Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi

Director

George Lucas

Country

United States

Cast

Ewan McGregor, Hayden Christensen, Natalie Portman, Ian McDiarmid, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, Temuera Morrison, Frank Oz, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Silas Carson, Leeanna Walsman, Ahmed Best, Rose Byrne, Verónica Segura, Pernilla August, Jack Thompson, Oliver Ford Davies, Ayesha Dharker, Joel Edgerton, Bonnie Piesse, Jay Laga'aia

Plot

Ten years after initially meeting, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen) shares a forbidden romance with Padmé (Natalie Portman), while Obi-Wan (Ewan McGregor) investigates an assassination attempt on the Senator and discovers a secret clone army crafted for the Jedi.

Opinion

Stop defending it, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones is not a good film. George Lucas clearly does not know what to do anymore. The love story between Anakin and Padmé is boring and unconvincingly. Some action scenes are good, others go on too long and are tedious. The special effects are excellent, but they can't save the film. 

Hayden Christensen's performance as Anakin Skywalker is awful. While the script isn't strong, maybe another - and better - actor might have brought more life into the role. Natalie Portman's performance as Padmé is painful: while she had some chemistry with 10-year-old Jake Lloyd's Anakin, she has completely lost it with Christensen.

Quotes

Anakin: I killed them. I killed them all. They're dead, every single one of them. And not just the men, but the women and the children, too. They're like animals, and I slaughtered them like animals. I HATE THEM!

Rating

5.5/10

MUST WATCH: Last Trailer For AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON !

Ok, nicely done Marvel! This final trailer for AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON hits the mark on a number of levels including more detail on the background of Ultron and the dynamics within the avengers themselves.

The effects look amazing - so looking forward to seeing these scenes in 3D because it and every successive 3D converted movie from Marvel looks better and better. Knowing that The Avengers represent the keystone of the studio means they will be overly scrutinizing every frame.

Cool end shot too :-)

Here's the storyline for the movie:
Marvel Studios presents “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” the epic follow-up to the biggest Super Hero movie of all time. When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, including Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye, are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON opens on May 1.

12 Angry Men (1957)

Genre

Drama

Director

Sidney Lumet

Country

United States

Cast

Henry Fonda, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Joseph Sweeney, Ed Begley, George Voskovec, Robert Webber

Plot

A Puerto Rican youth is on trial for murder, accused of knifing his father to death. The twelve jurors retire to the jury room, having been admonished that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Eleven of the jurors vote for conviction, each for reasons of his own. The sole holdout, Juror #8 (Henry Fonda), will try to convince the others that the case is not as obviously clear as it seemed in court.

Opinion

12 Angry Men is a masterpiece. It is unbelievable how a film, shooted almost 60 years ago, that takes place in just one room, and entirely built on the characters dialogues, manages to satisfy a modern audience. Furthermore, it is the proof that a film does not need elaborate scenery or costumes or special effects to be great.
I have not seen the original teleplay, but I know for sure that Sidney Lumet could not do a better job: this film is flawless. The camera movements and angles achieve their goal, that is adding suspense. The dialogues are just brilliant.
Excellent casting. Henry Fonda, who plays Juror #8, and Lee J. Cobb, who plays Juror #3, give incredibly realistic performances.

Quotes

Juror #8: Ever since you walked into this room, you've been acting like a self-appointed public avenger! You want to see this boy die because you personally want it, not because of the facts! You're a sadist!
Juror #3: I'll kill him! I'LL KILL HIM!
Juror #8: You don't *really* mean you'll kill me, do you?

Juror #8: Prejudice always obscures the truth.

Rating

10/10

Drew Goodard Rumored To Be Next Spider-man Writer And Helmer

Sounds like a good plan to me. Multiple websites (Latino-review seems first, but Deadline expresses caution that the deal is not done yet) have stated that Drew Goddard (CLOVERFIELD, WORLD WAR Z, THE MARTIAN) is close to being attached to the next Spider-man franchise movie. Rumor has it that Goddard will be writing and directing. A good choice in my mind.

Marvel's producer extraordinaire Kevin Feige is producing along with Amy Pascal.

The multi-studio deal seems to include a clause that allows much less stress for Sony to frequently push out Spider-man universe projects just to retain rights to the character. Sony also gets Marvel characters in their web-head movies. Marvel gets Spidey in their movies too while (I assume) they keep their original revenue stream from Sony's efforts. All seems well. I hope. 'Cause I want this to last.

