Avatar (2009)

A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.

Director:

 James Cameron.

Writer:

 James Cameron.

Stars:

 Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver.

Story line

When his brother is killed in a robbery, paraplegic Marine Jake Sully decides to take his place in a mission on the distant world of Pandora. There he learns of greedy corporate figurehead Parker Selfridge's intentions of driving off the native humanoid "Na'vi" in order to mine for the precious material scattered throughout their rich woodland. In exchange for the spinal surgery that will fix his legs, Jake gathers intel for the cooperating military unit spearheaded by gung-ho Colonel Quaritch, while simultaneously attempting to infiltrate the Na'vi people with the use of an "avatar" identity. While Jake begins to bond with the native tribe and quickly falls in love with the beautiful alien Neytiri, the restless Colonel moves forward with his ruthless extermination tactics, forcing the soldier to take a stand - and fight back in an epic battle for the fate of Pandora.

Avatar Movie Reviews

Well, I just saw Avatar this morning, one of the press premieres which are running on these days. My opinion: you've seen this story a hundred times, but never like this. Finally 3D is what it's supposed to be, an instrument at the service of the movie. You'll enjoy the visual experience, no doubt.

As for the story, some of the "inspirations" are so huge and so obvious that mentioning two or three of them would REALLY ruin the movie for you, and I'm not willing to do that. Lots of mysticism and ecology, if you like that stuff. If you're 15 or so, you'll have a great time thinking that it's the first time somebody makes something like this. If you're an experienced movie watcher, better leave your skepticism at the door, bring lots of pop corn and enjoy with the usual action-flick-with-moral-and-loads-of-clichés.

I liked it, however: "the movie that re-invents movies"??? No way.

Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Peter Parker is beset with troubles in his failing personal life as he battles a brilliant scientist named Doctor Otto Octavius.

Director:

 Sam Raimi.

Writers:

 Stan Lee (comic book), Steve Ditko (comic book).

Stars:

 Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina.

Storyline

Peter Parker is an unhappy man: after two years of fighting crime as Spider-Man, his life has begun to fall apart. The girl he loves is engaged to someone else, his grades are slipping, he cannot keep any of his jobs, and on top of it, the newspaper Daily Bugle is attacking him viciously, claiming that Spider-Man is a criminal. He reaches the breaking point and gives up the crime fighter's life, once and for all. But after a failed fusion experiment, eccentric and obsessive scientist Dr. Otto Octavius is transformed into super villain Doctor Octopus, Doc Ock for short, having four long tentacles as extra hands. Peter guesses it might just be time for Spider-Man to return, but would he act upon it?

Spider-Man 2 Movie Reviews

A cut above the typical comic book movie, S-M 1 did what this type of movie is supposed to do: introduce the main characters, have 'em fight a Super Bad Guy, and then have it all end happily ever after, for the most part. In other words, for the first movie in a supposed franchise, you have to allow time for exposition of the protagonist's background, even if millions already know him from another medium.

With S-M 2, though, such an obligation isn't necessary. We've met Spidey, MJ, Aunt May, et al., and we're ready to jump into a new story. So while the first one explains why Spidey is, the second movie devotes more time to fighting the Bad Guy du Jour, Doctor Octopus.

Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) still pines for MJ (Kirsten Dunst), from whom he steers clear despite his undying affection for her. It's for her own good, he tells himself. If we're together, my enemies will top at nothing to get at me through her, and I can't put her in that position. And so, in typical superhero fashion, he broods and broods and broods. The relentless push-and-pull between his love for MJ and his devotion to using his powers for good is a constant theme in the Spider-Man universe, and in the movies it either smolders in the background or charges with a raging fury to the forefront. Peter is given the impossible choice - true love or good deeds - and it's a choice to which, at its core, everyday people can relate; we all have exceedingly difficult choices to make throughout our lives.

