Wrath of the Titans

So what was the movie about?

Wrath of the Titans is the sequel to Clash of the Titans. The movie picks up several years after the end of Clash of the Titans, and Perseus has forsaken his right to be a god, and is living peacefully as a fisherman.  His wife has passed away, and he is now raising his 10 year old son so that he never has to pick up a sword.

Although Perseus has chosen this life, Zeus visits Perseus and asks him to join Zeus and the other remaining gods to contain Kronos, the father of the gods and a titan, who is escaping from his prison. Although Perseus initially refuses to help, Zeus is captured by the traitorous Ares and Hades and brought to Kronos, who intends to draw away Zeus' power in order to escape from his prison. When Perseus learns that Zeus, and ultimately the Earth is in danger, he picks up the sword to start his new quest. Along the way, Perseus enlists the help of the demi-god son of Poseiden, Agenor, and the Queen Andromeda, whom he saved in the first movie. 

To save the day, Perseus must navigate the Labyrinth to find and rescue Zeus; defeat Ares; and then eventually face and defeat Kronos.  

What did I Like About the Movie?

  

I really enjoyed Wrath of the Titans.  In some aspects, I enjoyed the sequel more than the original movie, Clash of the Titans. This movie was not a remake, and so Wrath of the Titans was able to live on its own merits, avoiding the comparisons from the previous movie. 

I felt like they did a good job developing the story at the beginning of the movie. They took their time to make sure that the viewer understood what was happening and why. 
This attention to detail really helps set a solid foundation for the movie.

Yes, this movie did not get a lot of good reviews, but I enjoyed it for what it was.  An action flick based loosely on greek mythology with a lot of special effects.

This movie was built for 3D action, but I didn't miss anything from not seeing it in 3D.

Would I recommend it?

Yes. I think this would be a fun DVD rental.

You should rent John Carter (of Mars)

So what was the movie about?

John Carter is an adaption of the Edgar Rice Burrough's Barsoom novel written exactly 100 years ago.  The story revolves around John Carter, a former confederate calvaryman from Arizona. Distraught and calloused due to the death of his wife and daughter during the war, John Carter looks out only for himself, and eventually lands in Arizona prospecting for Gold.

Hiding from attacking Apaches, John hides in a cave covered in mysterious images and writing. While investigating these mysteries, John is attacked by someone and then is unknowingly transported to Mars. John soon learns that the lesser gravity of Mars and his greater bone density gives him relatively greater strength and agility he wouldn't have on Earth. He also learns that Mars, which the natives call Barsoom, is in its own civil war, which may lead to Barsoom's ultimate destruction.

John is quickly captured by the 12 foot green martians of Barsoom, known as Tharks. The leader of the Tharks is Tars Tarkas who quickly realizes that John is a good person and ally. Now that John is no longer a prisoner, he is trying to find a way back home, and stumbles on the 1000 year civil war raging between two human factions on Mars.  

In the skirmish, John rescues the captivating Princess Dejah Thoris who tries to convince John to use his talents and strength to protect her people and ultimately the planet. John must choose between going home and helping the Princess, a decision that isn't as easy as John once thought. 

John also learns that this civil war is being engineered by a third-party, known as the Thern.  The Thern, which seem immortal, have the power of the "9th Ray" which gives them access to infinite energy, including the ability to move between planets. John also learns that the medallian the Thern wear is the way back home, if he wants to return.

***************Spoiler Alert*****************

John, who has fallen in love with Princess Dejah, decides to stay and help her save Barsoom.  Enlisting the Tharks, John is able to defeat the Thern and his minions.  John, now happy with his life on Mars, is visited by the Thern who send him back to Earth.

Back on Earth, John starts a quest, to find another medallion like the first one that brought him to Mars in the first place, so that he can return to the Princess Dejah.  

What did I Like About the Movie?

I understand that the movie wasn't exactly true to the original story written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, but I haven't read the Mars series, so I can't comment on that comparison.  However, I really did enjoy this science fiction action flick.  

Watching the movie and knowing that John Carter was based on an original story, you could really see the influences of the original author’s life in the story. In some way, Edgar felt like John Carter, a stranger in a strange land. I also felt like Edgar had a connection, if not empathy, with Native Americans and their perception of being wild and on the outside of civilization.

