Reviews by kgbelliveau

After his brother is killed ex marine Jake Sully has the chance of a lifetime. Jake is sent in by the human race to gather information on the Na’vi the race that inhabits the planet of Pandora. But once Jake is sent in and begins to earn the respect of the natives, he learns that they are a race just like the humans and he begins to question the mission that he was sent on. Jake begins to fall in love with Neytiri, which came a surprise to him. He then learns that the humans had no intention of bargaining with the Na’vi they want a mineral that natives have and they will not rest until they have it.

James Cameron created Pandora from scratch, and I will give him credit, the end product is stunning. There was a mass of colors as well as life on Pandora. Cameron plays with the colors which enhance the 3-D effects. James Cameron creates a world that is embraced, and there are claims that people who have seen Avatar are depressed after viewing because they wish they could live on Pandora. Take a deeper look into Avatar and you will see that it is in fact just another flick. Just another movie, with planets much like Star Wars, and Star Trek, Cameron just brings to life his own group of beings and gives them a set of morals and beliefs, that are similar to natives here on planet earth.

Upon further look into Avatar, one could come to the conclusion that the hype is warranted, and it deserves all these awards and claims that it is the greatest film of all time. But look deeper, take a second or third look, read into it beyond the effects and you could come to the second of two conclusions. Without the effects, what is there that we would really be talking about. Does anything stand out beyond other films we have seen over the last 70-80 years of film. The answer in the end would have to be no for me.

What do I want out of a film? Acting, first the acting needs to be flawless when playing with a far off race or even the issues Cameron was looking to tackle in Avatar, the unwavering faith of the Na’vi, the greed of the humans. Take a look at just Zoe Saldana’s performance as Neytiri, take away the blue and the over the top animation, and what are you left with. She is the strong female warrior of the tribe, who falls in love with the man who knows nothing about the Na’vi, which is stereotypical of a script featuring a blossoming love. Now to the humans performance, or as many would word it “Unaltered” performances. You have Sam Worthington, who everyone claims to be the next big male lead star, came up about as Cliché as Dicaprio was in Titanic. Sam Worthington did Terminator Salvation alongside Christian Bale, did James Cameron just look at the current stars of the franchise he built over 20 years ago? It seems that way. Other human performances Sigourney Weaver, who at first was a cold hearted bitch and realized what the na’vi were and how they were strong believers in their own faith so she switched her views, almost instantly, she was a mean middle aged woman one minute, and then the next she was the most caring and compassionate woman on Pandora, your views don’t just change like that.

Another issue I had, was with the way Cameron wrote the script bringing up odd facts and then tossing the answers aside. Like the scars on Colonel Quatrichs head, he brings up that it happened, yet Quatrich only ever says it happened his first day on Pandora. I didn’t like the no answer as to how it happened, we could all clearly see he had scars on his head, so don’t bring it up only to dismiss it. Yes I know this is small as far as the plot was concerned, but bringing it up and shutting down doesn’t further the plot anymore then the audience just getting the visuals of the side of his face. Also the fighter planes the humans had, at one point weren’t being pierced at all, but bullets or arrows, then all of sudden during the final battle the Na’vi arrows were strong enough to cut through the glass and kill the pilot. Did the Na’vi find a new material for their arrows, were the planes built out of different glass all of a sudden. Because of Na’vi arrows broke the class they would have been able to win easily the first time they fought yet their homes and most of their forest was brutally destroyed.

Also I want to move on to the thing that many people have already expressed displeasure with and that is the plot. This film somehow very similar if not a carbon copy of other films such as Pocahontas and Dances with Wolves. One of the Frequently asked Questions on IMDB is how similar is Avatar actually to Dances with Wolves. Here are a few points that the site was able to compare.

1. Both movies have a soldier/marine that is a little world weary and decides to take on a new job that is a little out of the normal realm of their training.

Nothing out of the ordinary really that could be the case with any story.
2.. Both movies have a soldier/marine that gets to know the native people/aliens of the strange land/alien world in which they are assigned, learns their language, participates in a hunt, and visits their most sacred place.

3. Both movies have a soldier/marine that decides to side with the Indian tribe/alien tribe in which they have come to know and love, and is persecuted by their former comrades.

IMDB has seven points, and I chose three that really stand out. Avatar enthusiasts might claim Cameron began with this idea in the mid 90’s and not a bad claim, but still it doesn’t explain the massive similarities to Dances with Wolves and even making that claim doesn’t help Avatars case, because Dances With Wolves was released in 1990.

I don’t hate Avatar, I actually liked most of it, but it isn’t the complete film package, it features many plot devices that have been the focal point of clever twists in other films. Avatar isn’t the greatest movie of all time, and my question is if Cameron was a first time director, and forget Titanic would everyone have rushed to see this film? I have to say no, but people are fascinated with this idea of 3-D being the deciding factor of how great a film is. I don’t begrudge anyone who likes this film, but for me this film has become an overhyped mess.

