It makes sense that a film would eventually use this powerful word as its title, but who would have guessed that the plot would involve a circus? I’m pretty sure that everyone was surprised to hear that, but we courageously kept on watching. Is the film intense enough to earn such a title? Well…it tries.

This is an example of a film that I had never heard of until I had seen it. Still, that’s how you find some of the best hidden gems! (The One!) The plot revolves around Monica Rivers, a circus owner, as mysterious happenings start occurring. Her circus performers are being picked off one by one. Coincidentally, they all started happening once a man named Frank appeared. He was very good at the role of the first victim and quickly took his job. Could there be any links between these unrelated accidents? More importantly, will the mass murderer be stopped or will the circus performers continue to be taken down for the count!?

Monica is the main character, but it’s really hard to root for her. I believe that we’re supposed to view her as the villain and then sympathize with her as the film goes on, but that just didn’t work for me. She values profit over people and explains this many times. She also makes sure to keep several of the characters interested in her so that she can have the joy of turning them down each time. Not really main character traits eh? All right, let’s talk about the other suspects characters.

Dorando is a character who owns part of the circus and he feels deeply saddened when the murders start. He’s not the type of guy to stand for something like this, but he also doesn’t dare leave. His only chance is for Monica to buy him out and then he could move away, but the chances of that are slim. Dorando wasn’t very likable either since he kept letting Monica push him around the whole time. Still…what if it’s part of his plan!?

Frank is the obvious suspect, but maybe it’s obvious because he is the villain!!!!!! He shows up right when the murders start happening and he obviously wants to make some money. He starts resorting to black mail and he also wants to be more than friends with Monica. This guy’s a bad apple in every meaning of the word and he even hits a reporter. There is also a dark past involving his last circus act…..hmmmmm. You really hope that he’s the culprit since he’s not likable either.

Angela doesn’t appear until we’re pretty late into the film, but she’s Monica’s daughter. She was kicked out of school for being a trouble maker and now she wants to be in the circus. Monica tries to shield her from the rumors that she is bumping everyone off, but Angela quickly finds out. Then again…what if she already knew and she was actually the murderer!? Things get interesting when she joins the knife throwing act….

I could keep on mentioning suspects for ages and ages! Still, I want to give you three more before I move on. We have Matilda, who is really interested in stirring up trouble. She suspects that Monica is guilty and she decides to prove it. Is this just a diversion so that nobody will suspect her!? Gustavo is a knife thrower and he realizes that things are getting a little dicey. The people aren’t really thrilled with Matilda and that doesn’t translate well for him. When he adds Angela into his act…he may have made a fatal enemy. That is…unless he is the enemy! Finally, we have Bruno! He’s the most loyal companion of them all and he’s the only one that Matilda can trust. Sounds a little too good to be true eh? There are definitely a lot of suspects in this one!

I’m always up for a good murder mystery, but this one just didn’t work. First of all….it’s a very long time between deaths and plot progression. We get to see a lot of Circus Shows and even the Cops get involved. I did like the Detective, but the shows could drag on. I liked the puppies, but who doesn’t like a good puppy right? The film wasn’t two hours, but it definitely felt like it was!

The violence is also surprisingly intense. It’s not always bloody, but the deaths themselves are what makes it intense. You have peaceful deaths like Superman blowing up random aliens…and you have Jason Todd deaths. This film had most of the latter. Seriously, some of the deaths will probably make you wince a little inside. The final one was ironically the most tame. This definitely felt like it was one of the original slasher films.

Finally, I’ve gotta take a shot at the soundtrack. The reason being….that it was not existent! When you don’t have any likable characters and a story that drags on for a while….you need the music! It’s just something that you can’t really get around. The film just wasn’t very thrilling and the final twist didn’t work.

Yes….the twist! Well, the murderer is revealed at the end and I didn’t agree with it. This person must be extremely talented at deception and possess a good deal of money to pull this off. It just doesn’t make sense unless there was an accomplice to the crime or some of the other characters felt like murdering someone. It definitely takes away from a murder mystery when the murderer doesn’t make any sense.

Overall, I wouldn’t say that this was one of the better slasher/mystery films. The final plot twist about the murderer really did not make sense and I find it a little hard to believe. It really feels like there must have been a second murderer involved, but maybe I’m overthinking things. Still, if you want to enjoy a classic murder mystery or a case of epic proportions, check out Rope or Dial M for Murder. This film can stay in obscurity for now and we can wait for a reboot to fix things.

Overall 3/10

After the Highly Acclaimed Trilogy, the movie industry decided to adapt The Hobbit! This time, we could watch as Bilbo went on an adventure with lower stakes and a much weaker cast all around. Surely the film could still be a success as long as we got some good character development in there right? Well, I’m afraid that isn’t entirely how the film went.

I still remember the first time that I saw the Hobbit trailer. It looked terrible and the effects looked really dated. It’s a problem that the whole LOTR franchise suffers from and I didn’t expect it to get much better, but I wanted to see some change. Ah well, maybe next time! The plot involves Bilbo Baggins as he is forced into an adventure by Gandalf and his “friends”. Bilbo must help them retake their homeland and defeat the mighty Smaug!