How the story was told in the movie was also done very well. The movie itself is a flashback to what occurred over 10 years ago (in movie time), and we are now at John Carter’s reading of his last will and testament.   How the movie gets to this point, and moves forward from that point was what made the movie a fun ride and tied the pieces together nicely.

As with most action adventure movies, the storyline is fairly predictable, though I found a surprise twist or two at the end of the movie which made it more enjoyable for me.

  

A good movie allows me to be an invisible participant in the movie-- an observer of events happening in the movie. I need to be enveloped in the story, the action, and the world created. I felt like I was able to do that with John Carter.

Would I recommend it?

Yes. I definitely recommend renting this movie.

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Lockout

                                                    

So what was the movie about?

It is the year 2079, and they have created an outer space prison where they house the most dangerous criminals. These criminals are put under a long term sleep for the duration of their sentence which has eliminated crime in the prison.

The president's daughter, Emilie (played by Maggie Grace), is conducting an humanitarian visit to the prison to make sure the procedures used on the inmates are humane and fair.  When a prisoner is woken up to be interviewed by Emilie, he is able to escape, releases the other 400+ prisoners, and help his inmate brother take over the prison. 

Snow, a former CIA agent (played by Guy Pearce), is recruited to bust the president's daughter out of the prison overtaken by these inmates who seem to kill anyone not wearing an orange jumpsuit.

Snow only takes the job after being convicted for espionage knowing the key to proving his innocence resides with his former partner who is currently an inmate in the space prison. 

If Snow can free his friend and save the President's daughter at the same time he knows he can get out of his own 30 year sentence aboard the same prison he is about to break into.

****Spoiler Alert*****

The formula for these types of movies doesn't change with Lock Out.  You know what to expect.  The soon to be hero is the guy no one likes because he is a punk, and he was just framed for a murder he did not commit. He will be given a "Get Out of Jail Free" card if he is able to achieve the impossible task of rescuing the pretty girl.  The hero is able to rescue the girl but his promise of freedom is not kept.  The rescued girl find the information the hero needs to be cleared of espionage, and then the hero is able to catch the bad guys. In the end, the hero and the pretty girl walk off together hand in hand. 

What did I Like About the Movie?

This is an average movie. The actors seemed well cast and the acting was decent. The plot followed the standard movie formula as mentioned above and the story line moved along at a decent pace. The special effects were cool (except for one bad CGI scene in the beginning.) And Lockout ended with a predictably happy ending. That is all I can really say about the Lockout.

The problem with Lockout is that there was nothing special about it...nothing that stood out to me that made me say this was a great movie.  I thought it was fun, but was expecting a little more from it. I guess it is telling that when I started to think about what I would say about the movie, I really didn't know what to say. 

I guess it just needed a little bit more of everything to make it a better movie.   

Would I recommend it?

Sort of. I guess it is like recommending Wendy's.  Yeah, if you are looking for a fast food joint, I think it is a good one to go for that, but if you asked me where you should go out to eat, I would recommend somewhere else. 

If you love movies like I do, and you don't have high expectation for this movie, then I think it is worth  getting on Netflix or Redbox.  However, if you want a little more from your movies, I recommend you wait until it comes to TV.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (SH2) is the sequel to the previous Sherlock Holmes movie, starring Robert Downing Jr., and is based on the Sherlock Holmes novels.

So what was the movie about?

SH2 is a continuation of story from the first Sherlock Holmes movie, where Moriarty is first introduced.  The movie picks up several months later after the first movie. Watson has left Sherlock Holmes to marry Mary, his sweetheart. Sherlock Holmes, left to himself, is quirkier than ever and has become obsessed with tracking the genesis of some recent terrorist attacks and his adversary Professor Moriarty.  

Meanwhile, Moriarty is stealthily putting together the final pieces to his overall plan making sure there were no loose ends or people to talk.  So shrewd was his planning and execution no one knew that Professor Moriarty was the mover of all these pieces he was putting together.  Well, no one but Sherlock Holmes. 

