ocknights71 Reviews

Iron Man 2 (2010)

My review of The Avengers....I mean Iron Man 2

[6/10 · 8 May 2010]

Now I'm all for movies being loyal to their origins (in this case the original Marvel comics), but at some point, there has to be a little bit more of the "human elements" that create the fine line between the two in this film. Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is the ego driven technology typhoon, whose cocky humor gets annoying at times, has a problem. His power supply is running low and he is slowly dying. This film takes a more serious look into what Iron Man is truly composed of, but unfortunately the characters don't seem to understand the situation as much as we do. If Tony Stark cannot take himself seriously, then why should we as an audience?

Wipelash (Mickey Rourke), Iron Man's new enemy in this film, is a very dark, interesting character. Sadly though, is given about 15-20 minutes of screen time, majority of which he is either building something or hacking computers. Even his on screen presence is often interrupted by the annoying and uninteresting Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell). His actual action scenes where he is actual causing destruction may total 3 minutes.

Iron Man and Whiplash share a minuscule amount of time on screen together. They meet near the beginning and again near the end. Everything that the two characters were doing in between were totally unrelated to the other (This may be the one part of the film that actually frustrated me).

Later in the film, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) discusses Iron Man's health with Stark. Now for a fan of the Avenger series (like myself), you would probably recognize him, but for anyone else, you wouldn't have a clue what his relevance is. Same goes to Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) her appearance seems to build slowly up to one scene where she beats up like 10 guys.

Much of the film I felt like I was watching an extended trailer for The Avengers. Another portion was like I was watching an Audi commercial. Another portion was like watching a married couple bicker at each other (Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Tony Stark showed no chemistry at all). Many scenes were so unrelated, I don't know how they weren't cut out. The small portion remaining was what I had hoped much of the film was about, more action, and less boring, totally random dialogue.

Overall this film is no doubt a "filler film". It's just a tiny piece of the big picture that Marvel is working towards. It's one thing to hype a movie with news and trailers and other things. But, it is a totally other thing to hype up A MOVIE WITH ACTUAL MOVIES.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Offbeat high school drama

[8/10 · 30 January 2010]

To truly understand the message of The Breakfast Club, you shouldn't think what high school was like. You have to think of who YOU were. What group were you a part of? The jock, the geek, the prep, the tough guy, the outsider. When you know what you were, try to think what that meant. What was your role in the high school to be associated with that group, and what do you think you know about the other groups?

The Breakfast Club, is not an attempt to break social barriers among high school kids, but more of an attempt to portray how even lives that have go in such different paths, all of them have common life issues. This film begs the issues, not only of why do we judge others, but why do we fear the judging of ourselves?

The film's first hour is, what I believe, a very shallow attempt to introduce the film as a typical teenage comedy. I found myself to bite into the clichés these characters (probably intentionally) portrayed. However, the last 30 minutes of this film was VERY powerful stuff, it totally caught me off guard. I found myself feeling emotions that I wouldn't have imagined myself having from earlier in the film.

Overall, not a life-changing movie, but definitely life-lesson worthy.

Precious (II) (2009)

For All Those Precious Men and Women

[8/10 · 22 November 2009]

Just saw Precious with my mother after hearing many good reviews for it.

The film revolves around a young high school girl, Precious, who is pregnant with her second child. She is very overweight, African-American, illiterate, and lives in an abusive household, so she faces much adversity living her normal day to day lifestyle. Precious' heart and drive is very inspirational as she becomes more and more aware that her children deserve a much better life than this. Precious finds that the few true role models that you get in the tough times, are the ones that change lives.

The overall mood of the film is very interesting as there are several parallels between real life and day-dreams, I found this to be an effective technique that helped the audience walk in the character's shoes. Also, the cinematography was excellent and kept me interested throughout.

Finally, the acting...All around great performances throughout. The lead role of Precious, played by first time actress Gabourey 'Gabby' Sidibe, was beautifully played, very strong performance on her part. Also, many other great supporting roles were played, with parts by Lenny Kravitz, and a pretty critical role by Mariah Carry. And the one that will have many people talking, is the role of Precious' mother played by Mo'Nique. She plays an abusive mother who strives off of welfare and is emotionally disturbing the household. I am hoping that she gets nominated for best supporting role as her performance is both aggressively real and incredibly emotionally at the same time.

Overall, very moving and inspirational movie that is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise somewhat dull year for movies...

