Iron Man 2 Review

So for Mother's Day, my wife wanted to see Iron Man 2, so since it's her day, I said, heck yeah! I wanted to see it too.

So for those of you that didn't know, and if you are watching these movies, you probably did, but they are making an Avengers movie in 2012 which is tying Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, and Captain America movies together. This is important because of the links with the characters that carry over, and a few small fan service moments in the movie.

So the first thing that I'll mention of this movie was the visuals were spot on, they were great in the first one, and this one just built upon that.

I really like Robert Downey Jr in this role as he is perfect and comes across so arrogant that it is hard to see if he's acting or just being himself. The role that Mickey Rouke as the main antagonist was well done, and he just melds with each of his roles that it works perfectly. He can portray a psycho so well because he has that sinister half smile that can send chills down your spine.

The supporting actors Don Cheadle, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson and the others all did very well in their parts. I never really fell out of the moment of the story, which is crucial for a action story, because if they slip up, then you're out of the world which drags the movie down.

Since I don't like to ruin plots, I'm not going to say anything about it, except that it helps drive the character of Tony Stark to new levels, while slowly building toward the collaborative Avengers in a couple years.

One thing that sort of bugged me, but not as much as I expected, was the replacement of the actor who was Tony's friend, James Rhodes. I don't recall why they did the change, but honestly think that it wasn't needed. Don Cheadle did well in the role, but Terrance Howard did a great job as well.

Oh yeah, if you see it, wait until the end of the credits for a little bit of final fan service.

Favorite Movies

What are some of your favorite movies. I'm a big horror fan as you might have been able to tell based on some of my reviews, but I enjoy a variety of films as well.

Some of my favorite are:

Scream 1, 2, 3.

The Blind Side

Avatar

Terminator 2

Billy Madison

Happy Gilmore

E.T.

The Harry Potter movies

I have a lot more, but this shows a bit of the variety I think. So what are some of your favorites?

Nightmare on Elm Street

So, in a couple weeks, the new remake of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" is going to be released. I'm particularity excited due to the fact that I grew up on the originals. So I'm a little apprehensive, due to the fact that I have fond memories of the originals. So my wife and I decided to rewatch the entire series as I have it on DVD. Like that wasn't obvious. As we have only watched the first two, I have to say that they hold up pretty well for the horror aspect. Granted their are better graphics and stories now days, but back then they did more with less in some aspects. Have any of you felt the same thing? What are some of your favorite old Horror movie series? Halloween? Friday the 13th? etc? I'm just curious as this recent relapse into the 80's is sort of interesting to me.

Let me know what you think are the best of the 80's in terms of horror.

Review of "The Hurt Locker"

So I just saw this movie this Sunday night. I was intrigued by the Oscar nods it got this season and the win for Best Picture made it a must see for me. I have a habit of seeing previous winners, and this one fit the same bill.

Story:

I found the story was very interesting, mainly for the fact of how it handled the characters. Like me, I always get hooked by the characters, and this movie's three main characters, and the stuff they endured was eye-opening. I have had friends who served over there, and won't say much about it, and after seeing this films portrayal, I can see why, it changes you. The story of a bomb squad, sorry if the label is wrong, but basically, this has to be the worst job in the world. There is no way they have a low stress level at all. So the plot isn't very much story centered, I would say it is driven by the characters, and glad it was, because it was stronger for it.

Character:

I'm going to focus on the main character as he's the one who we spent the most time with. He is a crazy guy, but has a heart underneath his hard exterior. The way the movie portrays his opening scene where he's a wild card, into someone who the group starts to trust was masterfully done. He has a sad arch, because no matter what he does, his normal life can't live up to what he does in the war, so he goes back. Completely sad.

Directing:

Since this was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the ex-wife of James Cameron, I wanted to mention that I felt that she did a wonderful job. The shot choices were deliberate, and upped the emotional impact of scene after scene. I would say that she did a better job than Cameron did with Avatar in portrayal of both characters, and action.

Overall:

Found this film worth seeing. Would I buy it? Probably not, only for the fact that it is depressing in many ways, so I wouldn't watch it again for many years. Gave it a 4/5 for sure.

Movie Review "The Blind Side"

I had a chance to watch this Oscar nominated film this past Sunday and found it very endearing. One of things that made it so was the acting, especially the Oscar winning performance of Sandra Bullock. Also the acting of Quinton Aaron, who plays the title role of the film was very understated, and I think overlooked because of the star power of Sandra Bullock. However, there are a few scenes that he really shines, but I won't ruin them for you here. Also, Tim McGraw did a good job at being the father figure. I especially liked his little facial expressions when Sandra would say something. My wife and I could relate to that sort of stuff. It wasn't a lot, but it was well done and helped me really get a feeling for how this family dynamic works. There were a lot of other characters in the film that had memorable moments, but nothing stands out more than these few that I mentioned.

