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Posts Tagged ‘Weekend Box office’

The Amazing Spiderman 2

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 4, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Spider man 2 poster

The Amazing Spiderman 2, starring Andrew Garfield and directed by Marc Webb was truly AMAZING! This was one of the best superhero movies I’ve seen.
Without giving too much away, I will say that the movie is a continuation of the first film. What really makes this movie a first rate action film is the storytelling aspect. The writers focused on delivering Peter’s story in such a way that fully explains Peter’s connection to OsCorp and his real reasons for becoming Spiderman.
The rise of Electro and The Green Goblin were elements that added to the film. Andrew Garfield did a wonderful job reprising his role as The Amazing Spiderman, but Jamie Foxx’s portrayal of Electro was just outstanding. I had the pleasure of experiencing the film in 3D and it was such an entertaining experience that I will never forget. Electro made the movie. Foxx aka Electro is now on my list of the top 5 Superhero villains of all time.
The action scenes were superb and I felt like I was in the film living every moment as if I were one of the characters. This movie is definitely an engaging film with no dull moments.
The love story between Peter and Gwen was also nice, but it wasn’t an overwhelming element. Each mini storyline fit to the overall bigger story and came together very nicely. Even the Green Goblin’s story was interesting, and the whole story behind Peter and Harry’s past unveiled some very engaging plot outlines. OsCorp is the corporation of the future, but all things intended to help mankind don’t necessarily end in success. I hope an Amazing Spiderman 3 is in the works.
The special effects were out of this world, the scenes with Electro in the heart of Times Square were so authentic in its presentation. Also the scenes where Spiderman is above the city jumping from building to building were also amazing. I was completely swept away by this film.
The score was another element that was outstanding. The music played an important role, which kept the flow and mood of the movie in ways that increased the dramatic effect of the film. It connected to the emotion of the characters and impacted the audience in a way that drew you into the movie even deeper.
Peter’s adventure is just that, a great adventure that you will want to experience.
Overall I gave this movie 5 stars and highly recommend that fans see it in 3D. Spending the extra cash is worth it.

L.L

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Noah “Movie Review

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 6, 2014| 1 Comment »

Noah poster

Noah starring Russell Crowe and directed by Darren Aronofksy was a complete disappointment to the epic Bible story. Noah is chosen by God to complete a great task, to build an ark to save the animals, (and the human race, or so I thought.)The Bible states that Noah and his family was chosen because they were good people and didn’t give in to the sins of the world.
This movie took that whole idea and concept away from the original story. I think everything went wrong for this movie, starting with Noah’s son’s Sham, Ham and Jabath. All of which were young boys and not men. In the bible they are men and already have wives.
Sham ends up with the adoptive daughter which means that she is Sham’s non blood related sister,(a girl who Noah saves from being attacked, then raises her as his own.)
Then there is this whole war that is started by a villain, supposedly a descendent of Cain, Tubal-cain, played by Ray Winestone. Viewed as a king by the people, he demands to be saved and uses his army to wage war against Noah so he can take the ark. Noah’s family is protected by fallen angels called Watchers.
The animals began to board the ark. The rains begin and Noah soon has a fallout with Ham as he looses a woman that he wanted to go with him.
lla played by Emma Watson is impregnated by Sham, not realizing it until they’ve spent weeks in the ark. The evil villain escapes the flood as he secretly boarded the ark during the attack.
Noah’s family believes that they will have a chance to restart civilization, but Noah says the sin of the world will end with his family. Once he realizes that lla is pregnant, he plots to kill the baby so that he can uphold god’s plan. The family is outraged and the young couple plan to escape the ark.
Their plan fails as Noah torches their little boat and the stress of that situation begins the onset of labor.
The Villain uses Noah’s son as a ploy to influence Ham so he can kill his father. Tubal-cain wants to got Noah out-of-the-way,so that he can be the ruler of the people. Once the ark lands, and the doves seek a place to start over, a fight breaks out just as Noah discovers that the ark has been invaded by evil. The son defends his father and Tubal-cain is killed on the ark.
Twins are born on the ark and Noah can not bear to murder the innocent babies. They start a new life and the new earth is born.
Every time a new scene opened, the more I disliked this movie. I don’t understand the reason why the writers would change the story to such a degree that makes it disturbing.
The villain was added for dramatic reasons. The purpose for Emma Watson’s character was pointless and the storyline centered around her was inappropriate. Murder in the new world, killing babies, are all things that contradict the story in so many ways.
I grew up reading about Noah and the flood, and I just can’t express enough, how disappointed I was. They even added Noah’s grandfather Methuselah portrayed by Anthony Hopkins. The character presented could have been introduced better.
The special effects were good, but the story telling was just so bad. I did find myself wanting an even more detailed back-story on the watchers. That could have been developed better.
This role was not fitting for the cast, with the exception of Hopkins, and where did Noah find clippers to get his head shaved? Really?
I gave this movie 2 stars, not a box office must see.
L.L

