Bruce Banner, a scientist on the run from the U.S. Government must find a cure for the monster he emerges whenever he loses his temper. However, Banner then must fight a soldier whom unleashes himself as a threat stronger than he.
Director: Louis Leterrier Writers: Zak Penn (screenplay), Zak Penn (screen story) Stars: Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth
Storyline
Depicting the events after the Gamma Bomb. 'The Incredible Hulk' tells the story of Dr Bruce Banner, who seeks a cure to his unique condition, which causes him to turn into a giant green monster under emotional stress. Whilst on the run from military which seeks his capture, Banner comes close to a cure. But all is lost when a new creature emerges; The Abomination.
The Incredible Hulk Movie Review
Attention - Origin Mixture!!!
For those that know only of the original comic book Hulk, the TV series Hulk, or the regrettable Ang Lee Hulk, you should know that this new version is a mixture of origins.
Without spoiling it, one of the larger ingredients in this new Hulk comes from a Marvel series that is an alternate universe. There are many differences in the Ultimates Universe. In this version, Banner did not get his gamma radiation from exposure during an experimental bomb explosion. I won't spoil it, but you can go to www.marvel.com and look under "Ultimates" if you wish to get the gist of it.
I can truly say that this version captures a little of everything, so that no matter what your knowledge is of the Hulk character, there's tie-ins to everything.
Personally, I felt this reboot was well thought out. It allows for any future connectivity by not limiting it to one version of the Hulk. This will allow future Marvel movie-makers the ability to pick and choose aspects from the multitude of alternate universes, re-tellings, and time spans to combine whatever they please.
This was well cast. When the overall product can make me forget the fact that I don't like a specific actor, and truly appreciate the total entertainment experience, it's something to smile about. I won't mention which one I don't care for, since all that will do is spark useless debate.
Story - intricate and intelligent, fast-paced, yet deeply explanatory, complex, yet easily taken in by non-geeks. Enough references to the true comic, alternate comic, and TV show, that everyone in the sneak peek seemed to be pleased. I surely was.
CGI was great. Don't know why some have to nit-pick, but you can't please everyone, I guess. Action was wonderful with plenty of it! If you've ever read one of my reviews, you'll know that I'm a true fan of overall entertainment. While I have favorites, I don't base reviews on just one actor, writer, director, production company, genre, or whatever. So, if you don't like my opinion, so be it.
Twilight (I) (2008)
A teenage girl risks everything when she falls in love with a vampire.
Director: Catherine Hardwicke Writers: Melissa Rosenberg (screenplay), Stephenie Meyer(novel) Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke
Storyline
Bella Swan has always been a little bit different. Never one to run with the crowd, Bella never cared about fitting in with the trendy, plastic girls at her Phoenix, Arizona high school. When her mother remarried and Bella chooses to live with her father in the rainy little town of Forks, Washington, she didn't expect much of anything to change. But things do change when she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen. For Edward is nothing like any boy she's ever met. He's nothing like anyone she's ever met, period. He's intelligent and witty, and he seems to see straight into her soul. In no time at all, they are swept up in a passionate and decidedly unorthodox romance - unorthodox because Edward really isn't like the other boys. He can run faster than a mountain lion. He can stop a moving car with his bare hands. Oh, and he hasn't aged since 1918. Like all vampires, he's immortal. That's right - vampire. But he doesn't have fangs - that's just in the movies.
Twilight Movie Review
Pretty Good for What They Had to Work With
I have read the books, and the first thing I noticed was that the story wasn't about a plot line at all. It's about the characters and what's going on with them. Stephenie Meyer focuses on interaction, not on dialog, plot, or setting, which is fine. But it makes for a bad movie.
Surprisingly, Twilight wasn't that bad of a film. I expected it to be much worse. As I said, there's very little plot or dialog in the book, so it's hard to make a convincing film. They had to over act looks to try and communicate without many words. I could probably count on one hand the lines in the movie.
Other than the over acting, it wasn't bad. There were some very good moments and some very "eh" moments. But overall I would recommend it to Twilight fans. I probably won't ever want to see it again, but it's okay at midnight with some school friends who like it or something.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008)
In the Far East, Alex O'Connell, the son of famed mummy fighters Rick and Evy O'Connell, unearths the mummy of the first Emperor of Qin -- a shape-shifting entity cursed by a witch centuries ago.
