Alright everyone this is your host Zach Jenkins giving you a really long blog post about a few movie reviews of recent movies that have come out.
First is "Angels & Demons" with Tom Hanks.
Now I have to start off by saying that I really haven't watched much of the first movie "The Di Vinci Code" before watching this movie, but I have read the book so I kind of had a clue what was going on.
Angels & Demons itself is a bit weird as a movie because the movie is a sequel that it is based off a book that is a prequel. Still with me? Not that it matters too much. It is really not necessary for this film to understand as if you have at least a vague knowledge of the Di Vinci Code and what it is about (which at this point would probably be fairly hard to not to) then you know what you need to know.
The story follows Robert Langdon, a symbologist, as he is called in by the Vatican to find the "Illuminati", who have caused some major trouble for them (not going to give too many spoilers). Robert has to find clues to track down the Illunimati before the entire Vatican is destroyed in one way or another.
I would give this movie a solid 3 out of 4. As we have said on the show, Ron Howard doesn't make bad films. It is a beautiful looking movie which great care to try to keep it looking true to the real place. I personally have been to the Vatican and it was hard to tell that this movie was done with out the help of the Vatican itself. I also enjoyed the exterior shots that were done to places that I have actually visited that they included in the mystery. The movie does keep you guessing on what is REALLY going on and if things will be resolved in time. Even at the last minute you are not sure if things are going to be resolved in the way you hope. Definitely keeps you at the edge of your seat.
Now I realize that some people have issues with the series stance on faith. First of all, I am not catholic myself but I do know some of the religion, and I liked the inside look on how the religion works. The movie shows things that you would rarely see, but it treats them in a good light. Also this movie has a much more positive relationship with religion than the first movie (though I think people are blowing the issue out of porportion.) Angels & Demons gives just a hint of more religion, while at the same time taking a look at what religious fanaticism can cause.
It's a definite must see.
Alright, now on to Terminator: Salvation. This has the crazy distinction of being both a prequel and a sequel at the same time. Another confession is that I have not seen either T3 or the television series. Amazingly Fox decided to cancel the television series right before the movie came out. I think that was a huge mistake. I believe that interest in the show will peak when people see the movie. I know that has certainly be the case with myself.
Now this movie is quite a bit different then the previous Terminator movies, in that it is actually after Skynet has taken over things and trying to wipe out all human. Terminators are loose and out to get EVERYONE. Christain Bale plays John Connor who is part of the main force of the resistance. But there is a different part to the story as it tends to center on Sam Worthington, who plays Marcus Wright, who wakes to the post apocalypatic world and tries his best ot survive, while finding out the truth of what is going on and about himself as well.
This was a good movie, and I give it a 2.5 out of 4. This rating takes into account that I don't tend to like post-apocalypatic movies much, especially ones that don't give too much hope. This movie keeped me entertained and also paid homage to the previous Terminator movies. The special effects in this movie were awesome. Some of the scenes, I was amazed on how lifelike some special effects were. I also liked seeing more about how the Terminators were made and how Skynet thought.
However, this movie does not resolve much. I still really don't understand on how Skynet suddenly became self aware or how it evolved (it might be in T3....) but it kind of glossed over that. Not only that, but after 4 movies and a television series, we still don't know if the humans ultimately win or lose. I definitely want some answers on that one. This one is set in the future and we still don't know.
Ulitimately, we have Night at the Museum - Battle of the Smithsonian.
Larry Daily is back, but he has kind of lost his way in the world again. He had gone one to bigger and better things, but had lost the spark that he had gained from working at the museum the first time. Through some crazy circumstances the tablet of Akmunrah (sorry if I spelled that wrong) has ended up at the Smithsonian along with other characters of the first movie in cold storage.
I admit that I really enjoyed this movie. I would probably give it a 2.75? It was a really fun movie, which has most of the original cast in some form along with new characters to keep things interesting. There are new villians which also make the show very fun.
I used to live in Washington D.C. so I know the different museums like the back of my hand. They were very true to the layout and most content of the musuems which made it much more fun and believeable. The worst parts were some exhibits (especially art) was moved to make it more exciting. I would definitely recommend it for a fun family movie, or just an easy comedy. I think this movie was actually quite a bit funnier with then the first movie, though it was a lot more busy.
There were some plot holes that I believe should have been filled or addressed. It appears the effects of the tablet only work if you go in the actual building, even though technically all the buildings are connected. Also they had some problems with flight and especially time. But this is me being really nitpicky and really doesn't have much to do with the show.
My only other issue, is just a personal preference thing. They didn't go to all the museums (even though some characters were from other musuems....) The movie didn't involve the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, or another fun one, the Museum of American History.
But all in all, a definitely fun movie and a definite must see espeically if you enjoyed the first one. Also if you to see the director, look for a cameo of him chasing for a glow in the dark flashlight (don't ask).
In other news, we are changing our podcast host, so there may be some technical issues associated with that for the next couple days. If you have any suggestions on where we should host, feel free to comment or e-mail us at Webertainmentweekly@gmail.com
Until our next show, your host,
Zach Jenkins
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment