The Amazing Spiderman

Peter Parker is an outcast in high school, a science geek who is constantly bullied at school and is always getting into some kind of legal trouble. We first meet Peter as a young kid who seems to have a happy childhood until one night when his parents cart him off to his Uncle Ben and Aunt May's house and leave him in their care. The mystery surrounding his parents' disappearance haunts Peter all throughout his childhood and into his teenage years. Fast forward to Peter's high school years: One night while helping Uncle Ben fix a leak that caused the basement to be flooded Peter comes across a briefcase that belonged to his father. Peter searches through it for answers that might lead to the cause of his parents' disappearance; the clues lead him to Oscorp where his father worked and to a former co-worker named Dr. Curt Conners. It is during his visit to Oscorp that a genetically altered spider bites Peter, turning him into your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.

Originally when I first heard that the Spiderman series was being rebooted I was a little mad because I greatly enjoyed Tobey Maguire and Sam Raimi's take on the famous web-slinger and 10 years seems a little too soon for a reboot. After seeing it though with my dad I was impressed with how well it was done. It felt like there was better character development within the story, and the story itself was a lot better written. I do think this series is in good hands if this is the direction they are planning on going in with sequels. My only problems were: Andrew Garfield, who played Peter Parker/Spiderman, was a great Spiderman but not that great of a Peter Parker. He had the sarcasm and the recklessness that I felt was key to the character of Spiderman, but as Peter Parker Andrew Garfield didn't seem to be nerdy enough for me. If they had combined somehow Tobey Maguire's Peter Parker with Andrew Garfield's Spiderman then that would have been perfect. Also, I really don't know why they felt it was necessary to go through the whole beginnings story again since everyone knows how Spiderman received his powers. Otherwise The Amazing Spiderman was well done.

Wrath of the Titans

Wrath of the Titans is the sequel to 2010's Clash of the Titans, following the exploits of Perseus, the demigod who is the son of Zeus. In Wrath of the Titans we find Perseus living life as a human with his son and mother-in-law as a fisherman. Out of the blue one day he gets a visit from his father who pleads with him for his help in a war among the gods. Hades has escaped the underworld and has vowed revenge on Zeus for banishing him to the underworld by releasing Cronus, the father of all the gods. Perseus resists at first, but then Hades attacks his village and threatens his family. Perseus also finds out that Hades has kidnapped Zeus in an attempt to drain all of Zeus' power to release Cronus from his prison. Perseus goes on the offensive to rescue his father from Hades and save the world (again) from disaster.

I've seen some pretty bad movies, but Wrath of the Titans makes it pretty high onto my list of top 10 worst movies I've ever seen. It's not the worst one ever, but it's still pretty bad. I couldn't decide whether it was a action comedy or if it was trying to take itself seriously so it ended up being funny. There were a few times that the dialogue sounded like it came straight out of other movies. One scene nearly word for word copies the scene in Star Wars when Han Solo is about to be frozen in carbonite and Leia blurts out "I love you!" and he answers "I know." It was almost as if the screenwriters ran out of things to say so they decided to take things out of other movies and mesh them together into one movie. Clash of the Titans was at least entertaining; its sequel...not so much. If you actually enjoy cheesy movies then this one's for you. Otherwise I would skip it.

The Grey

John Ottway is a man who is employed to make sure that the wildlife in the Alaskan wilderness does not interfere with a group of men working in the oilfields. Whenever a wolf comes too close to the men Ottway shoots it before it can attack. After their shift is over and it is time to head back home, the plane they are riding in suddenly hits a major area of turbulence, causing the plane to crash. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, Ottway and the remaining survivors must fight the bitter cold and hungry wolves in order to have even a remote chance of rescue.

The Grey is a very, very tough film to watch. It's depressing, giving the viewers what feels like a false hope that the situation will end well. What's interesting though is the fact that The Grey is not just a film about a group of men trying to survive. It's also a critique on the existence of God and an afterlife. It seemed as if The Grey argued that there is no God or afterlife, and that we must learn to survive on our own. There were times when it felt like it wanted to believe in God or even an afterlife, but couldn't. For instance there are several times where characters make what could be considered a little prayer up to God, but they are met by silence except for the howling of the cold, biting wind and the wolves around them. There is very little of what I would consider positive. The only positive things that come to mind would be the fact that all of the survivors (especially John Ottway) are willing to risk their lives for each other, giving their all in order to make it out of their ordeal alive. There are also a couple of survivors who stay firm in their faith to the very end.