Which brings me to my final point of discussion, and any fan boy can correct me at anytime if what I say is wrong. The Na’vi were all about balance of life and faith in the living creatures and living as one, yet before the final battle Jake had to unite all the tribes. The Na’vi preached balance of life, faith and peace for all, but how did they tribes separate then? Clearly I missed something here, the first Na’vi would have existed as one united group, I am assuming, same with here on earth as we have evolved into many different people due to Europeans discovering other places, but at one time there were places on earth that were not occupied and had to be discovered. So with the Na’vi what lead to the different tribes, which would also have to mean different belief systems, because here on earth we all don’t agree on one religion, which was due to people seeing it differently. Now there are people on earth who believe peace and unity is still attainable, but we cannot right now as a planet claim we have it. So if the Na’vi aren’t unified as one race, and they are divided they cannot claim to have found the balance of life and unification as a race, because as we saw at the end they were divided and this happened for a reason.

Now to conclude, Avatar is a good film, with choppy dialogue, over the top action, stunning visuals, but with all this come the complications of creating your own world, and that is backing yourself out if need be, and Cameron just throws way to much at us at one time with one culture and then we see some faults and there just isn’t enough room for him to wiggle through.

Sources
IMDB.com

Reese Holden (Deschanel) is a struggling actress, living in New York City just trying to get by. She gets an offer from a publishing company to publish letters that her father wrote to her mother. Her father is a well known author, and her mother has recently passed away. Reese decided to return home after she is offered 100,000 dollars for the letters. Upon returning home she realizes that her father has let himself go, and he is now living with a former student and a want to be musician.

Reese Holden: I just can't believe this is the same man who told his six-year-old daughter that Christmas was a Republican capitalistic conspiracy created by the Hallmark Corporation and that, if Jesus were alive today he'd be down in Nicaragua rallying the Sandinistas. Grace Away.

Reese has just returned home and nothing is what it used to be, not that she really enjoyed the way things used to be as a child. She hasn’t had any contact with her parents in almost seven years and she is bribed into going back to visit her father. She quickly sees that he has changed and she begins to question these changes.

Zooey Deschanel plays the role of Reese perfectly, Reese is struggling, and I liked the early 20 minutes or so of a glimpse into her New York life before she heads home. New York city is a wonderful place as many of us know, such a diversified city with many things to do, but as we see with Reese life can get in the way of glamour.

I originally thought there would be a little more humour to this film, but as it progressed I was really impressed with the road they took, allowing lonely people to be the center of a lonely world, where they relied on each other to get through the tough times. Set against a cold back drop the setting actually sets the mood for the way the people felt, so cold and isolated from the rest of the world.

Ed Harris wasn’t used to his full potential, yes I know the film centered around Reese and her world and how she felt about the ever changing world in which she is a part of, but Harris’s character had many different aspects they could have dove full force into, instead they took the high road so to speak and left us with a simple character. We all know what drove to this point in his life, but perhaps a few flashback scenes set with a nice black and white back tone could have been the key to an emotionally gripping film.

I am not going to complain about the finished product, I really liked what I saw, and how the actors were convincing, but I think there was so much more to these peoples pain that they failed to explore. Pain is painful, and in these people you could feel their pain, but perhaps I was hoping for visuals of their pain. People might see that as odd, and the way I worded it could seem odd, but I mean that leaving the pain to our imagination doesn’t work .

Will Farrell was miscast, and as much as I like this guy, I couldn’t feel his need to do a dramatic role for a change. It was like the script writer tried to play for comedic dramatics which does not play with the rest of the film at all. Perhaps I am just used to Will Farrell doing what he does best, which is laugh out loud over the top comedy and him playing a simple down to earth man just wasn’t the piece that fit to complete the films puzzle.

As an entire film though, and having had time to process this film and what it all means, I have to admit that nothing else matters in this film other then Reese Holden and what her character is trying to accomplish, the story could be predictable, the settings dreary and cold, the dialogue a bit misguided, but all in all Reese struggled with her morals, and her deciding what was right and what was wrong. She came into herself, and as clichéd as that can be seen, everyone must do that. And Zooey nailed it. In the end Reese and Don are the two characters that shaped the film from start to finish, and even as a struggling actress living in NYC Reese was a product of how she grew up. So I guess what I am saying is as long as Ed Harris and Zooey Deschanel captured what seemed to be realistic emotions then this film is good, but it went beyond that, as Don and Reese grow to understand one another.

Max Payne: There's an army of bodies under this river, people who ran out of time, out of friends. I could feel the dead down there, reaching up to welcome me as one of their own. It was an easy mistake to make.

Detective Max Payne works cold case, why some people might ask, only unsolvable cases come by his desk and rarely do they get satisfaction. There is a reason behind this, Max wants to help solve the case of his dead wife and child, who were killed in what seems like a random break and enter. Max goes on a manhunt and realizes that bodies are piling up because of some new drug that is being used on soldiers to make them feel invincible. Max gets in deeper and finds out a lot more about this drug and its wild hallucinations. They see a dark angel, known as the Norse Valkyrie. Max with the help of a new friend whose sister was killed, is trying to expose the secret of Valkyr.

This movie is based off of a video game, and in Hollywood these days it is common knowledge that video game based films are a major turn off. Sometimes they are even just plain old terrible films. They are glorified action thug movies, where the main character go do and say what he/she pleases and escape death. And yes Max Payne does mould itself to fit the criteria of the stereotypical action flick where the good guy escapes death on thousands of occasions. Yes Max Payne exits a building where he takes three bullets and lives, yes he avoids being shot in major shootouts and yes he is the reason many people are killed, and yes he even escapes from a frozen over river, where apparently according to the quote above there are many a dead bodies floating. Max Payne is one man that manages not to fins himself floating in the river for the rest of time, so apparently Max Payne has friends and didnt run out of time.