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Insidious Chapter 2 “movie review”

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , on September 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Insidious Chapter Two, directed by James Wan and starring Patrick Wilson is the continuation of a story about an entity that has crossed over into our world,as it haunts and terrorizes a family.
I’ve already read some reviews about the movie that basically give the movie a bad review,and I understand that everyone has their own opinion and is entitled to that.
From a writers’ perspective, I appreciate every written component that was put into the story. The whole idea was interesting and complex.
The movie picks up where the first one ends, after Josh brings his son back from the astral dimension of the Further.
As the family tries to settle back into a normal life and deal with the death of their paranormal researcher friend Lin, Josh soon realizes that he is still stuck in the Further and the spirit of a man with a disturbing past has inhibited his body in the realm of reality.
I won’t giveaway any more spoilers, but I will say that the movie wasn’t as scary as it could have been, and the effects were lacking in some areas. As for the writing and the overall storyline, it was captivating and drew me into the story completely. You have to see the first movie in order to follow the second, and in order to understand the second, you must have an appreciating for good writing.
I give this movie 3.5 stars
My next horror review will be Carrie, coming out Oct 18th.

Have a good fright!
L.L.
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The Conjuring “Movie Review”

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The New Line Cinema production, The Conjuring directed by James Wan and starring Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga was one of the best horror films I’ve seen this year.
The movie follows husband and wife paranorormal research team Ed and Loraine Warren.
Based on true events that happened in the early 70’s, the story is about a family that moves into a new home, that is haunted. As soon as they get settled in, the paranormal activity begins. The mother(Carolyn Perron) played by Lili Taylor and their young daughter seem to clearly be targets for the haunting entity. The activity is so traumatic that Perron quickly seeks the help of the Warrens. The Warrens set up an investigation in the home to present proof to the Vatican that the house is in need of an exorcism. The team learns that the house has a horrible history and are concerned for the survival of the family.
Ed is a demonologist and his wife Lorraine is a clairvoyant. Together they use their gifts to battle the entity that eventually possesses the mother Carolyn.
Wan and his team did a great job with authentically creating the time period. The costumes and overall set design including the actors character portrayals was definitely believable.
The story was well written and special effects were tastefully done and added to the telling of the haunting story. Evil Dead remake was the last movie that made me scream. If you are looking for a great horror movie to scare the s*** out of you, than The Conjuring is your movie. This is a must must see and I give it 5 stars. Well done New Line.
Happy Viewing
L.L.
Note: I’d love to see a sequel for this film. It has great potential to begin a new franchise.

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World War Z “Movie Review”

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The Paramount Pictures production World War Z directed by Marc Forster, and starring Brad Pitt was not the zombie horror flick I thought it would be.
The film opens like most zombie films do, with people living their ordinary lives and going though with their daily routines.
As a family starts their day with preparing to go to school and work, everything is disrupted as a sudden unknown emergency sweeps the area of downtown Philadelphia.
Survival mode quickly settles over Gerry Lane(Brad Pitt) as he struggles to keep his family safe from the threat.
As an employee at the U.N., he is soon recruited by government officials to try and track down and identify the origin of the “So called zombie plague”.
Lane sets out on a global quest to learn the answers about what’s happening.