We’ve got the plot out of the way, but it’s so simple right? How could this last for 2 hours!? Well, Bilbo puts up a fuss and the film makes sure that we see unnecessary things. The dinner party at the beginning of the movie lasts for a very long amount of time and usually it would have been much smaller in a different film. When I say that it shows unnecessary things, I’m referring to extra gestures or filler scenes that are present. Maybe an extra scene of Bilbo walking for no reason or an epic zoom in on a character that stays for a little too long. The films tend to drag out each and every scene until it’s extremely long. It’s like walking into a building made of steel and then adding some metal on it. In the Hobbit, we understand what is happening and would prefer if the movie could pick up the pace.

This is a bit of advice that I’ve used for all of the films, but I’ll say it again. The film should be shorter and they could take out a solid hour and the film would be better off for it. They could definitely condense some scenes and they could have literally taken 10 minutes off of the dinner scene. Maybe the sequels will do better in the time frame part, but I have my doubts.

Bilbo is a much better main character than Frodo so that definitely helps the film out. I’m not really a fan of the character, but he is easier to sympathize with. He is currently able to resist the ring’s influence and he tries to be heroic. His plans don’t always succeed, but he’s braver and more dependable than Frodo. A main character can make a world of difference and while it did not save the Hobbit, it did make the film more enjoyable. It definitely would have been a lot worse if Frodo had been around.

Gandalf is still around, but he continues to look weak and he even becomes a bully of sorts. He has a bunch of his friends break into Bilbo’s house and they eat his life supply of food that he had hidden. That’s not a very nice thing to do and they never gave him money or any sort of compensation. Bilbo doesn’t have any food in his house anymore and that’s not something that he should forget so easily.

It’s a bit of a running gag at this point, but it should still be noted that Gandalf is a bad magician. Bilbo directly tells Gandalf this and the old man seems to be disturbed at the statement. Gandalf is in no position to argue this since he spends the film running away from villains or using his sword to fight. He rarely uses magic and it would seem that he doesn’t have that much magical energy. Gandalf is definitely not an ally that you want at your side.

I won’t really get into the main cast since they all seem like throwaway characters at this point, but I’ll at least mention Thorin. He’s the rightful heir to the area that is enslaved by Smaug and he aims to take it back. This is a noble gesture, but it’s one that is definitely misplaced. He doesn’t comprehend how weak he is, even after he is defeated several times during the films. He’s not really a match for random trolls and he is effortlessly defeated by Azog. Does Thorin really think that he can defeat Smaug in this state? He’s definitely deluding himself and he’s going to lead all of his friends to their deaths. One can’t really blame him for trying to stay away from the elves, but he should also realize that his little crew doesn’t stand a chance without their help.

Azog is one of the big villains so he definitely deserves a mention. It’s unknown why he’s so much stronger than the average minion, but he’s defeated many opponents and he’s also pretty large. He’s definitely a fighter that will keep on appearing, but I can’t say that I appreciate him as a villain. He’s still just a generic minion to me…he just got lucky and acquired super abilities.

Smaug doesn’t really appear much, but it’s easy to see why he may be defeated. He’s sleeping among the riches, which means that he hasn’t been training for decades and he’s barely moved. He’ll be out of shape and not really ready for his climatic battle. This likely will not be addressed, but it will lead to his downfall. Smaug is a cool looking dragon, but he’s not as intimidating as the characters suspect. Still, he’s definitely a rich dragon!

Gollum also appears in this film. If you liked him in the original three films, then you’ll like him here. I still can’t root for this guy because I didn’t like his backstory and I just never really liked the character. Bear in mind the fact that I don’t like any of the humanoids in the franchise, but I just did not like him. He gets to fight with Bilbo Baggins in this film, (in another really long scene) but that’s about it as far as his role goes. Maybe he’ll appear again, but it would be as necessary as the rock giants coming back.

The special effects of the film still look awful. The fire from Smaug didn’t look bad and the rock monsters were all right, but the rest of it still looks old. This is intentional of course, but I still can’t disregard that so easily. I don’t want to watch something that looks old on purpose! That defeats the whole cinematic experience. I don’t mind things that adapt the old times, but they should still look new. It’s what the fans expect after all!….or at least it’s what I expect. There is no soundtrack to speak of, so I will skip that part.

The Hobbit is the start of a new trilogy and it will be interesting to see how it fares. This film already felt like it had a slow pace, so I can only imagine how the next two films will feel. I do have some mild hopes that it will surpass the original trilogy, but it will definitely be a close battle. It would appear that Legolas will be coming back in the sequel, which is a good start. This definitely isn’t my kind of film, but that makes reviewing them so much fun! I’m not a fan of the franchise, but I can safely say that I am a fan of the video games and that’s what counts in the longruns. Video Games>>>Movies over 90% of the time.

I almost skipped the negatives section! Well, I’ve already mentioned most of those while writing the actual review. This can be considered as more of a quick summary for the negatives. The film drags on too long and none of the characters are particularly likable. The fight scenes are still really bad and far too realistic/graphic/not fun/old for me to really get into them. There’s no real soundtrack and there isn’t really a sense of danger. The main characters are all rude and the film has quite a few gross scenes. That’s a few too many if you ask me! That’s basically the array of negatives in a nutshell, but I could likely think of more if I really tried.