Director: Rob Cohen Writers: Alfred Gough, Miles Millar Stars: Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello
Storyline
Centuries ago, the evil Emperor Han was cursed by the sorceress Zi Yuan who transformed him and his army into mummies. In 1946, the explorer Rick O'Connell and his wife Evelyn O'Connell are invited by the British government to take a relic, the diamond "The Eye of Shangri-La" to China. The ancient stone is capable of resurrecting the Emperor Han and of pointing the way to Shangri-La and the eternal pool of life. When the couple reaches China, they meet their son Alex O'Connell, who has discovered the tomb of Han, and Evelyn's brother Jonathan Carnahan. The O'Connells are betrayed by their friend Prof. Roger Wilson, who is associated with General Yang. Yang wants to serve Emperor Han, so he resurrects the mummy and they head for Shangri-La. The guardian of Han's tomb (and Zi's daughter) Lin tells them that the only ways to destroy Han is to prevent him from reaching Shangri-La or by stabbing his heart with a cursed dagger.
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor Movie Review
Less than meets the eye After watching 'Mummy 3', watch 'The Mummy', and you will quickly see the vast difference in the two.
There are many elements that made the Mummy 3 a horrible edition to the Mummy series. Yes, the disappearance of Rachel was disappointing, but her presence wouldn't be enough to save this film from it's ultimate demise. Even Brendan Fraiser's character lost the edge many grew to love in the first two. The idea of the Terra-cotta was interesting, but not for this series. The story was poorly executed and almost over shadowed by the even more terrible "romances" between Luke, Lin, and the O'Connells.
The random dialogue and forced chemistry was enough to make you sick. There was very little going for this movie, and I'm disappointed in this series being handed over to Rob Cohen. This was nothing short of a botched boob job.
Wanted (2008)
A frustrated office worker learns that he is the son of a professional assassin, and that he shares his father's superhuman killing abilities.
Director: Timur Bekmambetov Writers: Michael Brandt (screenplay), Derek Haas(screenplay) Stars: Angelina Jolie, James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman
Storyline
A young man finds out his long lost father is an assassin. When his father is murdered, the son is recruited into his father's old organization and trained by a man named Sloan to follow in his dad's footsteps.
Wanted Movie Review
To The Extreme
I just got back from an advanced screening of Wanted. I have to admit not being a fan of the Director, Tim Bekmambetov. Somewhat disappointed in his Russian Films Nightwatch and Daywatch. However, in his American directorial he delivers!! An abundance of profanities and over the top action sequences that are beyond xtreme fill the screen in a dizzying array of visual adrenaline. Holding you in a tight breathtaking grip with its interesting visual techniques, humor and acting. James McAvoy (the sweet faun from the Chronicles of Narnia) plays the loser we all know, Wesley Gibbon. The guy, who just trudges through life allowing himself to be walked upon, humiliated and has no desire to escape it, except in a bottle of anti-anxiety meds. Enter a beautiful Woman, Fox (Angelie Jolie), a mysterious wise man Sloan (Morgan Freeman) and his life instantly changes from Billing Reports to Gratuitous Violence, Mastering Weaponry Skills, and Assassination. Believe me when I say what the Matrix introduced, Wanted has mastered. The director is a skilled artist at using the camera in conveying visual emotions of Wesley like I have never seen before, wait I take that back, seen it in NightWatch. I definitely recommend this deliberately humorous, action packed, violent, profane, to-the-extreme film to be seen on the big screen - check this one out!!
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
The mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth, so Hellboy and his team must save the world from the rebellious creatures.
Director: Guillermo del Toro Writers: Guillermo del Toro (screenplay), Guillermo del Toro (story) Stars: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones
Storyline
In this continuation to the adventure of the demon superhero, an evil elf breaks an ancient pact between humans and creatures, as he declares war against humanity. He is on a mission to release The Golden Army, a deadly group of fighting machines that can destroy the human race. As Hell on Earth is ready to erupt, Hellboy and his crew set out to defeat the evil prince before The Golden Army can destroy humanity's existence.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army Movie Review
Big let down, dialogue was trite and storyline very thin
Poor writing lead to bad dialogue and some very uninteresting scenes including the action sequences.
The special effects were good but many of creatures seem to just take on the look and feel of those ones from Pan's Labyrinth.
The elves in this movie do not even come close to what an Elf (we are talking Tolkien here) is about philosophically and or even as a race. This appears to be an attempt at a darker elf, but not carried off well.
The best character in this movie was the Prince elf, but his actions are in direct contradiction to him being an elf to begin with. Kudos to the actor that stuck out with this role and did a great job despite bad dialogue and ill-conceived storyline moments that left me wondering where the movie was actually headed..besides the obvious fight scene at the end.
Sorry, but this movies takes a wrong turn at the very beginning with a confusing opening show Hellboy as young and ..dare I say..dopey looking kid with no clue.