Mark Wahlberg is what people would define as badass, a mean looking, shoot out, take bullets, fly high kind of guy. Ok maybe not fly high, but when people look at Markie Mark, they automatically say “That guy could live through a shootout” If anyone who in Hollywood could live a hard life like Max Payne the choice would be Whalberg. He isn’t what people would call a shy, awkward type. Whalberg is self dependent, and he reflects that in every work he does. He takes it upon himself to make sure a film is brought forth as maybe not the best film ever, but a good decent effort where he could be talked about. Max Payne may just be that film, this may be the film where a lot lacked, except for his performance.

Not very many big name stars were in this film other than Mark Wahlberg. Mila Kunis, better known from That 70's show as Jackie and from Family Guy as Meg. She doesn’t have all that much to her credit, maybe the recent Forgetting Sarah Marshall is a decent film. Other than that fans may think she playes just a decent role as Jackie on That 70;s show. She did a good job in this film as the badass female and has grown up a lot since the start of That 70's show in 1998. She was only fifteen and the youngest of the cast. She proved herself to some degree beside Mark Wahlberg, and to be fair they only had her a not so very known actress because they didnt want anyone to steal the show from Wahlberg. I was glad to see her sort of rival as his female counterpart. She is able to play her part, with ease and she does have a future as the potentially badass Hollywood female. I don’t know stay tuned for more information.

As far as the story goes, it plays like a cheesy comic book film, with scenes that are set up to make the audience know what is coming next, there is nothing really surprising about this film. How it plays out is obvious and a few scenes come off as terribly cheesy and somewhat uncalled for. For example a seen where Natasha the sister of Max's female friend is at his apartment and she is looking for nothing but a lay. It is uncalled for scene for the director has Olga Kurlylenko as many people know from the newest of the Bond series running around topless acting like a tramp. Yes a terrible word to use, but that is what they were making her do. She was topless, shown from the back in order to be a cheesy tease to all the men watching the film. A terrible way to exploit females in the film. Nudity is a major part in films, and sometimes it is unavoidable and sometimes it is good to see a film just let it pass and not exploit females as tramps and objects. She even goes as far as to tell Max he can call her by whatever name he wishes. I kinda wanted to laugh at the way the words sounded. That was a terrible scene, one of the worst I have seen in a long time.

Max Payne plays out with no surprises like just mentioned, but even when doing so it still remains a decent film. Nowhere near a great film, and nowhere near the greatest film of all time, but a good effort.

John Connor: I knew it. I knew it was coming. But this is not the future my mother warned me about. And in this future, I don't know if we can win this war. This is John Connor.

Skynet has destroyed most of the planet with a nuclear holocaust, and one man believes he can change the course they are all doomed for. His name is John Connor and he believes that he is the key to the resistance. He must try and find Kyle Reese who in another reality will eventually become his father. With John trying to save Kyle and the prisoners at Skynight he must rely on the help of Marcus Wright, a half man half machine that John believes is there to kill him.

I have been struggling with my thoughts on this film since I watched it. I didnt hate, however it didnt come off as that impressive to me either. Why some people might ask, so I will do things a bit differently since I have mixed feelings on this film. I will make a list of Pros and Cons.

Pros

Anton Yelchin- This young man gave the best performance in the entire film as Kyle Reese. He is a good young actor and has had his name attached to two different major franchises in the same year. That is a great accomplishment for a 20 year old. Anton should perhaps venture away from Action in the coming years therefore audiences can finally see what the kid can do as far as a dramatic non action film is concerned. I believe he will be one of the great young actors within the next 5 years. His talents rivals that of 23 year old mega star Shia Labeouf.

Characterization- Yes the characters were developed. John Connor as a character was a lot better then I ever remember him being in the past. Connor always seemed like that whiny child afriad to fend for himself, so the whole world protected him as best as they could. This time around he was a man played by Chris Bale (whose performance left more to be desired) but he was fighting for the resistance not sitting back while the resistance and everyone who is still alive were fighting for him.

Helena Bonham Carter- Yes she has the smallest part in the film, but she is awesome again. She never fails to impress, all though I was surprised that she is doing a major film franchise it doesn’t surprise me that she nailed the performance spot on. Her little part in the film was the second best performance falling right in behind Anton Yelchin. Bonham Carter is a seriously twisted actress and she has a flare for the dark and mysterious. Another great performance

Cons-

Arnie- Yes I missed Arnie in this film. It just didn’t feel the same without him. He was the face of the franchise and to simply just plaster his young face on the body of a Terminator was a disgrace if you want my opinion. Either he agrees to cameo or you leave him out of the film entirely.

Christian Bale- He used his Batman voice, the raspy disguise of a voice he uses when Bruce Wayne doesn’t want people to know he is Batman. I guess you let the cat out of the bag Mr. Bale, Bruce Wayne is Batman and it appears to me like you have made a statement by taking on another major film franchise. I’m starting to wonder if Chris Nolan comes a knocking, are you even going to care about the Franchise that really made you known to almost all of America. Now I read it depends on the script whether or not you return for another Terminator. Yet you have made no claim to return to Batman, and I am sure Nolan can deliver you a third amazing script. Mr. Bale Batman will give you the quality, where I am sad to say the Terminator Franchise is slowly on the decline, go with Batman.