World War Z was based on a book by Max Brown(which I haven’t read yet) but according to what I already know about the book, the film is very different.
I thought the film was interesting, and had quite a few scenes that were intense, and very engaging. This is of course not the classic zombie flick, but the concept of killing them was traditional. The origin of where they come from is unknown, in the movie (they mention rabies’) and the zombies seem to be much more amplified than the “rage” filled 28 Days Later zombie. There wasn’t much zombie killing and gore like I like because I think they were just too darn fast, one of the major pit falls the movie has. The solution they came up with at the WHO was innovative and creative.
The effects were entertaining and the zombie makeup was awesome. I really appreciated the hard work and talent that went into that aspect of the film.
It’s hard to not compare the movie with other zombie films. I clearly understood what the writers and director was trying to go for but I don’t think their interpretation came off well. The last really good Zombie movie I saw was Dawn of the Dead.
I’m a big fan of Brad Pitt’s so I gave this movie 3 stars for overall good entertainment.
Enjoy L.L.

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“The Man of Steel” Movie Review

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder was a Sci Fi thrill ride that will take you on a massive adventure between worlds.

Starring Henry Cavill, as Superman aka Kal-El. Henry is best known as the Tudors supporting actor and King Henry’s right hand man Charles Brandon.

The two and a half hour movie, features an all star cast in some of the most important roles the story has.
The movie opens with a spectacular scene as Jor-El played by Russell Crow and his wife Laura have a baby. As they quickly settle into parenthood, their happiness does not last long as they face the fate of a dying Krypton.
Jor-El meets with the leaders of the Council and tries to find out what they can do to save their people from extinction. The meeting is interrupted by General Zod played by Michael Shannon as he murders members of the Council and Jor-El in an effort to take over as the leader. He and his crew are captured and banished from the planet. Before Zod’s departure, he vows that he will find Kal as he witnesses Laura sending him to safety in an escape pod.
The secret to Krypton’s survival is within the genetic make up of Kal-El.
The planet explodes and with that no one survives.
As Kal adjusts to life on Planet Earth.
The movie then picks up with Clark as an adult, as he moves from one odd job to the next searching for his place in the world.
A strange and supernatural encounter in the Artic with a journalist sets off a chain of events that changes everything for the entire world.

I don’t want to give everything away but the storyline was indeed very complex and well thought out. The film was hard core Sci FI and not what you’d expect from a Superman movie.
The world created for the film was fitting for the story and the cast choices perfectly pulled everything together. My only concern with casting was Amy Adams as Lois. She was not a good choice. The effects were amazing and pulled you right into the adventure. I give this movie 5 Stars.

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Summer Blockbuster Movies

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The official summer Blockbuster movie season kicked off with the release of Iron Man 3 this past May.
There is a long list of movies expected to be released this summer, but I have compiled a list of a few that I think will be worth watching.
I’m a big super hero fan, so the first movie on my list is
Man of Steel-June 14 starring Henry Cavill

World War Z- June 21 starring Brad Pitt

White House Down-June 28 starring Jamie Foxx

The Lone Ranger-July 3 starring Johnny Depp

The Conjuring-July 19 starring Patrick Wilson

Elysium-August 9 starring Matt Damon

I’ve seen all of the trailers to these films and feel that they will all take their audiences on a thrill ride of adventure.
I expect that they will do very well at the box office.
As I continue to search for summer movies I may add to my list in the near future.
Enjoy your weekend at the movies!
L.L