Overall, The Hobbit is better than the final Lord of the Rings film and it can hold its own against the first two. It improved in some ways, but stayed the same in most of them. I definitely can’t recommend this film and I would sooner tell you to watch the inevitable Dragon Ball Evolution sequel. Fans of LOTR should like it, but those fans have likely seen it by now. To the rest of you, I recommend playing the LOTR video games for Gamecube instead. Contrary to popular opinion, they’re actually pretty fun and sufficiently tough. They’ll eat up more time than the films, but it’s completely worth it!

Overall 3/10

The Journey continues all right! Get ready to see the heroes travel for a while and then have the “epic” showdown at the two towers. This sequel doesn’t really fare any better than the first film and does make some serious mistakes that essentially dig its own grave. Time to see what mistake could have been so fatal!

The plot continues from the last film. Frodo and his companion keep on heading to the villain base so that they can throw the ring back into the lava from whence it came. Unfortunately, it’s a very long journey and since Frodo lacks strength of character, they could be doomed before they even start! In the other plot, Aragorn, Legolas, and the third member of their party seek to rescue the two hobbits. It will be tough and they shall have to overcome many obstacles to do so!

The film suffers from one of the major holes that most films suffer from. Unnecessary animal violence. It definitely didn’t help me like Gollum anymore than I did in the first film and the scenes were very wince worthy. There was just too many cases of animal violence and I immediately knew that the film could score no higher than a 3. The film just hasn’t changed much since the first one.

The characters are still very unlikable. Some characters are decent like Aragorn and Legolas, but they still won’t really rank in the long run. Balrog is a decent villain, but he looked pretty weak since he couldn’t beat a human sorcerer. Frodo is even worse than in the first film because he shows that he can be easily corrupted. He nearly destroys his friend without hesitation and it won’t really help you to sympathize with him. Merry was also a terrible character since he was very mean to the trees. I felt bad for the creatures. It wasn’t their war after all and the hobbits didn’t really care if they died since they were only trees. It’s not as if Merry would be doing any of the real fighting, so he was just putting the trees in danger.

The fight scenes are about what you’d expect and people keep on swinging their swords. The amount of plot hax in the fights were staggering since you would see people jump right into the army and he would not get hurt. There are many points where people literally run into the spears and they do not get hurt. I feel bad for the horses since they’re the ones who take the most damage. It just isn’t fair to the poor creatures. The fight scenes just aren’t impressive and they really drag on.

The Lord of the Rings is the first film series where I nearly went unconscious for both films. They really should have cut out a good 90-120 minutes of the film. They never cease to make me tired and feel like I need some sleep. It’s because there are a lot of unnecessary scenes and times where the characters talk for nor reason. We don’t need to see their day to day life! Usually, talking can be interesting, but not if you dislike both of the characters who are talking. It just doesn’t work!

The effects are a little better than the first film, but they should still look a lot better considering that we’re past the year 2000. The soundtrack is all right I suppose, but none of the themes really stood out this time around. It’s the end of an era!

There’s not much more to say about it. I could go more into depth with the characters, but they just aren’t likable. The trees are all right, but ultimately you can’t count on their survival. The Lord of the Rings may be very popular, but I only enjoy the games at this point. I’m wondering if the Hobbit trilogy will be better. It’s newer, but at the same time…the graphics look about as bad, if not worse than this film’s effects. That’s definitely not a good sign.

The film has a direct cliffhanger to lead into the next film, but it doesn’t come off as epic or intriguing. You don’t really care what’s going to the heroes and you’re just looking to get out of the theater and into your car so that you can pick up a bowl of mashed potatoes at KFC. This film nearly cracked 1 billion dollars in the box office, which is pretty intense. The series has a large following so I know that many still enjoy it. I’m sure that the series is cooler in the EU. An anime for the franchise could be intense.

If I were to compare this movie series to many of the other big names, it still would not be in last. I prefer this series to James Bond and Pirates of the Carrabean after all. It just gets completely wrecked by other classics like Star Wars, Jaws, Godzilla, and Terminator. I do appreciate the fact that the series is still going since more films is always a good thing. It gives us more scenes to appreciate, no matter how bad they may be. They could do a lot with a modern film and they should try to embrace that. A 1 hour film taking place 1000 years in the future would have a Lot of potential. It’s something that I could actually be intrigued by since we need more Sci-Fi films.

Overall, this is a film that I highly do not recommend checking out. The series may be legendary, but its reputation highly outweighs the actual film. If you like old war movies and realistic warrior fights, then you may enjoy this film. The effects are still pretty dated and the characters are hard to root for, but one can look past all of that. Still, you would be much better off watching the new Pac-Man show on TV. If you want a movie to replace this one, then check out the original Pokemon movie. It has more action and the graphics are much better. I highly doubt that the trilogy can end on a high note, but it should be better than this film so that’s always a plus. This review was actually a little tough to write since it is easy to just bash a film for a while, but one can only bash each section for so long. If the next film is at the same level as this one, then I will likely have a longer review at the ready since the whole trilogy would have been underwhelming. I shall see the finale at some point, so you can expect a review someday. Meanwhile, go check out Pokemon!