Action- The action was a bit predictable, you knew Connor wasn’t going to die, you knew Marcus Wright was good, you knew Kyle Reese wasn’t going to die in some tragic accident at Sky Net. Unlike Star Trek you just couldn’t get into these characters amidst the action, they seemed to stone faced, especially Mr. Bale. He was just shooting and killing and shooting and killing and never did he ever show any facial expressions of concern. Oh and his "WE ARE ALL DEAD!" was such a painful line because Bale was way to over dramatic, sorry Bale you are a good actor, but action and acting didn’t seem to come natural to you this time around.

There are three pros and three cons I am sure have already been discussed before. And like I said before, I just couldn’t find myself getting into another film with the Terminator name plastered all over it. I found the attempts to pay homage to the classics were forced and otherwise could have been left out. Star Trek on the other hand paid homage to the classic by making a brand new film that restarted the series. I read a bunch of articles that this Terminator is a prequel or somehow plays into the other three, which really made no sense to me at all. They should have restarted, it is one thing fans will always somewhat respect you for. Even if you fail miserably, someone will be there telling you that you at least tried.

Yes an entire review without mentioning the director McG or the whole Bale meltdown on set. Seriously call it quits guys, you are just carrying on the Terminator name because you can.

Disturbia opens with a nice quiet fishing trip between father and son which quickly turns for the worst when they get into a car accident on the way home. Kales father is killed and it effects kale deeply. Kale rebels against his teacher and actually even punches him in the face. When kale is forced to wear and ankle monitor and must serve three months house arrest his mother cancels his x box and his I tunes leaving him to find new things to do.

Caruso definitely got peoples pulses pounding when kale and his did got in the car accident. He could have approached this film another way but no other way would have made the audience understand how kale felt unless they have never lost someone they cared about. Caruso never lets the feelings stop cause Kale then goes into his dads study for the first time and his emotions get the best of him. Caruso uses his play on emotions later on the film to help establish a deeper relationship between kale and Ashley his new good looking next door neighbour whom he spies on to learn more about. The fact that Caruso uses emotions straight from scene one helps him bring back those emotions later on cause acting those emotions are fresh in the minds of the young actors

When Shia makes his first wise crack it makes you laugh hysterically. maybe not cause of his line in this film but all the things we said and did on even Stevens goes through your mind. Shia quickly erases that image and helps pain kale as a more rebellious and misunderstood teenager who likes to break the rules. Shia definitely made a great transformation from comedy actor to Thriller star with this film. he will be one of the most sought after young actors in Hollywood and could one day win an academy award. My hat goes off to Shia for his brilliant transformation from comedy to thriller. From young teenage funny man to serious devoted actor.

When Roemer finally goes over and actually talk to Labeoufs Character you can feel the chemistry between the two radiating off the screen. They characters bond automatically and so do the actors. As the film progresses kale and Ashley become romantically involved which is set up by the very first scene in which they meet. Labeouf almost makes himself out to be a perv, but oh well all is good when you see how things turn out for the two characters. Ashley and Kale don’t really trust each other at first cause well his rep seems bad and she just moved to town so they don’t really know a lot about each other but the whole murderer next door thing kind of brings to people together like nothing else can

Roemer is great as long as she is with Shia on screen. When she ventures out of the exact location with Shia you see her capabilities to perform drop. She goes from being hot and talented to then being just someone to look at in the scene. Her performance was great and very fun to watch if when she was with Shia and telling their characters secrets. She will be able to make it if she buckles down and learns to free herself of having to be attached to a main actor who deals with all the pressure.

Next up on the docket is the man who makes this film possible. That is a man who has had experience in films and even television. David Morse throughout this film maintains that his character is innocent. He feeds off whether or not Shia was good and because Shia was good he was able to shine even brighter and become more involved and more emotionally linked to the part and the cause. Morse was able to come of sincere and sweet and change that fast from man to murderer and help make this film all the much more suspenseful and mind-blowing

Disturbia begins as what seems to be a silly teenage drama about watching the neighbours but it quickly develops into something more, something real , something that when is thought about doesn’t really seem to farfetched at all. They take would could have been turned fake and unrealistic keep it smart and keep it simple keeping the actors thinking positive and the filmmakers with wondrous ideas and the finish product does not disappoint. Disturbia keeps the best of us on our toes and on the edge of our seats and hoping for the best for all the characters.

The setting is a small town almost like the town i live in, really to me is the strangest part. They decided not to plaster the film full of city violence, or street crimes. Caruso limited the number of different sets he used to about 6. The fishing grounds, The School, The Courtroom, Kales House, Kales Neighbours house, and one scene at the Hardware store. There may be more, but each scene centered around these 6. Like for example, Kale watched Ashley in her own home from his home. It was good to see a film that shows its audience that they cannot take for granted that anywhere is safe anymore. The young cast was meant for teenagers, but the performance from Veteran actor David Morse was enough to put a little chill into every parent that fears for their child in society. The film was realistic and it hit home for many people, because unlike most films it didn’t feature the glam of the city as well as the downfalls, it featured the low points of how having too much time on your hands can in fact nearly get you and your friends and family killed.

