Whip It REVIEW!!

In watching this film, It never occurred to me that this was Drew Barrymore's debut as a film director. She comes off as a pro with this film right from the start. The film is a great debut by Barrymore. I wasn't too interested in this film's subject matter, but the fact that Ellen Page was starring in this made me take a second look at it. I thought that the film could be good to ok, but I didn't expect to end up actually going for the ride and enjoying it.

The basic premise of the film is a girl coming of age tale. We have seen this story told a thousand times. Girl is an outcast, Girl finds passion, Parents don't like passion, and then you throw in alot of the cliche's of a coming of age story and you got this movie, but there are enough elements that are present in the picture that definitely make this one different. The subject matter of roller derbying is one that I thought was going to be a big leap of faith on the part of Drew Barrymore making this an interesting sport and she nails it. About 10 minutes into the movie, I saw that Roller Derbying really lent itself to being a very visual and an intense experience on film. It was awesome to see these sequences cut together. On the directing aspect of the film, Drew Barrymore comes out great and she proves she can direct.

The acting of the film is good. I thought that the team had their moments. It was great to see Zoe Bell again in a film. I thought that Kristen Wig was great in her role, and Juilette Lewis was great as the leader of the rival roller team, but definitely the stand-out of this film is Ellen Page. Ellen Page is what makes this film so watchable and she carries a lot of baggage on her shoulders throughout the picture. She delivers the wit and charming aspect from the Bliss character. You feel that throughout the film she is unsure of herself, until you see that strength emerge from her and she becomes even tougher and more vulnerable emotionally. Ellen Page is perfectly cast in this role. It isn't her playing a hippster on the par of Juno, but she is still a hippster, but more likable.

The technical aspects of this film from the editing and the pacing all work great. The film delivers that brutal and competitive nature of the skating arena and it works as a cinematic experience.

The one flaw to the film is that the script is very predictable. Of course there are some moments that are thrown in for good measure, but the film follows a lot of the cliche' moments from most coming of age stories about girls. By the time you get to the third act, you can predict most of the major beats and character choices. It's a complaint that drags the film and makes it lose a little bit of steam in the third act, but the last act of the film picks it up again and brings back some of the heart of the first two acts.

Overall, this film is a great coming of age tale and finding your passion. It's predictable: Yes. It is bad? Not by a stretch! I enjoyed this film quite a lot. Drew Barrymore definitely brings a heart to this film as the director as she shines both off camera and in front of the camera. Ellen Page gives a strong performance and her arc is fun to watch! I'd say this is a FULL-PRICE! Go check this out! A pleasant surprise and quite a touching film!

Jennifer's Body REVIEW!

While the film isn't that bad, it just doesn't have any sense of focus. While the positives have to be that Megan Fox was perfectly cast in the role as a ravenous and cold hearted high schooler, but some of the faults have a lot to do with the storyline and the script.

While this a Diablo Cody script, it is really just a coming of age tale with the theme of a horror monster film shoved in for measure. One of my biggest complaints is that there isn't a sense of tone or a sense that this film has an agenda. It just seems like a amateur's film script. It seems like Diablo Cody got a little full of herself with this film with all of the indie slang just shoe-horned in at point, and there seems to be a lot of self-applauding on her part. As for being a coming of age story, it is ok.

As a horror comedy, it falls flat at points. There are points where you see the director and writer are clearly stealing from other films such as the classic Evil Dead series, but this movie just seems like a mix of all of these great scenes taken from other films. While the opening acts of the film are interesting, by the time the 3rd act kicks in, you just feel as if the film has lost what it is trying to become. The horror aspects fall flat a lot of the time. The gore scenes are really lackluster and it doesn't deliver.

I get what Diablo was trying to say with the script, but I just feel as if there was a better movie within her. There are numerous indie moments in this film with the soundtrack and the slang, but it doesn't really work for this film. Overall, I'd give this one a RENTAL. Not bad, but I can't quite recommend it to everybody. Just don't expect a gorey horror film.

(500) Days of Summer REVIEW!

Easily one of the best and the smartest of all the films to come out all summer. Joseph Gordon-Levit and Zooey Dechanel have a unique chemistry that works. The structure of how the film is told is unique and hilarious! One moment you want to give Joseph the high five when things are looking up and then you find yourself laughing and feeling sorry for his character when you find out the future of what happens later in the film. Great storytelling. You have not seen a film with this story structure and as engaging as this one. As far as romantic summer comedies go, this is one of the gems of the summer and sadly an overlooked one. You can't go wrong with this film! This is a high FULL-PRICE! It is one of the best films of the summer! GO SEE IT!!