The Hangover (2009)

The Perfect Combination

[8/10 · 20 June 2009]

Hilarious storyline + Great Cast + Amazingly written

=the funniest movie in recent memory

This is not your average summer comedy. This is what i call the perfect medium of low and high comedy. With the exception to Zach Galifianakis, the cast is not full of colorful characters and hilarious antics, but rather letting the mysterious wonders that Las Vegas has to offer unfold for these gentlemen. This genuine work of art has some much of the high comedy that many of today's comedy's are missing, putting ordinary people in extraordinary situations. But also including the guilty pleasure that we all enjoy, the low comedy, especially Zach's hilarious performance and dialog. Actually, I am a firm believer that this film will be a jump start for Galifianakis's long career ahead.

This won't be one that will be forgotten anytime soon. You will find yourself going right back to the theater to watch it again. Can't wait for The Hangover 2!!

Angels & Demons (2009)

Book>Movie

[7/10 · 15 May 2009]

I read Angels and Demons about 3 years ago, and I can honestly say to is one of the few books that I couldn't put down while reading.

The movie however was pretty much what i expected, a lot of action, with somewhat of a mystery storyline. Tom Hanks plays, in my opinion, a much better role, of Professor Langdon than in The Da Vinci Code.

You won't have to worry about this being as bad as The Da Vinci Code, this is everything that it wasn't. Much more interesting, more action, more suspense, and less of the unneeded controversy. If you haven't read the book, no worries you will still find it very interesting. And if you have read the book, well lets say you might be a little let down because I found many scenes missing that I was looking forward to.

Overall, Pretty impressive film for any everyday movie goer. But, maybe not something too special for Dan Brown fans.

Rain Man (1988)

One of the best performances I have seen in a while

[8/10 · 14 May 2009]

Rain Man , i believe, can be regarded as one of the best films about the issue of Autism.

Dustin Hoffman gives a breath-taking performance in my opinion and by far the best depiction of someone with a mental disorder that i have seen in a movie, comparable to a Beautiful Mind. Tom Cruise also gives a noteworthy performance playing the selfish, self-centered brother who transforms to a loving friend who doesn't just want money, but to rebuild his relationship with his family. The film has some great comedic relief and overall great story.

This film overall had great potential, and i think could have delivered a little more. But, it's still a great movie that will impress anyone with a beating heart.

Prom Night (I) (2008)

I was forced into watching this

[1/10 · 3 May 2009]

My sister, having no taste in movies, told me to watch this movie with her. Me ,being bored on a random Sunday, made an awful decision of watching it with her.

I heard many bad things about this movie, so i didn't really expect much. I can't even explain how much this movie sucked. The only reason why i sat through the entire thing was because my sister made me. I know there are a lot of films that you can predict what would happen next, but this was one of those where you can just think of a hundred better ways to make those scenes not so lame. Scene after scene i would tell my sister what i thought was going happen next.

Whoever thought of the idea of teens at a prom being scared of everything was a good idea for movies seriously either a) never been to high school or b) knew that people, like my sister, are dumb enough to watch such a movie. With the exception to Carrie (1976), i'm not a fan of high school teen "horror" films.

Its gonna take me a while to forgive my sister now...

Taken (I) (2008)

If only my dad was that cool...

[8/10 · 28 April 2009]

Man, I just saw this movie recently and I was impressed. Incredible acting job by Liam. Great storyline that shows how fast human trafficking can be in other countries. This movie is pretty relevant because a friend of mine was telling me stories he's heard will on a European tour. It is a very organized crime there, even more than the drug market here in America. As for the movie, this movie was all about Liam. He reminded me of action movie heroes like Rorshack and V. The film did seem a little too perfect and things do seem to happen too conveniently. It only made me wonder what if my dad knew that stuff... Overall, this is a must for any hardcore action movie fan.

The Informers (2008)

Enough with the hating!!

[7/10 · 24 April 2009]

"The Informers" is a compelling film that goes into the lives of a few inhabitants of 1983 Los Angeles. These characters all have one common feature, the absence of personal morals in their lives. As their lives have sudden changes they learn more about themselves and others.

After watching this movie I sat in the theater for a couple minutes to comprehend what i just saw. What i realized was that every story teaches a different lesson. The characters were not as far-fetched as many people are saying. This movie is not as extreme as people believe it is. I think that the film did lake some comedic relief and tended to be too serious which can make it difficult to gain interest. But, if your like me, you will always find something interesting in movies.

And also, after watching the film, unlike many critics are saying, this film actually taught me something, if not a few things. One particular scene, which might have been hard to catch, had a very distinct climax in which self realization is established. The movie ends with a pretty memorable scene that is pretty clear.

Overall, acting wasn't that bad, Billy Bob Thorton i believe was the best in the cast. A few characters could have been polished up a bit though. The film seems pretty accurate in depicting 80's as well.

This movie is a good watch, not a must watch. Not something to be watched for someone who is narrow minded. While it did lake some elements of a memorable film, it wasn't as good as a film like Crash for instance, But definitely worth my time and money.