Labeouf , Roemer, Moss and Morse all gave performances that were good enough to get the message across to the audience. A thriller that many people will turn away, but watch it, it won’t disappoint you

Dr. Parnassus had made a deal with the Devil that will give him immortality. Over the years Parnassus continued to make deals with devil including trading his immortality for youth when he meets the love of his life. The Devil however makes deal with Parnassus that when his daughter reaches the age of 16 she belongs to him. Now with her 16th birthday rapidly approaching Dr. Parnassus will make another deal with the devil. The first man to seduce 5 souls will win Valentina. Parnassus is willing to take on the help of anyone, including the mysterious Tony who seems to have eyes for Valentina.

Where do I start? There is so much I want to touch on during this review; I don’t know where to start. I will start with Terry Gilliam. His stunning world comes to life. Gilliam crafted this in his mind and it came to life beautifully on the big screen. This film has some of the best visuals I have seen in recent films. It was all about what one imagined anything they wanted to see when they stepped through the magic mirror. The possibilities were endless, and Gilliam showed us just a tiny glimpse into the minds of certain people. I like his semi-dark semi-humorous approach. It really helped lighten up the film at certain times.

Dr. Parnassus had the gift of guiding the imagination of others, some might say that is a great gift, but as already mentioned it comes with a price, and that price is his daughters freedom at the age of 16. Parnassus despite having this wonderful ability was often seen as poor and homeless. You see people look down upon those types of people. Christopher Plummer looked old, and that added substance to his performance. His liquored up failing Dr. Parnassus was an oddity. This performance was stellar, perfection if I might say so.

Lily Cole was perfectly cast as Valentina, she isn’t a widely known actress, but she has the potential. This film was her first big performance and she did really well. She was beautiful as well as powerful in some of her scenes and that is all one can really hope for. She couldn’t run from her life because she was bound by the Devil to her father, a secret she wasn’t aware of, but as she started to put it all together she realized that her father wasn’t the best of men. All though her father had traded her away Valentina could not help but love him anyway.

And that brings me to the hardest of all Topics to discuss. Heath Ledger, what a brilliant performance in his final film performance. Tony was mysterious, Parnassus and his friends find him hanging under a bridge and all throughout the film Tony tries so desperately to keep his secret hidden from the rest of them. But like all secrets it does come out. Ledger is and will forever be considered a phenomenal young actor. His final performance was one that showcased his talent in its truest form. This film was a lot better than anyone could have imagined it to be. I am saddened by Heaths death and will forever wonder what this man could have done, but what saddens me the most about his death is that his young daughter Matilda has to grow up never knowing him as a father, and all she has are images of him in his films. I found myself getting sad when Tony transformed into Johnny Depp, then back to Ledger, then to Law and back to Ledger but when he went into the mirror that one last time I had a mixed feeling. I was sad of course, but also I found myself completely focused on this performance. Heath gave us one final showing of brilliance, and that is how I want to remember this film. I have a lot of respect for what Heath did as an actor, and I hope his name and his stunningly brilliant performances can live on for many generations to come.

This film as I said was surprisingly better than I could have ever hoped for. It was magical, and explained itself. The characters were vibrant, and they were people with issues, magical fairy tale issues, but issues none the less. Terry Gilliam has given us one last film in which to remember Heath Ledger by. I find it eloquent that Heaths final movie was so magical and so beautiful in its own right, just as his career was.

A good solid film. Not for everyone, see it for the right reasons.

R.I.P Heath Ledger 1979-2008. Your passion and energy will never be forgotten.

James Bond (Craig) is back in his 22 adventure on the big screen. This time around, Bond is out for revenge, after the death of his beloved Vesper. Bond is ruthless and cold, going after business man Dominic Greene(Mathieu Almaric) whos company “ Quantum” is set to become the leading oil distributors in the entire world. With the help of M and the other MI-6 agents Bond is sent across the world to try and take down Greene as well as solve his personal issues before he is out of a job.

The character of James Bond has beem through many adventures. As indicated above, 22 to be exact. He has been portrayed by some great actors over the years, including Peirce Brosnan and Sean Connery. Bond is known as the man who can score with the ladys and take on any challenge. James Bond is the man every little boy wishes he could grow up to be. As a child we are conditioned to believe that James Bond is the ultimate bad ass action hero. We are told to believe that James Bond can do it all. All children see James Bond as this action man, who can take down any bad guy. As we grow up we see the Bond films on a different light. We see them for the story. Bond has to take down the evil doers before they end up upsetting the natural balance of the world. Before there is a shift in power. The older Bond from the 60's and 70's became a cult classic. Then there was no room left for an original story, so they began to send Bond to bases on the moon. The silly thing about that is, the people bought it. Bond was the hero, the man that could score with any lady he pleased. Why is not possible that the indestructible James Bond could go to the moon? The concept was easily explained, easily side stepped and it was a hit to say the least. After you send the most powerful secret agent to the moon what is left for him to do. They kept Bond going, there are over 20 stories in circulation and even a few videogames with their own original stories. Eventually there would come a time where you run out of stories for a man built to take on the world. Then what, what option do you have at the point? Then it clicks, why not restart with a new actor and restart the story. That was the plan for Casino Royale, the same exact name of the original Bond adventure (which isn’t his movie). Casino Royale told the story of a new up and coming secret agent, who according to that film is not perfect. He didn’t go to the moon, but he took on a case that challenged his wits and made him think. They gave a man who even adults could admire for his faults, and not just a man we wished we could be. But a man that no one wants to be because of what it is he has to do. They hired an actor, whom they thought could handle the pressure. And he did, to be honest. He was brilliant, shocking, truthful, intense and fresh. Daniel Craig was able to offer something that hadn’t been seen in years. An emotional James Bond. Craig excelled and the Bond franchise took on a darker and more revealing tone. It was clear that there would be more to come.

