Paranormal Activity 3 (Non-Spoiler Review)

The third time wasn’t quite the charm, but it came close.

This prequel, shown in the same Blair Witch documentary style as the previous instalments, dug into the past of sisters, Katie and Kristi Rey with their mother, Julie, and stepfather, Dennis, showing just how their paranormal encounters began. I actually like that the trilogy went backwards after the first movie, because you learn more about the characters and some questions are answered although it seems that more pop up in their place.

Dennis’s curiosity was peaked after accidentally filming an earthquake and catching on tape, a suspicious shadow in the doorway. To investigate, he set up cameras around the house capturing any mysterious happenings. One innovative design was placing a camera on the mount of a fan, panning from the living room to the kitchen. Needless to say encouraging the holding of the one’s breath while one’s eyes darted to all corners of the screen looking for movement, and the squeezing of nearby objects in anticipation of just what could be seen in the next room.

If you haven’t seen the past two movies, what are you waiting for? Honestly, as predictably cheesy as they may be, I’m a fan, because out of most horrors it’s possibly the easiest to identify with. I mean who doesn’t hear weird noises at night? If, however, you’ve seen the previous ones you’d be accustomed to the long periods of nothingness happening, then abrupt noises and slamming doors, this only means you’ll say “I knew that was going to happen,” but only after you’ve screamed. Yes the tricks are old and mainly in the sound effects but hey, if it ain’t broke…

The main disappointment was the reasoning behind the haunting, which I can’t reveal because I promised no spoilers. All I can say is you just end up with a feeling of ‘Really? That’s it?’

But all in all if you’re in the mood for a movie to get your friends or in my case older brother (yes I said older) screaming and hiding his face so you can laugh at him and maybe a sleepless night for you, then this is a good choice.

Rating: 6.5/10

Thanks for reading! Comments are welcome..
Kim :)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Non-spoiler Review)

This was one eclipse that didn’t disappoint. (Yes I mean you Twilight.)

The most unsatisfying thing was the drive home. No expensive car or tricked-out lorry would mutate into its Autobot/Decepticon form in front my eyes. How anticlimactic.

Simply put, if you don’t like action or cars you won’t like this movie. However, I love both. So…

After somewhat of a miss of the target with Revenge of the Fallen, director Michael Bay has redeemed himself by transforming this legend of a comic book and cartoon into the most brilliant action-packed-CGI-3D –adventure of the year… so far at least (fingers crossed for Harry Potter).

So, first things first. No, hottie Megan Fox was not in the movie. Was she missed? Definitely not. English born, Victoria’s Secret model, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, debuted her acting chops and more than replaced Fox, with the ability to speak more than five words without pausing to pose, her enchanting face and her even more spectacular body (she is an angel after all). Huntington-Whiteley was cast as Sam’s new love interest in the show, Carly. Granted she wasn’t great, and sometimes emotionally stunted, she still managed to get over the low bar Fox had set.

Speaking of Sam, Shai LaBeouf reaches new heights with his acting. He’s always been on the radar for his movies but there was some real connection and emotion that brought Sam to life and jump out of the screen and no not just because of the 3D effect. His comedic performance was a lot more tamed compared to his overacting start on Disney. 

The core members of the sequel Josh Duhamel, John Turturro and Tyrese Gibson were present and reclaimed their roles successfully. While Patrick Dempsey was new on the scene, as Carly’s boss. Various surprised stars popped up as well, but I won’t go into any details and risk spoiling anyone’s surprise.

This movie brought everything you’d want in a summertime blockbuster. Comedy, drama, action, some more action and when you’re about to catch your breath, yup you guessed it, even more action. I won't say too much but the most exciting thing was watching the Autobots and Decepticons strategically alternating between their two forms during fight scenes. The intricate details were just astounding. This production, however, was a lot more graphic than the previous instalments, with more violence, destruction and casualties than ever! Which is great for the action-seeking junkies but not so much for the younglings. My only concern with this was the slightly sketchy story being told throughout. Parts either didn’t make complete sense (for me at least) or contradicted other scenes. But who really goes to a Transformers movie for the story, right? Probably the ones who aren’t familiar with the franchise and found it hard to keep up with which robots were on which sides (a problem I myself sometimes faced and did a double take on the blue and red eyes; blue means safe, red means Sam had better run, didn’t you see the matrix?).

This is one, of the few 3D movies, that is actually worth shelling out the extra cash and seeing in 3D; ridiculously uncomfortable glasses and all.

Rating: 9/10


Thanks for reading! Hope it was helpful, feel free to leave me your comments below! 
Kim :)

Green Lantern (Non-spoiler Review)

The lantern shone but burnt out too quickly.

In my opinion, they used this movie to lay the foundation for the start of a series rather than to entertain the thrill-seeking audience. It started off great and even did a good enough build-up but the sprinkles just weren’t there to top off this cake.

So for the folks who haven’t read the comics (myself included) the Green Lantern troops are from other planets and are protectors of the universe. The story begins with an injured Green Lantern fighter crashing his spaceship on Earth and sending the ring to choose a worthy replacement for him. Hal (Ryan Reynolds) who is a ‘Top Gun like’ (extremely talented but immune to following rules) test pilot is selected, receives the ring, the lantern and with them, superpowers beyond his imagination; or maybe not beyond. Superpowers that include seriously wind-proof hair since flying at ridiculous speeds does not affect Reynolds's every-strand-in-place 'do in the least. 

There are many stars in the cast with the aim of getting the lantern to shine a little brighter. Reynolds does justice to the green, skin tight, abs-revealing, each muscle showing suit and his charismatic wit doesn’t hurt the character either. Peter Sarsgaard also did a freakishly good job with Hector the awkward scientist/teacher/son of a senator (played by Tim Robbins). Mark Strong portrays Sinestro, one of the Green Lantern members, who doesn’t believe Hal has the will or courage to be a Green Lantern. Geoffrey Rush lends his voice to the character Tomar-Re who welcomes Hal to the planet and teaches him to use his powers. Hal then had to test his powers in a ‘spar’ against trainer Kilowog, fittingly voiced by Michael Clark Duncan, which looked more like David and Goliath, sans the slingshot.

Finally, Blake Lively was miscast as Carol, Hal’s love interest; a determined, rules oriented, fellow test pilot and somewhat of a boss (since she’s also the boss’s daughter). As perfect as her body was for the role she failed to make her performance believable. Her attempt was genuine but unfortunately that’s all it was; an attempt.

The movie provides intermittent bursts of humour and excitement but failed to satisfy the craving for an epic-out-of-this-world final battle that anyone over the age of 10 would expect and want.

Rating: 7.5/10

Rating (if Ryan Reynolds was not in the movie): 7/10


Thanks for reading! Comments are welcome..
Kim :)