Critic Watch Blog #3 300

Amazing! Ground breaking, awe struck and mesmerized. 300 set the bar of great action from beginning to end. Director Zach Snyder uses his computers to create ferocious images with as much attention to each frame as a hand-drawn panel. This film is based on the famous 300 spartans whom fought to the death rather than surrender to the Persians. The lead protagonist is Gerard Butler whom plays the Spartan leader King Leonidas. This was the break out film for Butler as his ripped physique of himself only added to the legend of the spartans. Butler played the role to perfection demanding his grasp over this he was blessed to lead, his fighting style is that of a warrior king fighting for the very livelihood of his people. SPOILER ALERT: Leonidas and his small army of 300 are tasked to guard and defend a very pivotal area in his region from the army of Persia lead by King Xerxes. This very little area is pivotal to their success against the thousands of Persians that fell to the defense of the Spartans. King Leonidas and his men fight day after day against a relentless army of the King Xerxes. Every sign day their was success for the Spartans, although their forces grew smaller exponentially in the end of those times. It was a volley of arrows that covered the sun that killed off the great King Leonidas and his spartan warriors. If not for the expected reinforcements that were to help out King Leonidas, the Spartans would have surely won the war. This film 300, will and shall always be one of my favorite movies of all time. 

Critic Watch Blog #2

The Expendables 2. This film is a prequel of the same title which did well beyond expectations. This film marked the return of the action actors of the 80's, 90's, and present times is like a family reunion gone wrong. There are numerous actors who share the lead roles but it is clearly that the main actor and protagonist is Sylvester Stallone. He is the director, the lead, and the leader of his rough and tumble teammates who pride themselves as mercenaries. His partners in this film is packed with star power though, some still shining, others enjoying this last paycheck of their lengthy careers. Jason Statham,  Terry Crews, Liam Hemsworth, Jet Li, Randy Couture and Dolph Lundgren. Fighting for the bad are British kickboxer Scott Adkins and Jean-Claude Van Damme. There were even the king pins of the action movie generation of the 80's in this film such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis and Chuck Norris. It's plot was not too deep and was indeed quite predictable. The true goal of Stallone in this film was to bring back movies how action used to be. Fighting without the CGI effects and a genre the older generation could relate to. That is one aspect of this film that they did well, I thoroughly enjoyed the film from beginning to end all of the action. It's plot could have been a little more deeper with a little bit of a political theme such as the Bourne series. Amy Nicholson gave this film an 80 out of 100. I do not agree with her scores even though the film was entertaining. I would give it a 70 if it was up to me. If I was directing, I would have thrown out the jokes and been a little more sinister in some scenes. I guess with my opinion I can say, this film is a way for closure for many of those actors. Retirement should do them quite well expend there riches that way. 

Critic Watch Blog #2 - Review of Captain Phillips by Susan Wloszczyna

Given a score of 75 out of 100 on Metacritic and three out of 4 stars on rogerebert.com, Captain Phillips is hailed by critic Susan Wloszczyna as having "one of the most emotionally draining climaxes of the year". 

Based on the true story of the hijacking of the MV Maersk Alabama in 2009, Captain Phillips is a suspense thriller told from the perspective of Captain Richard Phillips (Tom Hanks), who was kidnapped for ransom during the hijacking.

Captain Phillips takes command of the Alabama with Mombasa as their destination. During a training exercise they are chased by four pirates, but are able to elude them. However, the next day the same pirates, with a faster ship led by Abduwali Muse (Barkhad Abdi), are able to catch and board the Alabama. Phillips has his crew hide in the engine room while he tries to negotiate with the pirates.

Tom Hanks leads an unknown cast in Captain Phillips and of course carries the movie as ordinary family man turned cool and calm terrorist negotiator. Wloszczyna seems to like the movie, despite her average Metacritic rating, but compares thinks the pirates behavior "sometimes suggests they are emulating characters in a gangster yarn -- as if they have seen "Goodfellas" or James Cagney films a few too many times. The sadistic hothead who provides the brawn would do Joe Pesci proud".

Since the facts about the hijacking are public knowledge, the ending is not a surprise. Phillips is taken hostage, with the pirates hoping to ransom him to the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Bainbridge, which arrived to assist the Phillips and his crew.  However, the last scenes with Phillips held in a life raft with the pirates, keeps the viewer on the edge of their seats and as Wloszczyna states "..is gripping enough that more than a few theater armrests will probably require upholstery repair".

I agree with Wloszczyna that the movie takes you through a roller coaster of emotions. And with an ending that includes the US Navy Seals, Captain Phillips is an exciting suspense thriller that keeps the viewer engaged until the climatic ending.


http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/captain-phillips-2013

Critic watch Blog#3: 12 Years a Slave

My third and final Critic Watch Blog covers Rex Reed’s review of 12 Years a Slave. I chose this review because Reed gave the film a perfect score of 100. His average lifetime score on Metacritic.com is 53 and he is known to be somewhat of a curmudgeon. Additionally, what is interesting about Reed is the criticism he has subjected himself to within the entertainment industry. From plain discourtesy in his reviews to outright professionalism and personal attacks, Reed is well known.