And in this especially, the movies succeed. Peter Parker is supposed to be an average teen - well, except for those powers he has. He's not morally superior. He's not smarter. He's just a poor schlub who accidentally has these super powers, and he doesn't quite know how to deal with them. On a smaller scale, a comparison can be made to a supremely talented collegiate football player who's just made it to the pros. He has otherworldly talents. He has money, fame, fortune. And can he handle it? About as well as Peter can.

Anyway, the big villain here is the aforementioned Doc Ock (Alfred Molina), yet another in a long line of Good Scientists Gone Wrong. You may recall that the Green Goblin from the first S-M movie was also of this line. This Doc has found a way to manipulate metallic tentacles with his mind. (It helps that the tentacles are physically attached to him.) Something goes wrong, he goes mad, and next thing you know it, he's gonna take over the world. Give these boys a Happy Meal, and they'd still want two prizes.

Along with the inevitable Spidey-Doc Ock battles, Peter Parker's best friend Harry (James Franco) is still quite resentful as Spidey's killing of his father in the first movie. He doesn't know Peter is Spider-Man, but he knows only Peter is able to take photographs of him. So the second thematic struggle is within Harry - does he resent his friend for knowing the murderer (in his eyes) of his father? All of the cast returns from the first movie (well, all that survived the first movie), and they all do a collective good job. Maguire is a perfect choice for the lead; he's unassuming, can't really emote, is stoic, and even a little bit wimpy. All are qualities that plague the characters of both Spider-Man and Peter Parker.

Hellboy (2004)

A demon, raised from infancy after being conjured by and rescued from the Nazis, grows up to become a defender against the forces of darkness.

Director:

 Guillermo del Toro.

Writers:

 Guillermo del Toro (screenplay), Guillermo del Toro(screen story).

Stars:

 Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Selma Blair.

Storyline

In the final days of World War II, the Nazis attempt to use black magic to aid their dying cause. The Allies raid the camp where the ceremony is taking place, but not before a demon - Hellboy - has already been conjured. Joining the Allied forces, Hellboy eventually grows to adulthood, serving the cause of good rather than evil.

Hellboy Movie Reviews

Hellboy is a well-balanced and very well-paced movie that avoids tiresome action movie content (mostly).

Script: Very efficient. The snappy-attitude lines are allowable because of Hellboy's partially juvenile personality.

Acting: I credit Pearlman for presenting a complete character without being gabby and coy. Well-done. Almost all of the other significant characters are equally well-presented by their respective actors, save for one. del Toro certainly dropped the ball in writing/directing that character (though I won't mention who so as not to give anything away). He messed up only one character, and I forgive him. Nobody's perfect.

Casting: Appropriate.

Pace/balance: The movie reminded me of X2 in this respect. It moved well, didn't get stalled anywhere, and both the action and drama were moderated with smooth transitions between each.

For comparison, Spiderman was good but overacted, X2 was good but with a few eye-rolling moments.

Overall, I found this movie provided high entertainment value. B+

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  Reviews

I had the pleasure of seeing this last night at the Alamo Draft House screening with not only Guillermo del Toro but Mike Mignola and Doug Jones attending as well. I was a fan of del Toro's work before I got into Hellboy but that was several years before the first movie. This is quite honestly one of the best marriages of both source and original material I could've hoped for. I felt the movie far surpassed the original. It was smarter, funnier, and as visually stunning as anything you can expect from either del Toro or Mignola. The sheer number and variety of fully realized monsters, with the stronger emphasis being on puppetry and make-up as opposed to an over reliance on CGI, is almost astounding in this day and age. The performances were also top notch. It was a little weird to hear Doug Jones's voice actually coming out of Abe Sapien at first but I think it added to the character and Seth McFarlane as the voice of Johann Krauss was a rather inspired gamble that paid off. All in all the best thing I can say that will probably make the strongest impact on the largest number of people is that I would gladly pay to see this movie again and I would recommend it to any of my friends, regardless of how familiar they are or aren't with Hellboy. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.