Daniel Craig was not able to nail his performance in like he was able to last time. He was left searching for those powerful lines that he delivered in Royale, but they weren’t there. Bond was left ruthless and cold, no personality, no emotion like he had in Royale. It was set right after Royale and it was not even close to the quality. Bond was on a mission like usual, but unlike Casino Royale the reasons and anticipation were forgotten and we were left with the man who could do it all, the man who could kill anyone he pleased. James Bond was forgotten, but we were introduced to just a simple killer who was place in a film they titled James Bond and gave the 007 number to.

There were some highlights to go along with all the disappointments. It had action, if that is what you were looking for. It had beautiful settings to help the action. They had a story that reflects today’s society. They had James Bond giving himself to random woman and driving and wrecking expensive cars that most people will only dream of having. Most importantly, this film had the Bond name and that is all people need and they will be there. To make a bold prediction, the Bond franchise will go down from here, Daniel Craig will hang on for 2 more flicks and then they get rid of him the same way they got rid of Brosnan. Craig will be ridiculed, but please people do not forget when this happens that he was the man behind the incredible Casino Royale.

Here a couple quotes to sum up the frustration this film has left me with


James Bond: How long have I got?
Felix Leiter: Thirty seconds.
James Bond: That doesn't give us a lot of time...

This quote really serves up how cheesy this film was. They failed to deliver. Bond never really gave any lines that would chill or make you feel anything. I was constantly sighing and rolling my eyes, while hoping this film would give me something.

Dominic Greene: Be careful of this one, Mr Bond. She will not go to bed with you unless you give her something she really wants... but you make a fine couple - you are both, what is the expression? Damaged goods

This quote was probably the most eye rolling of them all. It just shows that James Bond is a pimp. Greene is telling the audience that Bond can get with the ladies. It was a quote that could have been changed and held more meaning. Greene is calling the girl a gold digger and calling Bond a pimp. A very uncalled for quote.

Quantum of Solace could have been a masterpiece. It could have been something to celebrate, the rebirth of the new James Bond, but they went back to the old James way, which is that he can take on anything. James Bond is now a superhuman in my mind.

Vincent Lemarca (Deniro) lost his own father at a young age due to a criminal act that wasn’t entirely his fault. He managed to stick it out and deal with the pressures of having this over his head. He grew up to be a cop, and a father himself. Now he his aging, and things have not always gone according to plan. His wife left him, did not allow him to see his own son and his own has grown up in a world filled with drugs and violence. When Vincent learns that his son Joey (Franco) is the prime suspect in a murder mystery he begins to realize that this may be his last chance to save his son.

The opening sequence was brutally intense, Francos character of Joey, stumbling around, trying to sell off his possessions simply to find enough cash for his next hit. After Joey finds himself on the hook for murder he tries so desperately to get himself out of town and out of harm’s way. He also knows that anyone looking for him may just in fact go after his ex girlfriend and his son.

Robert Deniro has done some exceptional movies, such as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas. They were gripping, both mentally and physically. This film was completely different, it was slower paced, driven by the surroundings and not necessarily the characters it centers around. Deniro being the lead, managed at some points to make a complete mockery of the message behind this film. Yes his performance was still fantastic, but somewhere down the line Deniro lost his magical touch of being able to turn anything into movie gold. I wanted an emotionally heart wrenching portrayal of a father who gave his all for his son, instead what I got was a portrayal of a father who was so easily disconnected and so painfully unaware it was annoying to watch. I know this isn’t Deniros fault, because he didn’t write the script, but the whole erasing your past life and not telling your new partner anything idea just grew way to thin even when being acted out by the legendary Robert Deniro.

James Franco took the serious parts away from Deniro. He played a down and out drug addict, who wasnt a bad kid, he just got mixed in with the wrong crowd and was trying to find his way back. This is what is so painfully real about this film. We all have at one point known a Joey Lemarca which is just a constant reminder of how negative the world can be at times. I don’t want to say I know a lot about addiction and the criminal underworld. I dont have any real clue of how it works. But I have seen and read some real stories and I know that Francos performance was realistic. There is praise for this performance in almost everything I have read about the film. With a performance like this, the actor wants us to feel the characters pain and understand that he is in fact a good person, and Franco makes us see that in Joey. As the film progresses we almost want Joey to escape town, start a new life and get clean, but secretly we all know life in fact does not happen that way. Joey may get clean, but he will never escape the issues at hand. It is a sad look into every day street life.