In his usual crazy manner, Sherlock Holmes is trying to put all the pieces together and figure out the end goal of Professor Moriarty.  In this process, he must protect Watson from Moriarty's designs and convince Watson at the same time to help Sherlock one last time.

Holmes eventually convinces Watson to join him one last time, and with the help of Holmes' brother and some gypsies the adventure begins to thwart Professor Moriarty's plan.

What did I Like About the Movie?

Although I believe the first Sherlock Holmes is better than the second movie, the second movie is still very good. One of the things that made the first movie so good was the unique visual style they used to get into Holmes mind when he was figuring something out or was about to face an enemy in combat. They carried this same style over into the sequel which I appreciated and liked.

The "chess match" between Sherlock Holmes and Professor Moriarty throughout the movie was very fun to watch.  Prof. Moriarty seemingly knew what to do next, and made sure everything was planned according to his master plan.  This plan included dealing with Sherlock Holmes, who always seemed a step behind.  Similarly, Sherlock Holmes, a crazy mastermind himself, has executed a counter offensive to Prof. Moriarty's plan in an attempt to prevent Moriarty from accomplishing his goals. Following this fun chess match between the two eventually leads to a great, and somewhat surprising ending to the movie. 

Would I recommend it?

Yes. Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows is a fun movie. It is fast-paced, witty and full of action. Just my type of movie! If you haven't seen it already or even if you have  already seen the movie, it is definitely worth the DVD rental. 

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is a sequel to the previous Ghost Rider, starring Nicolas Cage, and is based on the Marvel Comic book series.

So what was the movie about?

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (GR2) is another story based on stopping the apocalypse.  Johnny Blaze AKA Ghost Rider, played by Nicolas Cage, made a deal with the devil to save his Father's life. In return, Johnny Blaze was cursed to ride around on a motorcycle at night taking the souls of evil men, looking like a skeleton on fire.

In this sequel, Johnny Blaze is trying to not be the Ghost Rider anymore and is offered freedom from his curse in exchange for saving the life a boy who is wanted by the devil. The devil wants to occupy the body of the boy so his power would not decay on Earth. 

As you can imagine, Johnny Blaze has to decide between the boy and saving mankind and his curse.

What did I Like About the Movie?

I liked that it was only 1.5 hrs long. I usually don't have a problem with predictable story lines and faulty plots like GR2, but even the acting and dialogue was not very good. It wasn't so bad that I stopped watching the movie, but I felt like I was watching a movie made by the ScyFy channel. 

There was a scene or two that was fun to watch, but I expected more from this movie. Not that the first movie was great, but this movie just felt like it was going through the motions to fulfill a sequel commitment.

Would I recommend it?

No. I rented this movie from Netflix, and I didn't think it was worth it.  I would skip this one.

Red Tails: Are you ready for a feel good movie?

Red Tails is based on events in WWII, and is another inspirational movie.

So what was the movie about?

Red Tails is an inspirational/feel-good movie about african-american fighter pilots overcoming the challenges of segregation and racism during World War 2.  The fighter pilots of the experimental Tuskagee training program were relegated to clean up missions miles away from the war while the action and glory was elsewhere.  


Just as this experimental program is about to be shut down, desperation affords the "Red Tails" an opportunity to fight for their country. Success on their first mission leads to another opportunity to protect bombers on their missions.  The Red Tails soon became accepted because of their continued success in leading and protecting the bombers.


Intertwined in this movie is the story of some of the main fighter pilots.  These stories are somewhat formulaic. You have the fighter pilot who breaks all the rules and falls in love with an italian local. You have the responsible leader who struggles with the pressures of his father from home.  You have the kid with raw talent who just wants to fly but injury stands in his way.  And you have the Tuskagee program leader fighting to save the program.

What did I Like About the Movie?

Like many motivational movies, Red Tails is full of cliches, corny lines and the best intentions.  For me, this made the film enjoyable. Honestly, I don't know if there is any one thing that stands out in this movie for me. I guess it was just consistently a feel good movie.

Would I recommend it?

I believe Red Tails is worth a DVD rental.  As mentioned before it is a feel good movie and I think they are always worth the watch. Now, if you are a person who needs to have good character development, this may not be the movie for you.