Overall 3/10

I suppose that it was only a matter of time until I finally checked out one of the biggest films of all time. While this may not be as big as Star Wars or Godzilla, many would say that it could match up with Terminator and The Mummy. Just about everyone as seen this film and just about everyone seems to like it a lot. It’s one of those films that you really can’t get away with disliking…unless you’re everyone’s boldest reviewer…DReager1!.

Of course, it doesn’t get much worse than disliking something just to dislike it. Disliking something because it’s immensely popular is also pretty sad. That being said, the film had a lot of potential in it, but it just ended up dropping the ball on all accounts. I think a remake with today’s effects and camera angles could have been a lot better. Well, let’s see how the film turned out!

The plot involves a powerful villain by the name of Sauron who is quickly defeated when someone deals a glancing blow to his hand and gets rid of his ring. His material form is destroyed and the world is saved. Unfortunately, the humans lack strength of character like Bilbo and they make sure that the ring survives to see another day! In the current days, Bilbo gives Frodo the ring and dooms him to a life of fear since everyone wants the ring. Frodo quickly heads out with a band of adventurers to destroy the ring and save the city world in the process.

Sounds cool in theory right? Well, the first problem is the fact that the movie is just too long. It’s nearly 3 hours and that’s usually not a bad thing, but it is in this case. The movie feels really dragged out and they could have taken out a full hour or two and saved us with the pacing. Other movies can handle the stress of being long like Man of Steel or the first 180 Yugioh GX episodes, but others just don’t need the length. I was supremely drowsy by the end of the film and I probably couldn’t have run a marathon by that point.

One thing that is a big negative for the film is the “graphics” or special effects in the film. This came out after the year 2000, but I’ve seen better effects in the old Godzilla films or Star Wars. Even the Star Trek TV show looked a lot better. The problem is that the film takes place in an area that feels ancient and it helps the movie to feel ancient. The main characters walk barefoot as if this is a medieval film and it certainly didn’t help matters. I’ve never been a fan of films that felt old and it’s why I always love future movies since they attempt to be the complete opposite of these.

The soundtrack is really good so I’ll give the film props on that. The opera themes can be pretty intense and you just can’t forget the themes. Well, you may forget the specifics, but the actual opera part is pretty cool. I hope that the future films can keep the music score cool since it was one of the few big positives for the film. It’s definitely an above average film score.

I can’t really say that the characters are a positive. Frodo is pretty weak and unlikable. Bilbo is an awful character who has one of the weakest minds that you’ll run into. The rest of Frodo’s friends are also decently weak minded and even Gandalf could barely control himself. It really makes you wince since these guys are definitely no Tai or Takuya. The Ring may have some control over the mind, but any decent warrior should be able to block its effects. Then again, these guys may not be true warriors.

I know that Gandalf is a fan favorite character, but I definitely can’t get around to liking him. He got completely clobbered by Saruman and he could only hope to create a tie against Balrog. Balrog was a likable character, so there’s always that. He was a monster that you could root for and he never goes down without a fight. Taking down Gandalf was definitely cool and I hope that he gets to appear again someday.

Unfortunately, this film also uses a lot of plot hax to aid it. This is pretty unavoidable when you have humans fighting supernatural beings so it’s to be expected, but it’s something that the writers should have thought of. I don’t really think that Strider can take on 5-6 Wraiths. I mean, we can always count on the possibility that they’re truly that weak, but then why are they so feared. If Gandalf is half as tough as he acts, then one magic spell should finish them off. They are not yet dead or alive, so they don’t even have much in the way of speed.

The fight scenes also aren’t that fun because they’re some of the most down to earth ones that you will find. It’s very gritty and like what you will see in generic war films or in Narnia. Swords clash and that’s about it. They will destroy the villains and the villains will destroy the heroes. There just isn’t any time for flashy maneuvers or dramatic battles. The fight scenes were just pretty bad and not really my style. Still, having fight scenes like this is better than not having any at all…although that is definitely debatable.

The film does have a cliff hanger to lead into the next film and I’m hoping that it improves upon this one. That being said, I can’t say that my hopes are really high since the new Hobbit films have some of the worst effects that I’ve seen in ages and they’re extremely new. Still, the next film may have more fights or something and that could help. Sauron’s also going to need a pretty big comeback if he is to be taken seriously in the future films as well. Having an ordinary human defeat him is the ultimate way to ruin a villain’s reputation.

The Lord of the Rings may be another true classic to bite the dust, but it isn’t the first time that it has happened. The Pirates of the Caribbean, Titanic, James Bond, Some of the Star Trek films, and many others have not been that good as well. Live Action films typically do not hold up well, so the older that they are, the more chance that they will not succeed.

Overall, Lord of the Rings is definitely not as good as the hype would have you believe, but it’s almost all right. It had potential to be fun, but everything was just against it. The pieces were assembled correctly, but you can only get so far without good effects, characters, or fight scenes. It’s still a step up from the Pirates of the Caribbean and James Bond films, but that’s not saying much I’m afraid. I don’t really recommend the film unless you’re already a fan. If you want a real adventure, then go watch the cutscenes for the Legend of Zelda CDI games on Youtube.