His description of 12 Years a Slave is beyond dramatic, deeply disconcerting and compelling. Reed mentions director Steve McQueen’s former films and how they parallel the pain and suffering in this film. The detail Reed illustrates multiplies a worst-case-scenario with the fact that this was based on a true story during the darkest period of American history. The disturbing details Reed describes are by far the deepest and most reflective of any of his that I have read so far. He describes deplorable scenes so evil and violent, that he wondered whether he could make it through the film. Reed was the subject of criticism for allegedly walking out of a film, VHS-2, before it was over and complained about parts which occurred after he left.  

This review briefly describes the protagonist Solomon Northup, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, a respected musician and freeman from N.Y. who is kidnapped and forced into slavery. His description builds upon the fact that Northup is educated, intelligent and free, but now forced to live in this horror that McQueen illustrates for the audience. Reed also pays tribute to the cast who support the film as well as Cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, who as Reed wrote: “finds beauty bordering on insanity in every sunny, moss-covered lane and every shadowy column of the Louisiana plantation locations”.

It is evident that Reed was moved by this film. His review, though concise, was deep and it changed my perception of him as a critic. In the past, American history involving slavery has proven to be lightning rods for publicity, but Reed’s praise for all angles of the film convince me he found a work of genius in this film from the director, McQueen to Ejiofor and his prediction of future super stardom.   

Delivery Man- Richard Roeper

This weeks review was done on Delivery Man staring Vince Vaughn as David Wozniak. It is about a irresponsible meat delivery man, that found out that he was the father of 533 children. This all happened because in the 90's a young David made over 600 deposits to a sperm bank. The clinic then at one point used his sample for all the patients that came into the clinic. Roeper liked the cast and Vince  Vaughn's comedy, but he felt that the story was not that great.  He also felt that the children didn't seem that they were really from NYC. He said they seemed like they were raised on a sound stage. He gave the film a grade of C+, he felt they could of expanded on the fact that David had 533 children. And how the clinic made such a screw up.

After seeing the film I can say that I can understand this review for the most part. It was kind of weird how he was able to make so many deposits, and how they used his sample so much. But I can say that I liked the way that the story flowed, even though it was a little outrageous how he had 533 kids. In all I would give the film a grade of a B, because it did keep me entertained. And I did like the twist and turns that the story took the audience through.  

Critic Watch Review: "The Counselor"

Spoiler alert!  Don't bother!!  Talk about a letdown!!  The Counselor was one of my most anticipated movies to see this year with it's all-star cast featuring the likes of Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem to name just a few.  The film starts off with an intense bedroom scene between Cruz and co-star Michael Fassbender- and any time Penelope is in a bedroom scene I'm all for it!  However her climax was ironically the climax of the entire movie as the film drudged on a pathetically predictable plot and in my opinion unsolicited and needlessly graphic scenes as you simply wait for character after character to meet their doom.  

I had such high expectations for this film based on the trailers and aside from getting to hear Penelope Cruz in the throes of passion and watching a very sexy-looking Cameron Diaz strut about and give new meaning to the common art of cleaning a car's windshield  (yes Cameron you can wipe mine anytime) I left the theatre feeling $15 poorer and thinking "I should have just had a glass of V8"    Don't bother but if you do save your money and wait for it on cable.

Critic Watch Blog: The Man of Steel

The critic I chose was Steve Persall from the Times. 

The review I read was about the recent new movie Man of Steel. Mr. Persall gave The Man of Steel a perfect score of 100. That being said he did bring up his critiques into why he did this. Mr. Persall says that this movie revitalized the Superman legend in tremendous ways. This is one point I have to agree with; This Superman was real, not in physics, rules of Earth's laws of physics, but of the realism of what it takes to live on Earth and the daily struggles many people have to deal with. Mr. Persall highlights that Superman didn't have to be super all of the time. That his Earth father played by Kevin Costner taught him to turn his cheek in the other direction so that he true powers can be a secret. A secret that needed to be kept that way because the society around him just would not understand nor accept this new reality that there is life beyond the stars. 

I could not agree more with that perfect score Persall gave this movie. I was instantly satisfied with the amount of work put into this movie. Persall brought up a great point and that was how this movie is similar to Christopher Nolan's remake of the Batman trilogy, which received great reviews. Persall stated that: "The movie projects an air of realism and myth expansion that Christopher Nolan's trilogy lent to Batman". That air of realism is what caught my attention and maintained it that way throughout the entire movie. I appreciate the fact that those who are 'comic bookies' are actually grown up and adults now and this movie is catering to them: an adult crowd. To see that even a young Superman went through what we know as a problem in our nation; bullying, was a way to relate to the audience and many out there watching this movie. Persall also made a good point about how this movie was not rushed. As per Persall: "Time is taken for conversations to go elsewhere than exposition and jokes don't come cheaply, if at all". This provided myself an ability to clearly understand what was going on. It was new to see first hand the origin of superman on film as in depth this movie did. No other Superman movie has done this. It clearly brought me in even more and I only left with a thorough knowledge and understanding on who Superman was and why he is indeed…Super.