Overall a solid film, the story grips you, James Franco makes it come alive, and even with all the clichéd aspects from Deniro and the writers, it somehow manages to keep true to life and that is what makes this a good film in the end.

Bella Swan: Dear Alice, I wish I had your real address. I wish I could tell you about Jake. He makes me feel better. I mean, he makes me feel alive. The hole in my chest... well, when I'm with Jake it's like it's almost healed for a while. But even Jake can't keep the dreams away

After Edward leaves her because of a freak accident that nearly took her life, Bella isn’t sure what life is anymore. She is lost without Edward, and she feels like locking herself in her room is what she needs to do. She then realized during a night out that an adrenaline rush is what can help her see a vision of Edward. Bella comes up with a plan in which she asks Jacob to help her build a dirt bike. Yes Bella uses Jacob just to get a vision of poor pale faced Edward Cullen who left her. Jacob then reveals that he can’t be with Bella for fear that he will hurt her. It seems like everyman she chooses could kill her at any moment. Finally Bella is able to see Jacob for what he truly is, a werewolf who kills vampires, but cannot kill the Cullen’s do to some treaty. Then Alice returns and tells Bella that Edward Cullen has gone to the Volturi and is going to reveal himself because he thinks that she died. Bella is keen on rushing to his side even against the warnings from Jacob that Edward wasn’t there for her when she needed him.

Ok, now to actually talk about the film. I can honestly say I didn’t expect much, and anything that went right was a pleasant surprise. All though I will also state that not much went right with this film. Bella was moody, and Stewart was terrible, she had the same annoying expression the entire time Edward was gone. She did a terrible job of flirting with Jacob, she would pull away, lure him in, scowl terribly and then smile, lean in for a lip lock and scowl again. Terrible, I mean Kristen is a talented actor, she has shown the entire world that when she did Into the Wild, but I don’t think Bella Swan is the role she should have taken. I don’t think doing Twilight was the right career choice for any of these actors.

Jacob Black: It's because of him, isn't it? Look, I know what he did to you. But Bella, I would never, ever do that. I won't ever hurt you. I promise. I won't let you down. You can count on me.

When I read Twilight I liked the character of Jacob Black and I actually liked the way Lautner approached playing the character. He did an alright job with what he was given in Twilight. Then they talked about replacing him for New Moon because he wasn’t buff enough. He gained almost 30 pounds of muscle and took on the challenge of having a bigger part in a film that many young girls were really excited to see. I don’t want to say that Lautner is a good actor, because I’m afraid Twilight won’t be able to showcase his talent. I do believe that down the road, given the right role, given a few years to grow up he will be a good actor. You can see it in him. Jacob unlike Edward in the books and films originally comes of as sincere. Edward is constantly and relentlessly trying to push her away, but Jacob wants to be close to her, he wants her to rely on him, and as much as he thinks he should stay away he shows that he is human and that he can’t. You see S. Meyer is trying to give us a realistic love between Edward and Bella but by making him push her away she ultimately shows the audience that Jacob is the better of the two male leads. As far as male’s perspective goes, you can almost feel sorry for Jacob because any male who tries to win the affection of a girl and is rejected as felt his pain. Some may say yeah he is Taylor Lautner, big buff 17 year old any girl would be happy to date Jacob, but clearly from watching this film you can see Jacob feels pain just like any average Joe who walks the street. That is why Taylors performance was the most enjoyable in a film franchise that really needs to get better acting.

Edward didn’t play a major part in the film, he appeared mostly through flashbacks and that allowed Robert Pattinson sit back and take it easy. When Twilight was all said and done, everyone was in love with Pattinson but now that New Moon has come out, and Lautner was given his chance to shine, I really feel as though Pattinson can’t act at all. I gave him credit after Twilight, but after New Moon he just seems to be a lazy actor.

The CGI wolves were good, and many people knew they would be. With a bigger budget and fans really wanting to a see a good revealing of Jacob as a werewolf we knew they would put the effort into it. I just didn’t think they would look as cool as they did. The wolves were huge, bigger then an average animal, and they didn’t overdo the action, they only used it when they needed to.

I was impressed to some degree with Lautner but as film and as series these films are just average. There is no reason people are talking about Eclipse becoming the best film ever at the box office. As I did enjoy Lautners performance his performance was nowhere near the performances featured in the box office weekend champ The Dark Knight. Lautner, will never match Bale or Ledger, and for fans of Twilight to expect there precious Eclipse to be considered good because it could win box office is an understatement. The Dark Knight is the best film of the decade and Twilight is nowhere near as awesome or thought provoking. Twilight will remain slightly above average, New Moon slightly better than Twilight, and perhaps Eclipse could be the same. but Breaking Dawn will bomb at the box office if they don’t R rate it. They are going to cut the major scenes necessary for that film to be anywhere close to the book.

You see Twilight fans, you might be impressed that Taylor and Rob get half naked but really is that what going to the cinema should be all about. I have heard girls state that they won’t compare either Twilight or New Moon to their novel companions for fear of having to admit they are bad films or average films. I will give this film a 3/5 because of Lautner, and my liking for the character of Jacob Black, not because Lautner can take his shirt off, but because that doesn’t make the acting good. You see fans, try and identify something with these characters other than the fact that the leading male actors are constantly walking in the rain half naked.