Overall 3/10

It’s time for the much awaited sequel to Star Wars Episode I. We are getting closer to the original trilogy since 10 years have passed in the story. With Anakin as the main character (Or at least one of the main characters) this would have to be a success…right? Unfortunately, this is easily the weakest Star Wars film to date and it’s about time that we see why!

As is the norm with films in the Star Wars series, there is more than one plot going on in this movie. Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker are hired to protect Senator Padme since there are those that would wish to defeat her once and for all. She does not want to be terminated, but she does want to know who’s behind all of this and suspects Dooku. The Jedi laugh this off since Dooku was a Jedi and thus, he cannot be evil. The Jedi seemed to be pretty proud of themselves for coming up with this fact and brushed the notion aside. If only they could use The Force to find out!

Later on, Obi Wan is called away to locate the bounty hunter who is after Senator Padme so he is forced to leave his post. Anakin and Padme head off on their own adventure to find out what has happened to Anakin’s mother. There are a lot of plots that happen within the movie, but since they all continue from each other, it’s hard to go into more depth with them. Needless to say, a big war could occur if things do not stop very quickly!

So, what went wrong with this film? The plot sounds like it has potential and Anakin gets a big role! Well, let’s start off with Anakin’s portrayal. He looks awful in this film and you just want him to stop appearing after his first few scenes. He’s one of the worst main heroes of a movie that I’ve seen in a while and he’s as annoying as Russio. He may not be quite as bad as someone like James T Kirk, but he is definitely pretty low. He constantly pesters Padme about how they should be together and he can never stay professional. He’s always talking back to Obi Wan and even disagrees with Padme when they are in front of a lot of important people. He also basically admits that he prefers a dictatorship to democracy and starts his way to becoming a villain. It’s inevitable that he turns evil, but he does so in a very bad way. He comes off as more of a throwaway villain who talks a good game, but is really desperate and not really that tough.

An example of this is during the climax when he attacks someone and is quickly defeated in a single blow. After a long time, Anakin wakes up and is quickly dispatched by another blow. He looks so awful that you are likely to cheer in the theater when he is defeated, but it doesn’t do wonders for the character. He was definitely not handled well in this film and if not for the expanded universe he would be a pretty awful character right now. (He looked bad in Episodes V and VI as well)

The next big flaw in the film is that it does not live up to its name. For starters, what happened to Star Wars being about battles in space? We don’t really get any of that anymore and I miss the days of fighting in space. It was so much fun back in the day and now we only have ground fights. They’re pretty good, but it’s still inexcusable. Also, the title is Attack of the Clones, but they do not fight until the end of the movie, during the climax. That can definitely be disappointing if you are looking forward to seeing the Clone/Storm Troopers in action.

Another negative would be the excessive romance in the film. It’s handled poorly and the writing was just terrible and the plot for the scenes was even worse. Padme and Anakin were just friends back in the day, but Anakin has become a very twisted person who is not satisfied anymore. She constantly tells him that they can never be together, but he keeps pestering her until they are. That’s definitely not a good romance and it was sad that she weakened in the end. Instead of a happy moment, it was just a wince worthy scene that will make you cringe inside. As you can guess, I do not like Anakin at all in this film and the same goes for Padme.

The scene where Anakin finds his mother and finally rescues her also should have been cut out. She was kidnapped days ago and she’s still alive. Sure, this gives Anakin more of a sad back story so that he’ll have more reason to turn evil, but he was already clearly on the path to becoming a Sith anyway. If we needed another sad element, they just could have had her be destroyed by the Sand people and then Anakin saves her. That would have been a lot better than having her still be alive to quickly die right when he arrives. The scene was definitely a little too gruesome and also hurts the replay value of the story.

Not everyone looked bad as Yoda finally backed up all of his tough talk and he got to fight. It is definitely more than a little hard to take him seriously at this point, but he proved that he is a skilled combatant. He is fast, but his lack of strength could be a bit of an issue. He definitely looked more impressive than the other Jedi, who are reduced to cannon fodder in this film.

That’s another problem that I have with the Jedi. I do not like any of them in this film and while Yoda and Obi Wan may not be bad characters, I don’t really care for them either. The Jedi actually lose to random blasts and Jango Fett took one of them down for the count. The Jedi have never looked very impressive in the films, but they looked even worse than usual in this film. At least half of them were slaughtered by random droids and it would appear that the Force did not find favor with them. The Jedi appear to be stronger than average Cops, but they’re still only at about Chitauri level. Average humans could feasibly defeat them if they’re good with a gun. The Jedi could use the Force in much better ways, but they do not seem to comprehend this.

At least Jango Fett was a cool character. He is a solid fighter in his jetpack and he effortlessly defeated a Jedi. That’s a pretty solid feat and he also managed to defeat Obi Wan Kenobi. The way that he lost at the end was pure plot hax and just an excuse to finish up the movie. After seeing him in the Bounty Hunter game, I can definitely say that he wouldn’t have died like that.