More info when we get it!

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Director

Brian De Palma

Country

United States

Cast

Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Ingeborga Dapkūnaitė, Emilio Estevez, Karel Dobrý, Olegar Fedoro, Dale Dye

Plot

Jim Phelps (Jon Voight) is sent to Prague for a mission to prevent the theft of classified material. Unfortunately, something goes wrong and the mission fails, leaving Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) the lone survivor. When he reports the failed mission, Kettridge (Henry Czerny) the head of the agency suspects Ethan of being the culprit for the failed mission. Now, Ethan uses unorthodox methods to try to find who set him up and to clear his name.

Opinion

A popular belief says this film is confusing, and nearly impossible to follow: I'm not quite sure I've seen the same film. Mission: Impossible is an entertaining film, with some moments of tension and suspense.

Brian De Palma's direction is good, and he manages to keep the viewer glued to the screen without putting lot of efforts.

Tom Cruise is certainly not Sean Connery, but he performs well, although during the dialogues only one thing is moving: his jaw. The support from Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart and Jean Reno is strong, but the latter's character is not very interesting.

Buy/Rent on Amazon Instant Video

Quotes

Ethan Hunt: Can I ask you something, Kittridge? If you're dealing with a man who has crushed, shot, stabbed, and detonated five members of his own IMF team, how devastated do you think you're gonna make him by hauling Mom and Uncle Donald down to the county courthouse?

Rating

7.0/10

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Fantasy

Director

Alan Taylor

Country

United States

Cast

Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, Alice Krige, Chris O'Dowd, Benicio del Toro, Ophelia Lovibond, Jonathan Howard, Tony Curran, Clive Russell, Richard Brake, Chris Evans, Stan Lee

Plot

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) fights to restore order across the cosmos, but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Opinion

Finally Thor has the same importance of the others Marvel superheroes. Thor: The Dark World, not only exceeded my expectations, but is spectacular. The special effects are exceptional; the action scenes are great; the setting, which mostly takes place on Asgard, is fantastic and certainly more realistic than it was in Thor. 

Lady Sif, Heimdall and Volstagg have a more important role, and their impact in the storyline is decisive.

Chris Hemsworth is great, and even more convincing as the God of Thunder, more mature and responsible than he previously was. Tom Hiddleston seems born to be Loki: he looks like him and he acts perfectly like him. Christopher Eccleston is great as Malekith, although I would have preferred a stronger villain. Natalie Portman does not have much chemistry with Chris Hemsworth.

Buy on Amazon.com | Buy on Amazon Instant Video

Quotes

Loki: Well done, you just decapitated your grandfather!

Loki: I think you missed a column.

Dr. Erik Selvig: Your brother isn't coming, is he?

Thor: Loki is dead.

Dr. Erik Selvig: Thank God... I'm so sorry.

Rating

8.0/10

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Original Title

El laberinto del fauno

Genre

Drama | Fantasy | War

Director

Guillermo del Toro

Country

Spain | Mexico

Cast

Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo, Manolo Solo, César Vea, Roger Casamajor, Federico Luppi, Pablo Adán

Plot

In the falangist Spain of 1944, armed with only her imagination, young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother.

Opinion

Pan's Labyrinth is an undefined film, a dark fairy tale for grown ups, halfway between the fantasy and the real world, which, in this case, is war. By looking around, I figured this is the main reason why many did not like the film. Having said this, I really liked it.

Guillermo del Toro, which deals with brutality and innocence, has created something different, something special. The continuous alternation between reality and fantasy, lived through a little girl's eyes, has an addictive rhythm.

Sergi López is excellent as the brutal and sadistic falangist Captain Vidal. Ivana Baquero, 11-year-old at that time, delivers a great performance.

Buy on Amazon.com | Buy/Rent on Amazon Instant Video

Quotes

Ofelia: Many, many years ago in a sad, faraway land, there was an enormous mountain made of rough, black stone. At sunset, on top of that mountain, a magic rose blossomed every night that made whoever plucked it immortal. But no one dared go near it because its thorns were full of poison. Men talked amongst themselves about their fear of death, and pain, but never about the promise of eternal life. And every day, the rose wilted, unable to bequeath its gift to anyone... forgotten and lost at the top of that cold, dark mountain, forever alone, until the end of time.

Rating

8.5/10