with a memorable message, but the visuals in this are incredible.

3. I Am Legend Will Smith's second best performance (his best would be Pursuit of Happiness). Although the infected humans are obviously completely computer animated, the story is fantastic.

4. Spider-Man 2 Before Dark Knight this was the best super hero movie. At the time, the visuals were state of the art, and it still stands out today. It has everything; great action, great story, and great acting.

5. Lord of the Rings Although its technically a trilogy, it all seems like one movie to me. Anyway, this movie is epic. Epic battles, epic story,epic everything.

TV SHOWS:

1. Smallville This show caught me from the beginning. this show does what is impossible, which is to make Superman seem human. While acting and special effects are not its strong point, great story and cool action make this one of my favorite TV shows.

2. 24 The reason 24 is second is not because it is worse than Smallville, which actually it might be better. But I have seen more of Smallville than 24, so I guess thats the tie breaker. Anyway, 24 is packed with suspense and action, nothing like I have ever seen. Ever episode/hour ends in a cliff hanger, so you are always waiting for the next episode.

3. The Office The funniest show on television. Laughs pretty much every second. Great acting, too.

4. The Simpsons The second funniest show on TV. Really, your laughing every second as you watch it.

5. Lost I haven't watched that much of it yet, but so far its pretty cool. Great special effects and crazy suspense, Lost is one I am excited to finish.

VIDEO GAMES:

1. inFAMOUS (PS3) I have always loved free roaming games, and when I heard about inFamous, I had to buy it.

2. Batman Arkham Asylum (PS3, XBOX 360) Best super hero game of all time. The whole eerie feel of Arkham gives this game suspense. Extremely fun game.

3. Prince of Persia (PS3, XBOX 360) Probably the best graphics I have ever seen. Prince of Persia is a great platformer as well as a visual piece of art.

4. Sly 3 (PS2) Porbably my favorite PS2 game, and hopefully they come out with a sequel on the PS3.

5. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (PS3, XBOX 360) The best shooter I've played, with extremely fun tactical action.

Well, there's my Top 5 list. Hope you liked it!