The pacing of the film was pretty good for the most part. As for most family drama's, I liked how it built up from a slower start to the action scenes later. The setup really paid off, and I think this was helped by the fact that this is based on a true story. Basically it's about a young man who is living on the streets and is taken in by Sandra Bullock's family. This is where he really develops into the character and football player that become prominent in the second half. Some of the understated things that happen in the movie like him getting his drivers license play a key part in things later on. If you watch it for just a character study it would be enough, but this movie goes a level deeper to show the reason behind his growth.

If you couldn't tell, I really enjoyed the film. It felt a little long because of the beginning build up, but after that it really gets moving and flows very well. I would give it a 4.5/5 rating. Nothing's perfect and this film suffers a bit because of the slower beginning.

Percy Jackson Movie Review

So, as you might have guessed, based on the book review last week, I saw the movie over the weekend.

The story: What can I say? The similarities are name, demigods and that's pretty much it. There isn't much thats the same as the book. The story on its own works decently for a movie. Their on a quest to save his mother and he needs three items to be able to do so. So the quest begins. I'm not going to harp on the differences, but as the story goes for the movie, it was pretty straight forward and simple to follow. Some of the action pieces were well done as well as I felt the special effects served their purposes. I would have liked more development of the bad guy as it sort of comes out of nowhere how he's revealed and such, so when it happens it seems a bit bland.

The characters: I felt that the three main characters were very stereotypical teenagers. The smart and feisty girl. The mack daddy kid and the brooding main character. There wasn't enough depth to really care about what happened to either of them. I think they did this to cater to the audience as Grover came across as comical at times, but more childish comedy than any substance behind the stuff he does. The relationship that the main character explores with Annabeth seems sort of odd in the movie because they are enemies then all of a sudden they are close. There isn't any sort of transition between the two points. The minor characters were that, minor. Nothing notable about them besides their Greek Mythology reference.

The overall feeling of the movie was a cheap cash-in on the success of the book. I liked the idea and if adapted more true to the book it would have been a better story. Overall it came across with very little of the charm and magic that the book held which was too bad. I honestly think they will make the sequels, but don't know how they will fit in with the other books as some of the main things that are carried over in the rest of the books are omitted from the movie. I would give this movie a 5 out 10. A good movie if you can look at separate from the book, not so much if you are comparing them.

Zombieland Review

I'm going to let you know in advance, that I understand this film came out in theaters a while ago, but also the DVD/Bluray was just released today so I thought I would post a review of the film.

For those of you that don't know this movie is about Zombies, and they are kicking butt in terms of killing lots of people. However, there are a few survivors left and this film follows 4 of them as they make their journey across the US.

Story:

This film is very straight forward, and basic in terms of the plot. 4 survivors trying to live long enough because they want to get to a safe zone at an amusement park. Well they think its safe, and some hijinx happen between the characters on the journey. I'm not going to ruin the plot, but lets just say that there is some good times to be had.

Characters:

I think this is the strongest part of the movie. Woody Harrelson is great at the redneck zombie killing machine. His one liners and confidence has you rooting for him in most situations. I think Woody takes the movie and makes it better than if he wasn't in it. He fits the role perfectly.

Jesse Eisenberg, was very believable as being the scared weakling of the group. He does grow up and I liked how they showed that throughout the plot. Even his major moment was done very well to show his pinnacle of change.

Emma Stone, was a pleasant surprise. I hadn't heard of her before this movie, probably because I didn't see Superbad. (I know. Bad me. I'll get to it.) For her character I felt that she did the strong woman pretty well. She has her moments where she shows real heart, which was a nice contrast to how we meet her.

Abigail Breslin, did very well. She grew up in the role as she played off perfectly with Emma in terms of their banter and dialogue. I think the way that her character is in conflict with what she wants and what she knows is right was very well portrayed.

This movie isn't a straight up zombie film, which I'm glad it wasn't because there are so many of those that do it better, but this one did something that hadn't been done before. It was more of a road trip film with zombies in the backdrop. Don't get me wrong, their is plenty of zombie scares when they happen, but they don't happen as frequently as they could have if they were going for a straight horror film.

I have heard people compare this to "Shaun of the Dead," because it is a comedy, but I disagree. There are comedic elements in both of them, but Zombieland works with it more between the characters and their interactions, while "Shaun of the Dead" does it more in reaction to the Zombies. Granted they do both cross into each other's territory, and both films are great for what they are. I preferred "Zombieland", mainly for the greater scares that happened, but that's just me.