Another downside to this was the lack of David Hyde Pierce doing the voice over work for Abe Sapien. This oversight destroyed the character for me and left a rather dry rendition in it's place.
This movie is not really worth seeing, stick to the first Hellboy movie and no other. or get a different guy next time. Guillermo really is not that great of a director or writer..etc
Iron Man (2008)
After being held captive in an Afghan cave, an industrialist creates a unique weaponized suit of armor to fight evil.
Director: Jon Favreau Writers: Mark Fergus (screenplay), Hawk Ostby(screenplay) Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard
Storyline
Tony Stark. Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Son of legendary inventor and weapons contractor Howard Stark. When Tony Stark is assigned to give a weapons presentation to an Iraqi unit led by Lt. Col. James Rhodes, he's given a ride on enemy lines. That ride ends badly when Stark's Humvee that he's riding in is attacked by enemy combatants. He survives - barely - with a chest full of shrapnel and a car battery attached to his heart. In order to survive he comes up with a way to miniaturize the battery and figures out that the battery can power something else. Thus Iron Man is born. He uses the primitive device to escape from the cave in Iraq. Once back home, he then begins work on perfecting the Iron Man suit. But the man who was put in charge of Stark Industries has plans of his own to take over Tony's technology for other matters.
Iron Man Movie Review
Move Over Superheroes, Iron Man Is Here Until May 2008, the few releases this year that I've seen ranged from below average to downright rubbish with the exception of two movies. One being 'Iron Man'. This is the movie we have been waiting for this year. So does it match up to expectations? Hell yes! On the surface, 'Iron Man' isn't very different from other superhero films but on the other hand it isn't like any other superhero movie. This one has rich characters, it perfectly blends humour, drama, action and it has heart, all of which are presented on screen in a wonderful way that keeps the viewer staring at the screen right till the end.
The writing is great as 'Iron Man' sticks to the main story all the way. I liked how Downey Jr's Tony Stark grows from this carefree business-minded tech-tycoon who's only concern is Stark Industries to a man with a mission to save the world and in the process he still stays the same person as he maintains his sense of humour, his courage and his integrity. The dialogues, especially Starks's one-liners are sharp, witty and funny. This movie is an introduction to the famous title character thus those expecting only action from start to end (like 'Transformers') may be disappointed to an extent. But for me there was enough action along with substance to make it a hugely enjoyable experience.
Jon Favreau is proving to be a more versatile director and his impressive filmography, both as actor and director, prove that he's experimented with different kinds of cinema. 'Iron Man' wouldn't have been an easy film to direct but Favreau does a magnificent job. The CGI is excellent as I loved how much attention was given to detail and how the viewer is shown every step of the making of Iron Man. Of course, there's some humour added to lighten up the mood instead of technologically overloading the viewers.
'Iron Man' is just the movie that Robert Downey Jr. needed and it couldn't have come at a better time. At a time, when this talented actor's performances were hardly getting enough notice, 'Iron Man' brings him back to recognition. After seeing him, one would conclude that the part was made only for Downey Jr. His dialogue delivery seems so natural that it would be hard to tell whether he was acting, if the scenes were taken out of context. I don't think Gwyneth Paltrow has ever looked better. Though the role does not allow her to really stretch her acting, Potts isn't just a typical superhero's dame. She is Tony's confidant and the one who supports him through thick and thin. Paltrow provides the necessary charisma, sex appeal and soul that makes Pepper Potts shine and she shares a sizzling chemistry with her male lead. Terrence Howard has a smaller role as Tony's good friend but there's a hint that he might have a more prominent role if a sequel is made. Finally, there's Jeff Bridges as the villain. An odd yet brilliant choice as the actor is refreshing and like his costar, he too needed an 'Iron Man' to give his career a boost.
I noticed that some people were complaining that Muslims/Middle Easterners were portrayed as bad guys just like in any other American movie but I would like to state that this is no 'Vantage Point'. Here, these people weren't portrayed as terrorists working on their own but as men hired for a specific reason (I won't say more to give away spoilers). So I just thought to briefly clarify that this is no anti-Islamic or anti-anything (except, well okay, anti-weaponry) movie. It's a movie for everyone.
Perhaps the story itself isn't anything novel which is what makes it somewhat similar to other superhero movies, but the treatment of it and its execution is quite unique. Add to that a fine cast and dazzling special effects among many things, this is the summer movie experience I've been waiting for in 2008. I wonder what else this summer has to offer as I doubt that it would succeed in providing anything close to the sheer entertainment of 'Iron Man'.