Emperor Dooku was a pretty sharp fighter and definitely tougher than I would have guessed. He made the Jedi look like kids as he was completely annihilating them without effort. It was a sad day for the Jedi, but a pretty happy day for Dooku. Maybe he could take on Darth Vader or Darth Maul in a fair fight. C-3PO, R2D2, and Jar Jar Binks all make cameos. They’re about the same as usual, but C-3PO is pretty intense as he actually betrays the Jedi at one point and probably took a few of them down with his lasers.

The fight scenes in the film are pretty intense which is always a good thing. The effects hold up well and we are in the 2000’s so I should expect no less. The Lightsabers still seem to be easily breakable, but it’s fun to see them clash. We also got a brief hand to hand fight scene with Obi Wan and Jango Fett. The effects for Jango’s booster are also pretty good.

Finally, we do have another big negative and it is the excessive animal violence. At one point, the “heroes” are thrown into an arena with three giant monsters. You can probably guess what happens to the animals and it isn’t pretty. It was really unneeded, but a lot of films tend to make this mistake nowadays. It is pretty disappointing to see and I will always have to take away points for such awful scenes.

Overall, I did not care for this Star Wars film. Not only was it the worst one in the series, but it was not even close. This film was a lot more negative than positive so the low rating should not come as a huge surprise by the end. The film had potential for great things, thanks to the action and Jango Fett, but it was not to be. I can’t say that this helps my hopes for the next film in the series, but it can’t get any worse I suppose. I do not recommend this film and if you want a real space adventure, check out Gurren Lagann!

Overall 3/10

All right, it’s time to review this popular film! I was fortunate enough to get to see it on Thursday night for the 8 o clock showing. Not bad eh? Got to beat the midnight screening by a few hours which was awesome and I probably should have written my review right then and there, but I like to digest it first. I usually have stronger opinions about a film after a few hours/few days have passed. I’d say that one day is plenty for this one and I’m ready. I didn’t really care for the first film and thought that the book was much better. That’s basically the same feeling that I got from this film which was definitely better than the first one, but not by much.

This review will mostly try to stick away from spoilers that occur during the film, but I can’t really avoid the spoilers from the first film….so bear with me on that. As we all know, Katniss ended up winning the Hunger Games on her last run as she thought of the berries plan. Peeta was spared and the world was saved! (Peeta went along with the plan, but it was basically her strategy so he was just along for the ride) Snow isn’t very happy about this and he forces Katniss and Peeta to tour the districts as they watch people get beat up and destroyed. They try (Unsuccessfully) to keep their composure as they go around deceiving people, but it’s not working.

Snow decides that he’ll force them into entering….The Hunger Games! This time, only the winners are allowed into the prestigious tournament so the stakes are going to be a lot higher. This also means that nobody is truly safe since the government could always pull a fast one…but I guess we already knew that from the first film eh? Let the Games begin!!

All right, where to start! There’s definitely a lot to say about this film and unfortunately, a good amount of it is negative. Let’s start off with the positives and work our way from there. The camera is much better for the fight scenes and it’s good overall. There are a few scenes where the camera does move very quickly during the fight scenes, but the improvement is definitely noticeable and it should be perfected by the next film. The training area for the tributes is a lot more hi tech and it makes the whole thing feel more like a serious training ground.

The costumes for the characters are also a lot better and while I can’t put my finger on which costumes they remind me of, they definitely seem familiar. These are more like battle costumes than what they wore in the first film and it’s good that they’re more experienced. Katniss is ready to win this time…or is she?

All right, positives are over! It’s time to get down to the nitty gritty. Let’s tackle one of the larger problems first. This film mixes several factors that I don’t like in a film: Romance, Animal Violence, Acceptance, and Corrupt Governments that mess with everyone. I’ll delve into each of these factors and I suppose that I should start with the romance.

Where to start! Peete and Gale are around of course. Gale doesn’t appear for very long, but he definitely makes sure to have his share of romance in those scenes. Peeta appears a lot and he also gets a pretty substantial amount of romance. Naturally they all revolve around Katniss as she leads them both on. I want to say that she doesn’t intend to make fools out of them, but it’s really hard to debate that. Katniss wasn’t very good in this film, but when you keep in mind that there weren’t really any good characters in the film, it helps to even things out. There was also a very unnecessary scene in the elevator that dragged on for wayyyyyyy too long and made Peeta and Haymitch look like chumps. Definitely one of the worst scenes in the film and if that’s not easily the worst scene in any film….you know that you’ve got trouble!

All right, let’s get into the Animal Violence. Well, we have forest animals getting hunted by villains guys like Gale and then we have Katniss shooting birds out of the sky. As if that weren’t enough, then we get a scene where baboons (Or a similar creature) attack the main characters and there are many casualties. We also get to see Fish being eaten which is pretty distasteful. I definitely had to take some serious points away from the film for this transgression and it was not something that I would forget.

Ready for the Acceptance? You’re probably wondering why that’s a bad thing so it’s time to get into a little bit of depth for this. It basically ties into the final negative as well which is that the people know who the villains are. Everyone knows that President Snow is a dictator and that he must be stopped, but nobody is powerful enough to stop him. Katniss and Peeta decide to work for the guy which helps to soil their morals as they watch other people get beaten up and destroyed. Either way Snow is going to continue on his path to eradicate everyone so why should they play along as all? It seems to be that they’re just making things worse by doing this when they could be making things better by fighting back.