The Grey may not sound like a good film to see, but I would recommend this one because you can use it as a good starting point in a discussion on the topics of God or an afterlife. I don't recommend it for anybody under the age of 15 due to the R-rating for language, graphic, disturbing images and the heavy thematic material; however, if you let your kids see it, it can be used as a good tool to help your kids understand the messages that the film has.

The Avengers

In 2008, at the end of the credits of The Incredible Hulk, Robert Downey Jr., a.k.a. Tony Stark/Iron Man uttered 5 words that would keep comic book fans on the edge of their seats for the next 4 years: "We're putting a team together". Now, in 2012 The Avengers has taken the box office by storm, beating records right and left for profits.

The world is on the brink of disaster as Loki, who we met in Thor, has threatened war on the planet. To save the world from Loki and bring him to justice Agent Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. has called for the creation of the Avengers Initiative, a program to bring the world's best superheroes and combine them into a powerful team. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow are brought together to thwart Loki in his grand scheme to conquer the world and humiliate his brother Thor.

The Avengers is, quite simply, amazing. Everything from the dialogue, the extravagant sets, and the characters all are top notch. I did find a couple of problems within the script, such as some explanations on the backgrounds of The Hulk and Black Widow, but they were so small that they don't take away from the overall experience. I loved watching the chemistry between each of the superheroes. The Avengers just came out but I already can't wait until Avengers 2 comes out. I can't wait to see what else Joss Whedon has up his sleeve. This is one you do NOT want to miss.

The Departed

The Departed is the American adaptation of Infernal Affairs, an action film from Hong Kong in 2002. Set in Boston, it tells the story of two men, one an undercover police officer infiltrating the mob and the other a member of the mob infiltrating the police force. Each man realizes there is someone tipping off the police and the mob, so it's a race against time to root the other out before their cover is blown. Colin Sullivan is thought to be an upstanding citizen, doing his best to uphold the law. This makes him the perfect choice to be a mole for mob boss Frank Costello because no one suspects him.  Billy Costigan on the other hand, has a somewhat tainted background due to a few of his family members having ties to Frank Costello and the mob. The Boston police force assigns him to infiltrate the mob because of his background. What follows is a crazy, fast-paced set of events in a race to uncover each mole.

I know I am going to be pretty much the only one of my friends who says this, but I personally did not care for The Departed. I'm normally ok with R-rated action flicks, but The Departed seemed to go overboard in its content. It did have me on the edge of my seat wondering which mole was going to be found out first, and it did have a couple twists that I definitely did not see coming. It also does have fantastic performances by Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, Leonardo diCaprio, Jack Nicholson, and Martin Sheen. Despite all of these things, I unfortunately couldn't get past the fact that this is a brutally violent film. The Departed has to be the most violent film I have seen since Saving Private Ryan, Apocalypto, or even Passion of the Christ. Every time a character gets shot blood flows like a raging river. It also had way more language than I have heard in an R-rated film in awhile. I counted over 200 f-bombs alone, most of them seem like they were uttered by Jack Nicholson (not a huge surprise there). I felt that much violence and language was unnecessary. I was ok with the R-rating, I just wish Martin Scorcese would have toned it down a little.

I really wish I could recommend The Departed, but I can't due to the excessive violence and language.

Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is based off the popular teen fiction series written by Suzanne Collins. Katniss Everdeen is a 16 year old girl who lives in a world split into 12 districts that are controlled by The Capitol. Many years ago the districts rebelled against The Capitol, and as punishment The Capitol forces the 12 districts to participate in an event known as the Hunger Games. Each district must choose one male and one female tribute between the ages of 12-18 to send to the Games where the tributes must fight to the death. During the selection process known as The Reaping, Katniss's sister is called as a tribute, and Katniss volunteers in her place. Peeta Mellark is chosen as the male tribute to fight alongside Katniss. What follows is a fight for survival that neither of them are entirely prepared for.