Gamer Review!

Just ok. It is well made and it looks great, but the storyline just sucks. Gerard Butler is cool, and Michael C. Hall plays his role comically, but it's just not that rush of adrenaline that I was expecting. The role pretty much lived up to my expectations, but it didn't throw me any curve balls. I'd have to say this film is a solid RENTAL.

Extract Review!

Getting back from this screening, I still didn't know what to think about this film. This film is just optimizes the very idea of someone who is at a low and dead end point in their lives. He is his own boss, he has a wife, and he works at creating one of the things he loves: extract. The low point in all of this is that he hates being his own boss, his wife doesn't sleep with him and he questions her feelings for him, and nobody isn't really interested in extract. The film is just about how we can all come back from these intense low-points in our lives by all the unlikely places. This film just nails the aspect of having a light at the end of the tunnel, but you need to find closure in yourself first.

The plot of the film is interesting in the fact that it doesn't follow a real structure and there is really not a build-up towards the ending. The ending kinda comes and we don't really have an emotionally connection to any of the characters. Some of them just seem a little too bland except for the 3 mains leads of the picture: Jason Bateman, Kristen Wig, and Ben Affleck. With this said the film is still funny. The film is more tongue in cheek and subtle than something like The Goods. While it's still a good movie, you need to take your time and see what it is all about. It's not dull, just a more laid-back film and it takes it's time trying to get to it's points, but you are going to have some laughs along the way.

The acting of the film is comparable to most of Mike Judge's films. Jason Bateman I think did a great job with his character as there is alot he conveys with the character without beating me over the head with. The same goes for Kristen Wig's character. She conveys a lot with her eyes and you can tell that her and Jason Bateman's characters have a lot to say to each other and the audience, but they have no words for it. Ben Affleck's character is funny as hell in the film. It's him playing him if he was a massive laid back dude. His character is just funny throughout the film and feels very much like a Judge character. He is a slacker and everything that Jason bateman's character wishes he could be.

With all of this said. The film is still funny, but I wouldn't say rush out and go see this one in a theatre. This is funny, but not trying to be Office Space. This would be the boss's version of Office Space. This is a RENTAL. Don't pay to see it on the big screen, but I wouldn't discourage anybody from seeing the film at all. It's a good movie, but not a great one!

Top 5 Remakes!

Hey guys! With the sequel to the halloween remake already out, I thought I'd chime in on my list of all-time best remakes!

Here ya go!

#5. The Departed (2006)

(REMAKE OF: Infernal Affairs)

While this may not be better than the Japanese Classic crime film, this is pretty damn close and it's a remake that doesn't lose it's flair as it goes on. While the plots maybe simliar, the execution to each film is radically different. Marty definitely put his on spin on this story with the writers and made a great crime film! Great one!

Scarface (1983)

(Remake of the 1930's film of the same name)

Great remake that is radically different from the first film. They made the characters and contemporarized them for the 1980's, but it still told a great story about the rise and fall of an gangster. Great movie!

The Fly (1986)

(Remake of the 1958 film of the Same name)

David Cronenberg remade the classic film and just made the story so much more richer than it was ever before. They also used make-up effects to deliver creature effects that nobody thought possible. This is a case in which the technological leaps since the 50's film and they used the effects as a story telling device to further punctuate the transformation that this character is going through! Overall great remake!

Evil Dead 2 (1987)

(remake of the 1978 Cult classic THE EVIL DEAD)

A remake that does away with the horror elements of the first and decides to just let the audience have fun and just laugh consistently. This is just a great film. Sam Riami is one director that does know how to make a film that is for all intents and purposes should be a slap in the face to us geeks and Evil Dead fans, but this film nails the campy and humorous elements so damn well that its just a fun time at the movies!

John Carpenter's The Thing (1982)

(Remake of the 1951 The Thing from Another World)

Just a fantastic remake that resembles no way to the first film. The film is just creepy and so well paced that it just totally outdoes anything the original tried to do. Anything the original did, this one just kicks up to a-whole-other level! Just a fantastic and the best remake!!

NOTE: I didn't include films like Batman Begins and Casino Royale because these films are less remakes and are more reboots of a film series that were losing their edge. While i love these 2 films, they don't seem like remakes and stand alone as films to where I don't even remember these films are redos.

TILL NEXT TIME!!!!!