On a side note, we had the “Hardcore” moment that most films try to gun for several times in this film. When the characters go on TV and are interviewed, one of them says the “Hardcore” word and everyone in the audience laughed and cheered. It makes me wonder if they would have clapped and cheered if the character had switched the word to Forget and still finished the line. Probably not, which is sad. I couldn’t take the character seriously anyway since she was basically out of her league.

This film deals with a lot of tragedy and sadness as Katniss gets to several of her friends beaten up and murdered in front of her. It’s sad for Katniss since she can’t really fight back and she just has to move on to the next thing each time. It would be good if she could try to avenge them and take Snow to jail, but that’s essentially impossible right now.

I’d say that the film overdoes it with all of the tragic moments. Snow is evil and he’s going to murder everyone…we get that. So is it really necessary to see him murder everyone and then see everyone stand back and watch? One scene was almost comical when the new general met the older one. Everyone knew what was about to happen except for the general himself which can definitely be tragic. Everyone who is around Katniss seems destined to die and this is one of those film series that won’t have a happy ending. There is far too much death and destruction for that.

This brings me back to the whole escapism thing. The film is just far too depressing and tragic to be a truly great film. It’s like Sucker Punch and Paranormal Activity. Whatever positives are in those films will always be overshadowed by the sense of dread and desperation that they emit. It’s the reason why films like Man of Steel and Avengers will always take down X-men and The Dark Knight. The film had some light moments scattered here and about, but it was pretty dark for the most part. I would say that it was even darker than the first

Finnick was one of the only Hunger Games participants who actually got a role. Most of the others either died off screen or just appeared for a few minutes and then vanished. Thinking about it, we actually don’t get many human fight scenes. The characters either go up against wild animals or are just running away from traps for the whole games. Some of the contestants weren’t even fighters which lowered the chances of a good fight scene even more. There isn’t really a soundtrack for the movie, but did you expect one?

Another sad thing is that Katniss should have been a good character in theory. She’s the hardened veteran who is back for one last time to destroy the other opponents. It sounds good on paper, but she starts to have stress attacks and the delusions overtake her. She’s also forced to do things for the camera which is pretty demoralizing. She should have just fought back and saved herself the humiliation. Katniss was also ready to lose to the general without a fight which was definitely another bad thing.

The ending of the film is a good and a bad. On the good side, it’s a perfect cliff hanger and in thoery, it’s how most great films should try to end. This is how I’d want Avengers 2 to end and then lead into Avengers 3. Picture the last line spoken in this ending and just increase the scale. It would be a pretty awesome way to end the film. On the negative side, Katniss is supposed to look very menacing and hardcore in the ending, but it didn’t really work. The scene was just way too long and she couldn’t pull off the facial expression.

Overall, this wasn’t one of the better films out there. There were just way too many negatives for me to count it as a good film. If the film had taken out the romance and animal violence it would have helped, but the film would have only risen to a 5 or maybe a 6 at most. If they had made the film happier and added some fight scenes, then maybe I could give it a 7. Sadly I can’t really expect that much more from the sequel since the book wasn’t even as good. This film was disappointing since I did think that the trailer was a big step up from the last one. The run time was also pretty good since it was nearly 2 and a half hours long and made up for the fact that the actual games take a very long time to begin. Unfortunately, I don’t have any hopes for the next one. This could be the beginning of the end, but if you liked the first movie then you’ll probably like this one as well. There was also a poison scene that I didn’t care for since it was a little too graphic for me but…I should probably end there. Check it out if you wish, but I’d sooner recommend playing Pac Man at your local computer!

Overall 3/10

The Sixth Sense is a film where the title should tell you what to expect. This film deals with the supernatural and it’s up to the main characters to stop them. This film is decently well known and I’m sure that you’ve heard about it at some point in your life. If not…well, it’s not like it’s the end of the world…I hope.

The main character of the film is (arguably) Malcolm. The kid who goes by the name of Cole is also very important to the story, but I never cared for the character. More on that later, but it’s time to get into the plot. Malcolm has always helped people get through their problems by having a nice chat and then slowly getting them ready to solve their challenges. After one kid went off the deep end, Malcolm must now redeem himself by helping another kid.

Cole is having a lot of problems right now, so he’ll be a prime candidate for Malcolm. Cole is considered an outsider by the other kids and he’s pretty withdrawn and keeps to himself. Can Malcolm get this kid to become one with society and break through the barriers that keep him from the rest of the world? A better question might be….does he really want to be with the rest of the world? The other kids are pretty mean and petty after all.

That’s basically the plot of the movie and while it’s pretty simple, that gives the film more time for character development. I didn’t like Cole, but let’s go into the history of that. I’ve never really cared for kid characters when it comes to live action films. They’re just not as sympathetic and I only like them in anime or cartoons. Cole was no exception and he could have been higher if he had taken the fight to the undead, but he decides to save the world instead. (In a way) The ghosts were definitely malicious enough to warrant a counter offensive.