For an adaptation of a popular book series, I have to admit The Hunger Games is one of the best and most faithful adaptations I have seen in a long time. Director Gary Ross did a great job of keeping most of the important details from the story into the movie. There were a few minor details I wish he would have expanded on, but if he had put those details in the movie it might have made it too long. One thing I'm not exactly happy with, but I understand why Gary Ross did it this way is the cinematography during the fight scenes. He filmed these scenes in a shaky, blurry way so that you can't clearly see the carnage that is happening on screen. It drives my eyes crazy to see that kind of cinematography, but Gary Ross said he didn't want to make the violence itself the focus of the movie. Instead he wanted the disgust and horror of Katniss and Peeta towards the Games as the focus.

One argument I have heard brought up is that someone thought The Hunger Games should have been rated R. I have to be honest, I completely disagree. If you make The Hunger Games rated R then two things happen: 1) you just lost your teen fanbase that the books are geared towards; and 2) if you make it R then you do the exact opposite of what the primary message of the movie and books is. The Hunger Games is a critique on the fact that our generation has turned violence into something that is entertaining. We have become numb to the horror of seeing blood and gore spilling out onscreen. We have gotten to the point where we watch a movie such as the Friday the 13th series and instead of cringing at the sight of Jason X stalking his prey, we sometimes bust out laughing. I do think The Hunger Games would have benefitted from pushing the PG-13 limit, making it dark and violent, but not graphic. If Gary Ross had followed in, say, the Lord of the Rings footsteps or The Dark Knight then I think The Hunger Games would have been even better.

While I greatly enjoyed The Hunger Games and recommend people go see it, I have to issue a warning to parents of young kids: This is by no means a kids movie. The story is about teenagers killing each other and the rest of the population turning this bloodbath into entertainment. Suzanne Collins wrote the series as a critique on our generation's love of movies such as Gladiator, 300, and other war movies that have excessive amounts of blood and gore. Our generation has become subjected to this type of entertainment so much that we have become numb to it. The books themselves are superbly done, and the movie is also well-done, but they are both meant to bring to our attention the horrors of violence. If you think your child is old enough and mature enough to understand how horrible the situation in the story is, then I'd say use you're own judgement whether to allow your child to see The Hunger Games. However, personally I would 100% listen to the fact that it's PG-13. No child under the age of 13 should see The Hunger Games.

War Horse

It's 1914 and the world is being catapulted into chaos as World War I breaks out. In England a young man named Albert lives with his parents trying to scrape a living so they can continue to pay the rent and not be thrown out onto the streets. The war hasn't reached England yet, but everyone can feel the tension as it draws nearer. As a last ditch effort to keep their farm, Albert and his father go to the local market to buy a sturdy plow horse for the fields. When they get there, Albert's father gets drunk and also into a bidding war with a rival farmer, but not for a plow horse. Instead they bid on a beautiful stallion, one not built for plowing. Albert's father wins the horse in the end and must figure out a way to make the stallion work in the fields. Albert makes a promise to his father that he will train the horse and get the fields planted in time so they won't lose their house. Unfortunately the war soon catches up to England, and Albert must give up his beloved horse to the English army.

"Battles are ugly affairs" - Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

That line was said by Father Christmas when he met the Pevensie children in the film adaptation of the beloved children's series, but it could have easily been used in War Horse. What's interesting about War Horse is it is not only a story about a horse and his master, but it is ultimately a criticism on the effects of war. It is also told from the perspective of  the horse (who Albert has named Joey). Joey is taken from Albert to be used on the frontlines of World War I. The audience watches as Joey travels across Europe and experiences firsthand the pain and agony of war. War Horse is a well acted, fantastically well-made film reminiscent of films such as Black Beauty, Where the Red Fern Grows, and Old Yeller. It is a little slow in the beginning but once it gets past the first 15-20 minutes then it begins to pick up speed and gets much better from there. Jeremy Irvine, who plays Albert, gives a fantastic performance as the wide-eyed teenager that falls for Joey. If you have not had the chance to check out War Horse, I strongly encourage you to.