Overall I give this film a 4.5/5 but I'll be the first one to say that I'm slightly partial because I'm a huge zombie movie fan. Anyways, what do you guys think of the film, am I on, or off?

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs Review

I'm going to try to have a Review Tuesday every week. Either reviewing a book, movie, or video game, maybe even a TV show or two. Today I decided to review a movie my family and I have recently watched, "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs."

This movie sort of flew by my radar without much of a glance when it was in theaters, for the fact that it was just another animated film, and my kids didn't show much interest in it since they are at the age where talking animals are more their forte, not people.

Anyway, we picked this up this past week and watched it while eating dinner one night. I don't know what to say, but I was pleasantly surprised by the touching story. It boils down to an outcast, which I think a lot of people can relate to, trying to get recognized for one of his inventions. However, this one had a bit of a glitch in that his inventions would work, just not quite as expected, take for example the hair growth spray that made his father into a sasquatch for a bit, and I don't want to ruin the other's but some are quite amusing.

Another thing that I really liked was the subplots with the father minding his own business and help keep his eccentric son in line with what he considers normal. The ambitious news reporter that was really a closet geek, or the the town mayor who manages to get fat due to the hero's newest invention. These plots all fed into the main story very well which added a depth that I wasn't expecting based on the previews.

The animation on the other hand wasn't as good as say, "Avatar," or even Pixar's "Up," but it had a very charming quality to it. Especially the facial expressions of the characters. Small things like the sneer of the villain, or the rising eyebrows of the father were well captured.

I'm not going to spoil everything, but the ending had some surprising elements that I think will make you laugh out loud as well as cheer for. Overall, I think that this would be a good flick despite its message that eating too much food is good, which was criticized in the media when it came out. I think that most kids between the ages of 4-11 would be a good audience for this, but it also maintains a good flow which kept my wife and I entertained.

James Cameron's "Avatar" Review

I wanted to start off this post with a small thing that I have to say about this movie. I really enjoyed it, but it wasn't original. See below for my full review. It does contain a bit of spoilers as the outcome and stuff, but nothing too bad.

The tickets for this movie was a gift from some friends so when my wife and I went to see it, she more excited to see it than me, it was free which is always good. The movie started off very typical of James Cameron stuff, about thirty minutes of it explaining the world, the tech in the world and a little bit of the character development. Slowly we start to get an understanding of this character, his motives are clear from the beginning as he says that he "wants his legs back." So the first person to offer him this got his support. It happened so fast that I knew it would change before the end of the movie. I think it was probably the Plot Point of Act 1. For the entire second act it was a very standard Native American Story. I saw somewhere the plot was summed up by the Disney movie "Pocahontas," which it is very close to it. Except for the scifi elements it would be that exactly. I don't think this is a bad thing as it allows the story to falls to the side as its predictable, but allows us to really focus on the characters and how they are developing, which is what I found most interesting. Basically, by the end of Act 2, it was going strong and I felt that the final act was going to kick some butt. It didn't disappoint at all and varies here from the ending you were expecting as the Natives actually win the war as opposed to other movies where the invading people usually do, but being that we are sympathizing with them throughout the movie was to be expected.

Overall I found the story to be a bit predictable, which did detract from the movie a bit. The characters were well thought out and I felt very developed so much that I cared for them all.

The special effects, even not in 3-D like I was told to see it in, but didn't have the extra cash, were extraordinary and they are what drew me into the world that Cameron created.

I would give this movie a solid 9 out of 10 the only thing knocking it down was the predictable plot line. Because I'm a writer, this is worthy of a one point knock off as I feel that plots should be more of a surprise even if it has been done numerous times.

So that's what I thought of the current Mega-Blockbuster making the rounds. If you have any comments or want to discuss this please feel free to in the comment section. I always enjoy a vibrant film argument.

A New Year and a New Blog

So as you might have guessed, one of my New Year's resolutions happened to be trying to establish a better web presence. I started with my website, www.johnsankovich.tk, and that is a special thanks to my friend Kevin who did all the work on it. Since this is pretty much just an introduction to me and what I plan to do for this blog, I'll say this.

I plan to use this as a place to allow people that don't know me that well to get to know me better. This will reveal itself through many avenues. I'm not one to rely solely on my writing as that isn't my only interest. It's a big one, but not the only one. I plan to also write about my poker exploits, my family things, my video game conquests and reviews, movies I've seen and reviewed, and of course my pursuit of my writing goals.

So to start this off, I'm going to leave it open for comments, and questions. What kind of stuff are you looking to know about me? Ask me anything and I'll be honest about it. I'm not going to shy away from anything. Anyways, this is probably enough of my jabbering, now time to advertise this blog on various avenues that I have access to.