Quick Movie Review

Rise of the Guardians (2012, USA) | Rating: 4/5
I know a bunch of friends of mine praised this movie up and down and I am happy to say that I understand the hype. This should've won something, but I feel like this was a bit underrated by the masses or whoever runs those silly award shows. The characters were charming and funny. The story was entertaining and inspiring. It was simple, beautifully created, and I recommend it for those who haven't seen it yet.



The ABC's of Death (2012, USA) | Rating: 4/5
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much from this movie and I was ready to groan over the two hour running time, but I must admit that I hardly noticed it. As a collection, it's fairly good, but I didn't enjoy every work. A few were under worked, a few were a little uncomfortable, a few were quite amusing, and a few I really enjoyed and could possible want a little more (mostly L). This isn't completely a horror movie per se. It's a mix of horror, comedy, and sci-fi. I am pleasantly surprised I had a fun ride with this movie. One last thing I must mention is that this movie isn't for everyone. Some subject matters and images may turn some viewers away from the screen.



Kick-Ass 2 (2013, USA) | Rating: 3.5/5
Like the first movie, I thought this was a good sequel. Was it necessary? Not really. Did it hurt the movie? Nope. It's a fun little movie, very entertaining. I enjoyed the characters and how they've changed from the first movie. I was a little sad that Kick-Ass' relationship was very short lived. The story was very simple and there were some funny moments. I'm still not super crazy about this movie, but I did enjoy it. I was happy to Donald Faison and Jim Carrey. Although, I wish they could've dialed down the profanity just a little...for my mom's sake.



Scream 4 (2011, USA) | Rating: 3/5
The Scream trilogy is one of my favorite horror movie franchises. The trilogy might not be perfect from beginning to end, but it’s rare for any franchise to be solid completely. When this fourth installment was announced, I was a bit wary about it and perhaps upset. It seemed unnecessary to bring something back that was a decade ago and new audiences wouldn’t remember it unless they go back and check out the previous movies. I wasn’t expecting to see this, but an online review convinced me that it wasn’t that terrible. After watching it, it actually really wasn’t a terrible movie. It does comment on modern day horror movies and the rules they follow. My favorite commentary was the list of remakes that have occurred since the last movie. It was nice to see the original cast mingle with this new set of characters experiencing what happened in first movie. I was surprised that there weren’t any unlikeable characters, which a lot of current horror movies suffer from. Only major flaws I have with this is movie is that a couple or so characters lack development so audiences can feel a little sting when something happens to them and the Ghostface reveal was very underwhelming.



Be Kind Rewind (2008, USA) | Rating: 3/5
I’ve heard quite a lot of negative things about this movie and my first taste of it was in one my film classes. I don’t remember what I saw, but I knew I wanted to give it a chance despite the criticism. I also want to add that I don’t even know why people didn’t like this movie either. Perhaps I’ll look it up after posting this. For me, I didn’t think this was a terrible movie. It was fairly decent if you don’t judge it too harshly. It does definitely have flaws, but the overall theme is kinda endearing. The situation may seem improbable, but it falls in the lines of ridiculous conflicts in comedies that would never happen. Jack Black’s character was a bit annoying, but it had some purpose to it in the comedy formula. Coincidentally, I learned a bit about copyright before watching this, so it was interesting to have a quick lesson on how that works. I enjoyed the sense of community the characters had in their various tough situations: tapes being erased, business about close, and trying to please customers. I also enjoyed the passion the main characters had for cinematic history and movie making.


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