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Ironman3 Movie Review

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 5, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The Marvel Studios production, Ironman 3 starring Robert Downey Jr. and directed by Shane Black was a good film considering some of the negative reviews that have been written about the film. Black is fairly new to the directing scene and is known for writing for the popular 80’s action flicks Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2, and Lethal Weapon 3.
Ironman 3 picks up sometime after the Avengers have saved the world from an intergalactic alien invasion. A disturbed Tony Stark is in the process of trying to deal with the shock of knowing that other worlds and beings exist. He is also adjusting to being in a steady relationship with Pepper.
The normalcy of life quickly comes to a halt when Tony learns that the world is once again under attack by a terrorist. The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley. He is a vicious killer and will do anything to get what he wants. The government acts quickly and sends Colonel James Rhodes out on a mission to search for the terrorist. An old acquaintance of Tony’s surfaces Aldrich Killian, and makes Pepper an offer for Tony to be a partner in his DNA altering project. Pepper declines and little do they know that Killian has a more malicious agenda in mind. Tony calls out The Mandarin and soon his home is under attack. Barely making it out alive Tony and Pepper survive, but their home is destroyed. As Tony searches for The Mandarin he quickly learns that he is a fake, an actor and that his real enemy is Killian. Killian has developed a way to heal the physically disabled, but has changed them into heat resistant mutants. He has created these beings to destroy Stark and the world. His plan is to become the world’s most powerful terrorist. He kidnaps the President and Pepper and tries to use Tony’s love for her to get him to work for him.
Tony and Killian battle it out in the traditional fight between good vs evil.
Overall I thought that Ironman 3 was a good movie. The first two were better, but that still doesn’t take away from the film. Black was creative in his representation of Ironman. There were a lot of action pact scenes and creative concepts that haven’t been done before with Ironman. The effects were good, the score was disappointing.
I give this movie 3 1/2 stars.

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Evil Dead: Movie Review

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 7, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Evil Dead, The most anticipated horror film in years was released in theaters this past Friday.
The Sony Pictures production was a re-make of the original 80’s version, but the film also brought something new to Sam Raimi’s creation.

The story follows a group of friends as they travel to a remote cabin in the woods to help Mia, get off drugs “cold turkey.” Among the group is her brother David,he joins them in hopes to support his sister, but they obviously have some issues they need to work out. The group quickly settles in and Eric finds something that interests him; The Book of the Dead.
Under the care of nurse Olivia, Mia starts the process of withdrawal, in the midst of everything going on Eric reads an incantation from the book. As Mia’s withdrawal becomes more intense she is soon possessed by a dark entity. One by one the group of friends are devoured by the entity. David takes on the leadership role and tries to abide by the rules of the book which is to cleanse or purify the possessed body. He saves his sister by burying her and bringing her back. As they each die horrific deaths David decides to burn his family’s cabin. The ritual is complete and now the dark entity is ready to consume Mia’s soul. Mia gains the strength to fight the demon, and in the process loses one of her hands. She becomes the new Ash, and sends the demon back to hell.
The new Evil Dead was produced by Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell. This film was a great horror and very exciting to watch. There were some classic elements infused in the remake such as the necklace, the chainsaw, and the iconic scene in the woods when Mia was alone. New elements of the story included the history of the cabin which was very interesting and the obvious drug concept. This movie overall did not disappoint, and the gore and blood was over the top perfect. The special effects and makeup was done with a talented team. The sound effects and score brought movie goers into the film on a whole new level. As far as the actors, I think that the cast was a good choice and the fear they portrayed on camera was very realistic. I give this movie 4 stars
L.L

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Evil Dead excitement!!!

Posted in Fantasy literature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2013| 1 Comment »

The new Sony production Evil Dead will be released in theaters this Friday. The movie tells the story of a group of friends that go to a cabin in the woods to help one of their friends quit drugs cold turkey.
That part of the story is very different from the original, but there are many elements that are the same. The same concept of possession is the foundation of the storyline. This movie doesn’t seem to have any elements of comedy like the original, which makes me very happy.
One by one the friends become victims of possession, as a consequence of reading the book of the dead.
Blood,gore, body dismemberment all make up the basis of an excellent, horror movie experience.
I was surprised to hear that Bruce Campbell wasn’t going to make an appearance, but learned that he would have a role behind the scenes as one of the producers. I am so excited about this movie, and my husband just purchased the first tickets for Saturday night’s showing!! Enjoy everyone, and my review will be coming soon.
L.L.

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