Let’s talk about Malcolm. He’s a pretty solid character and he definitely seems to know his stuff. He nearly defeats the kid in their first battle of wits and he always seems to know what to say. He has to help the kid while also worrying about personal issues of his own. It’s tricky, but Malcolm does what he needs too. He may not be the strongest fighter out there, but at least Cole has someone who can defend him if need be. One of Malcolm’s enemies is the part time worker at the ring shop, but let’s just say that he’s no match for Malcolm.

They were really the only two big characters. The Mom and Wife (Separate characters) are both decent characters in their own right, but they don’t get to appear a whole lot so we can’t totally judge them. We can judge the Mom depending on the aftereffects of the Dungeon game, but the film ends before that. If the kids are still walking with Cole, then we’ve got a problem.

There were some plot hax in the film, but nothing completely devastating. One that would come to mind is the final plot twist. I don’t plan on spoiling that in the review, so you’ll need to check it out. That being said, it’s hard to believe that someone did not notice this twist until the very end. There should have been many things that would not make sense to the character prior to the ending. Well, let’s not dwell on it I suppose…

Overall, this was a decent “horror” film. Cole isn’t very good, but Malcolm is a solid character. There’s no soundtrack to speak of and a very small cast overall. If you want a scare, then this isn’t the film for you. It’s more of an emotional story that happens to feature the supernatural. There may be some gross or scary moments in the film, but nothing that will scare you for life. On the other hand, the film is pretty uneventful and some may find it a little boring. Watch at your own risk I suppose. As long as you like the kid and the plot, you should enjoy it.

Overall 3/10

Pitch Black is the first film that features Riddick (Or Carolyn, depending on how you look at it) as the main character. The poster definitely promises a horror film that will keep you at the edge of your seat. Does this work as a horror film? More importantly, what about those fight scenes!? Find out all of that and more as the review unfolds.

A crew’s spaceship goes through space, but something goes wrong and there is a fatality. It’s definitely a quick way to start the film and I’m sure that not many were expecting the cast to be whittled down so quickly. They crash land on a mysterious planet and quickly gather their bearings. They had been transporting a dangerous prisoner by the name of Riddick. He definitely wasn’t to be trusted, but what would they do with him now? Riddick does make an escape attempt, but things don’t go so well.

Another member of the crew is devoured and then the cast finally realizes the gravity of the situation. They release Riddick and decide that they’ll need to work together in order to get out alive. The plan is simple: They will grab the power cells and use them to launch their solar powered ship out of their and maybe get back to their planet. (Earth…..right?…) Unfortunately, the inhabitants of this planet have ideas of their own.

Well, one thing that makes this film interesting is the use of the 3 Suns planet. Since the planet has 3 suns, the film has a green edge to it. It feels like you’re watching a black and white film, but slathered with a green paint. It was pretty interesting to watch and it was definitely unique. Of course, once the planet gets dark..it stays dark. Riddick is able to see through the dark with his eye, but will that be enough of an edge to survive?

The monsters/aliens in this film are similar to Pterodactyls. They can fly and one good bite could prove to be the end for a human. As far as physical strength goes, they’re about as tough as an average wild animal. Like a Bull for instance, so a human may be able to overpower one of them, but it’s not so simple. Not everyone can use what they’ve learned on paper to keep a Shark’s mouth closed so that he can’t bite them. The aliens are quick and they usually come out during the dark. (I wonder why….)

The cast isn’t very strong in this film, but that tends to be the norm. Carolyn becomes the leader, but it’s more of a “By Default” type of position. “The end justifies the means” seems to be her way of thinking. Towards the end, she has her hero moments, but she did take time to make her decision. I’m not saying that she’s an awful character, but not a great one. Riddick? Well, he’s your average thug villain, who may have the potential for good in him. I don’t know about this, but when he’s properly goaded, he can be tricked into doing the right thing. He’s decently skilled, but not extraordinarily so.

John is another member and well….there is a plot twist about him. He’s pretty unlikable and you could say that he’s the main villain. It’s ironic since Riddick was supposed to be the big villain, but John seems to have less morals and is probably deeper into the side of evil. Does he make it through the film? Erm…..when was the last time, the “jerk” character made it to the end? Not going to say if this guy breaks the trend, but think about it.

Now, disclaimer time! This review is based off of an edited version that I saw, which edited out the language and made the film a TV 14. So, unless you can find an edited version, this film has a Ton of excessive language. The violence can also get pretty graphic, so if you’re squeamish about people being ripped apart and heads getting crunched….you may want to skip on this one. So, if you’re thinking about bringing a kid to watch this…I’d advise against that. Just a fair warning from your epic blogger DReager1!

So, in the end, did this film work as a horror film? Well, I guess we had a couple of “Jump out” moments, but the film had more tension than actual scary scenes. I guess, if you found Jaws scary, then this should fill the bill. There isn’t really romance in this film, but do I recommend it? For those of you who like horror/alien tales, you’ll probably enjoy it, but there are definitely better options out there. If you’re looking for a “deep” plot and some epic dialogue…what are you doing here? This wasn’t exactly a great film and calling it “good” may be a bit of a stretch. I can’t say that it was my favorite, but it’s better than some other horror titles. like Haunting in Connecticut If you want a movie that will chill you to the bone, check out Bleach: Hell Verse!

Overall 3/10