Clash of the Titans

Okay, so, I'm back! Yay, bet you're all so excited. anyway, on my travels, I saw this movie, so I decided I should review it.
In ancient Greece, on a stormy sea, a fisherman sees a coffin floating in the sea, when he hauls it up on deck, inside he finds a dead woman, clutching an infant boy, who is still alive. The fisherman decides to adopt the boy, who he names Perseus. Perseus's life is going pretty well in life, until when out fishing, his family's boat is destroyed by the Greek god of the underworld, Hades. Perseus, the only survivor, washes up in the city of Argos, and from then on his only goal is to join the people of Argos in their struggle against the cruel and merciless gods. He and several others go on a journey to find the Witches, who will tell them how to defeat the gods' greatest weapon, a creature named the Kraken. On this journey, Perseus learns to fight, slays titanic monsters, falls in love, and learns the secret of his true family.

Clash of the Titans ( named after the 80's hit) has everything that a modern movie requires. Lots of action scenes, romance, and a relatively stable plot combine to make this a truly epic film. My personal views ( and I'm sure that many will agree with me), are that it was a decent movie, but they could have been a little more accurate on some of the Greek mythological facts. That alone tortured me throughout the entire movie, though that's probably because I am the ultimate Greek mythology nerd. Overall, however, I would give it a solid 3 stars, 4 if I knew nothing about Greek myths, for good acting, great special effects, and sweet action scenes. And lastly, to all you parents out there, it earns its PG-13 rating, but it's not horrible.

Alice in Wonderland

Hey everyone! My newest review in the Arcadia News has come out on their site. Yay!
Even if you don't get the Arcadia News in the mail, you can still pick up a copy at local stores and restaurants.

Here's a link to my review on their website, as well: http://arcadianews.com/movies/movies_0410.html

Enjoy!

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Kid Kritic here!
I'm now writing monthly reviews for the Arcadia News, a local newspaper. So, I'll be posting a link to their website where you can see my review once it's out, as well as doing other reviews here.

Here's the link to my Percy Jackson review: Arcadia News
And if you live in the Arcadia area, pick it up at a local establishment near you!

Avatar

Looks like I'm finally getting around to reviewing something again! It's been awhile, but I'm back...finally. But I digress. Time to review Avatar!
In the distant future, Humanity has spread throughout the galaxy, to a planet called Pandora, where they mine for a substance called "Unobtainium". The indigenous people of the planet, a species of aliens called the Na'vi, are less than pleased that the " Sky People" are taking over their world, resulting in tension between the humans and the Na'vi. Trying to ease the tension, a group of scientists discover a way to transport their consciousness into Na'vi-like bodies, or "Avatars", and learn their language to try to breed understanding between the two races. A scientist who was meant for the job was killed in a battle on Earth, and so he was replaced by his twin brother, ex-Marine Jake Sully, even though he is paralyzed from the waist down. In his Avatar form, he blunders into the jungles of Pandora, finds love and friendship, and ultimately makes an unchooseable choice. In addition to astounding special effects, colorful language, and a very James Cameron-esque budget, Avatar has captivated the modern audience so thoroughly that it would seem G.I. Joe was ancient history.

Despite all of my usual prejudices against action flicks, I'd have to praise this one for actually having a clear plot line, as well as good special effects. All in all, I'd give it a solid 4 star review. Well, ta-ta for now, and happy moviegoing!

Return to Me

Sorry for not updating sooner. I really have no excuse whatsoever. So again, sorry. And please enjoy my newest review!

Return to Me
This is a movie about Robert, who's wife died in a car crash, and Grace, who had a heart transplant. Robert's wife Elizabeth was a doctor at a zoo, and taught the gorilla Sydney sign language. She'd been trying to get enough money to give Sydney a bigger habitat to live in. Robert owns a construction company and planned on building it for her.

A year after Elizabeth's death, Robert and Grace meet when Robert goes on a blind date set up by his friend Charlie who accompanies him with his date. But Grace isn't the one Robert's meeting with Charlie. She's a waitress at the restaurant they go to, O'Reilly's Italian Restaurant. This is one of my favorite scenes, because of what Robert's date is like.

Grace's only family left is her grandfather Marty, and his brother Angelo. Marty and Angelo have a couple friends, Emmett and Wally. Marty and Angelo are the ones who run O'Reilly's. Emmett's daughter Megan is best friends with Grace, and we see her and her husband quite a bit throughout the movie. Megan and Joe have five kids, a one of which likes to repeat all the swear words that Joe says. And here is where I warn you that if you don't like movies with any swear words, then you shouldn't watch Return to Me. Though they don't swear all that often (it's really just what Joe's teaching his kids) and not that badly, I'm still giving you a heads up.

Robert and Grace start dating, and all is well, but what they don't know is that the heart Grace received was that of Robert's late wife. And when Grace finds the thank-you letter she sent to the heart donor's family on Robert's desk, things take a wrong turn. This is, however, not a spoiler. I assure you, I wouldn't do that to you in any of my reviews. The viewers knew pretty much the entire time, it was just the people in the movie that didn't.

A romantic comedy for sure, most of the comedy surrounding Grace's family and friends. I could go on and on talking about how much I like this movie and all the great parts in it, but that would spoil the movie as the great parts take place in all of the movie! This is one of those movies that I never get tired of watching. In fact, I watched it two nights in a row a couple days ago. I'll give this movie 3 1/2 stars! And now I have the urge to watch it again.

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant

Just a reminder: If you'd like us to review anything in particular, you can email me at f1r3w1z4rd@gmail.com

And now, here's my review!
I read the review for The Vampire's Assistant in the newspaper, and it almost convinced me not to go. Almost. But, I decided to stick with my first instinct that the movie was something that I wanted to see, and went anyway. And I wasn't disappointed.
The Vampire's Assistant is about teenage Darren Shan, who gets good grades and doesn't really get into trouble. His best friend Steve Leonard is the troublemaker, and one day convinces Darren to skip class. While out, they find a flyer for Cirque du Freak, a traveling freak show. When they go, they see everything from a wolfboy, to a psychic girl with a beard, to a man with a performing, multi-colored, poisonous spider. The man, Larten Crepsley, is a vampire that turns Darren into a half vampire, in return giving Darren the antidote to save Steve from a fatal spider bite. Darren then must fake his own death and go to live with the Cirque du Freak.
Meanwhile, Steve gets mixed in the wrong crowd: the vampaneze. Being led to believe that Darren stole his dream of becoming a vampire, Steve falls victim to Mr. Tiny, a man with plans of war. As Darren learns more about what he's gotten himself into, the war between the vampaneze and the vampires seems inevitable, no matter what the truce says.
I'd like to know what the people who have read the books think of the movie, as I've heard that Rebecca the monkey-girl is an added character that's not in the books. So please comment or email!

I warn you that, if you don't want the books to be spoiled for you, you shouldn't look at the imdb (or Wikipedia, for that matter, as quite a few books were spoiled for me there as well) site for this film. The books were spoiled quite a bit for me while I was doing research for my review.

I thought this movie was great fun, with humor mixed in with adventure, I'd give this movie 3 stars, and I'd definitley like to read the books!