A decent film, nothing more nothing less, take it face value and stop praising it for something it isn’t.

Starring: Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen
Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan
Billy Burke as Charlie Swan
Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black
Cam Gigandet as James

Isabella Swan: I'd never given much though to how I would die. But dying in place of someone I love, seems like a good way to go. I can't bring myself to regret the decisions that brought me face to face with death. They also brought me to Edward.

Bella Swan is a teenage girl moving from her home town of Phoenix, a big city to the small town of Forks, Washington. A town where everyone knows your name and everyone knows your business. Bella just wants to finish school and live with her father Charlie who doesn’t meddle in her affairs and just lets her be. Bella goes to school and like most new teenagers at a new school she doesn’t know anybody, but she quickly meets some people. Bella doesn’t have a problem making friends, or attracting unwanted attention from guys. Bella also has a knack for getting herself into troublesome situations. She doesn’t think it, but she is extremely clumsy. One day before school she is almost run down by a dude in a van where she is saved, by pale faced, quiet Edward Cullen. Edward was lightning fast prompting Bella to want to ask him questions about how he saved her. He tells her that it is better if she drops it, but like most curious Seventeen year olds she doesn’t. She goes to her long time friend Jacob Black and he tells her that the Cullen’s have been around for a long time and that they are strange “Cold ones” Bella does more research only to find out that Edward Cullen, may infact be a vampire. She confronts him and he tells her that he can read minds, and that he sparkles in the sunlight, that his family hunts animals and not humans. It turns pale faced Edward Cullen really is a vampire. It also turns out the Cullen’s are hated by the natives for hunting off their land.As anyone can see coming, Edward and Bella fall in love, unexplainably they fall for each other. Edward tempted to rip her to shreds, and Bella tempted by Edwards pale faced expressions of pain and sorrow, of love and regret. Edward and Bella couldn’t just live happily, no that would be way to easy, way to fun, way to bland for a film. So one night when watching a game of baseball played by the Cullens during a thunderstorm, Bella, Edward, Alice. Jasper, Emmet, Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme are confronted by a different kind of vampire. They feed off of humans and have been killing people all over the region. James catches Bellas scent and immediately wants to tear her head off and kill her. Edward knows this, wants to protect his sweet love. Edward devises a plan to get them out of town, but it fails, like in most films Edward and Bella the two lovers are seperated for the better. When Bella is taken back to Phoenix and thinks her mother is in trouble she leaves the guard of Alice and Jasper only to find herself alone. What comes nect is rather predictable. Pale faced Edward Cullen who is faster then the rest comes to the aid of his love only to be a little to late.James has bitten Bella and she will turn if not for the one chance she has left. It rests on Edward. To be fair, I really shouldnt tell anymore, and leave to the imagination of anyone who hasnt yet read the books or seen the movie to come up with their own ending. I will say one thing, there are three more novels so take that into consideration when pondering the ending.

Edward Cullen: I'm the world's most dangerous predator. Everything about me invites you in. My voice, my face, even my smell. As if I would need any of that. As if you could outrun me. As if you could fight me off. I'm designed to kill.

As much as my summary may have come off as though I didn’t enjoy the film, I did happen to like most of it. I didn’t mind Robert Pattinson as Edward. He was rather pale faced as I mentioned before, but his performance was there. He has great facial expressions, he could be mean when he needed to be. Edward in the books was to perfect. Like every human, Rob Pattinson has his faults, therefore it was good to see Edward in the film played by a real human who will never be perfect. Sorry to everone who may have thought Robert Pattinson was not human. Edward was played by Pattinson rather well, with a great sense of emotion with a little bit of cheese on top. I must say though it is not the fault of Pattinson that some of the scenes featured a little to much cheese grated on it. I particularly liked the scene where the Cullens were grading cheese. Thought it added a nice little touch to some parts of the story. Sorry to be off topic.

Isabella Swan: I know what you are. You're impossibly fast. And strong. Your skin is pale white, and ice cold. Your eyes change colour, and sometimes you speak like, like you're from a different time. You never eat or drink anything. You don't go out in the sunlight.

Kirsten Stewart was alright as well. She has the potential to get better and better each time she steps into the world of Bella Swan. She was taken over by Bella, it was good to see that she did all she could. Which sometimes isn’t all that much. Bella in the books was a rather intriguing character, she thought like most humans do. You could understand why she was feeling the way she she did. She was sad, left alone, her mother was always away. Forks was a rather dark town. Kristen did a good job of showing us Bella, but often times the cheese grading got in the way of her being able to be better then she was. The cheese in this film was a little to much at some times. Bella and Edwards love has no real explanation, no real background, no really potential. There will come a time when a vampire and a human cannot be together.

As a film though with lighting, acting, visuals it was rather impressive. The baseball scene was by far the best, with the clash of lightning and the awesome song playing in the background.

As to account for what I did and didn’t like from this film

Liked:

The Visuals
Alice
Emmet
Jasper
Roaslie
James
The Baseball scene

Disliked:
Mike Newton
Jessica
The Cheesiness
how Edward and Bella could fall in love so easily
how little Jacob Black was in the film.

This film was rather well done for something I never thought I would like. It is great to see a young cast excited to be in films. Great job to everyone involved. New Moon should be one step better, because they now know what the faults were with this one