PIRATES!!

"PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES"

Oh yes, the fourth Pirates movie. I ended up going to see this late one evening on a whim with my in-laws who are visiting from Sweden. Now I can't say that I am the hugest fan in the world of the Pirates franchise but I certainly enjoy the action and comedy that it brings. Now I'm sure we were all upset about the ending of "At Worlds End" so personally I was excited to hear that they were continuing the story. This movie really had nothing to do with the old ones, other than some of our favorite characters returning it was a totally new story. Johnny Depp was absolutely fantastic and this reminded me of what an unbelievably great actor he is. When I heard that Penelope Cruz was starring I was more than skeptical. I don't know, some people in the acting world like Penelope and Salma Hayek has such thick accents that it's almost hard to enjoy the movie (Chinese guy from "Inception.") However, Penelope did a great job I wasn't bothered by her at all. She was quirky and funny and a great addition to the movie. As for the story line, like any movie it had its weak points but over all i feel like I was entertained. The climax of the movie for me were the meat eating mermaids, so great! I was happy to move on from the innocent "Ariel" view of them. I mean this was obviously a much closer account to how real mermaids behave...(is he serious?) I loved the romance between the missionary and the captured mermaid but I feel like it wasn't developed enough. I wanted them to be together but i honestly didn't care that much. As for Captain Jack Sparrow and Angelica... who can really take that backstabbing romance seriously? Black Beard was a selfish douche bag, a true pirate played handsomely by Ian McShane. Geoffrey Rush came back with only one leg this time and truly did fantastic. I think he is the best pirate ever (I know I sound like a 10 year old but he really is! Almost as good as Dustin Hoffman in "Hook"...lol.) The only thing I wish would have been different was the ending, leaving someone on an island... come on it's been done! :) Over all I certainly enjoyed this movie it was better than I thought it would be. I give the new "PIRATES" 3 out of 4 GLOWSTICKS!

"Super 8" is more than super!

When I walked into the theatre last night I could not help but be excited. I had seen trailers for this movie and could not help but be intrigued by the awesome special effects and of course the names attached to it (Spielberg, Abrams.) It was a midnight showing and my eyes were a bit heavy so the 27 minutes of commercials and previews (seriously) were a bit taxing. Once the movie began I was ready to go! I must say that literally from beginning to end my eyes were glued to the screen. I felt like I was a part of the movie and forgot where I was once or twice (cause the movie was so good not cause I have an incurable disease...stupid.) The children in this movie (Joel Courtney, Elle Fanning, Riley Griffiths, and Ryan Lee) were phenomenal, if this movie doesn't catapult them to stardom I will be incredibly surprised. "Super 8" had a mix of so many different movies. It was like "Stand by Me" mixed with "E.T" and "Independence Day." There was a little adolescent romance brewing (forbidden love at that), deep emotional issues (death and such), a whole lot of comedy (Riley Griffiths was hilarious), Action (lots of explosions), the beauty of friendship ( the "stand by me" complex), and a mysterious monster alien with a hidden agenda. WHAT ELSE COULD YOU POSSIBLY WANT? Newcomer, Joel Courtney, impressed me most of all. He had such an innocence and a natural way about him. I forgot he was acting several times. He will definitely be a force to be reckoned with acting wise in the future. Of course Elle Fanning was amazing and what else could you expect considering who her sister is? (Dakota Fanning for those of you who are slow.) I thought there was fantastic character development and a perfect amount of emotional drama to make you care about the main characters. The special effects were superb as well as the pacing of the film. You know how certain movies hide the monster until the end and then you are incredibly disappointed when you see that it's an alien shaking back and forth with a breathing problem? (Hello "Signs") I felt a great sense of danger while watching it and for once the monster was something believable! Most importantly i left the movies with a feeling of excitement that I hadn't had in a while. Like when I had seen "Jurassic Park" for the first time or the first "Lord of The Rings." "Super 8" successfully created a classic. Not one that needs 37 sequels ("Saw") Hopefully the Catholic Movie Board won't find something wrong with it and ruin it like they did "The Golden Compass." Needless to say, It is probably in my top 5 best movies ever and I am seeing that critics everywhere are agreeing with me. I Definitely suggest that you go and see it on opening weekend. You will not be disappointed (unless you only like movies like "Black Swan".) I give "Super 8" 4 out of 4 GLOW STICKS!

A new critic in town!

Going to the movies is something that I do often; I do it to relax and also just for the pure enjoyment of it. I usually walk out of a movie theatre feeling pretty pleased about what I have seen but usually drift into thoughts of how certain things weren't executed correctly or how everything was executed perfectly . I have studied movie making and script writing in college and elsewhere. I have also done a whole lot of acting throughout my short 23 years. Most importantly I LOVE movies, and not just for entertainment purposes but purely for the incredible art of it. Many movie critics these days have forgotten about the beauty in flaws and the beauty of art. When watching a movie one will always find things that could have been different. So many movies that deliver a great piece of artwork get thwarted by people who have either lost interest in cinema or are to caught up in shock value and seriousness. These days a movie can hardly get an Academy Award without breasts or F words. Sure, those things can add to a storyline but what people have forgotten is that there are different genres of movies! This blog will be dedicated to critiquing movies in their field of study so to speak. I watch movies all the time that critics hate and when i go watch it I end up loving it. All the things I say will obviously be my opinion but hopefully it will shed a different light on the movie you decide to go watch on a friday night! Let us Begin!