Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 Review

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1

B-

A film review by Frederick Cholowski

 

    Well after a year of waiting at anticipating for the last parts of the Potter franchise, here it is! Another set up film. This one is less than stellar than the last one though with some issues bogging it down. This should be where these movies begin to take off but instead part 1 is a grounded mess.

 

    I am not going to explain the plot of this film because it would be redundant because you probably know it. In simple terms Voldemort is getting super powerful and now has control of the ministry of magic and it's up to the terrific trio (Harry, Ron, Hermione) to destroy the mystical dark parts of his soul (horcroxes). The pacing is the film's main downfall as pacing in the books dose not translate well to the screen as it speeds up and slows down and then speeds up and then slows down. Basically building up nothing, it tries to build but instead of having a constant sense of build and tension it likes to take big gaping character brakes that at this point especially in the motion pictures is completely unnecessary.

 

    Then there is the ending which is expected is a cliffhanger but not an awesome heart stopper. No this movie just kind of ends. It just starts to gain momentum and actually start to build; Bam movie over thanks guys. This is the second potter movie in a row which the ending is one of the movie's significant downfalls. Last film it was anticlimactic this time it was way too sudden. They need to get it right in a hurry because they kind of have to end the franchise.

 

    The action presented here is good but not mind blowing. The effects hold up in most places although with some exceptions (the car chase yes a car chase). It still has that great atmosphere that director David Yates is so good at too. You feel like you are in a war torn world and you can feel the trials of all the characters.

 

    The acting has gotten better, much better. This is the strongest performances from the trio as they have really grown into their roles. They for the first time take the characters into really dark places something welcomed by me and it is tightly done by the crew.

 

    This to me is one of the biggest disappointments of the year for me. It is by no means a bad film with some redeeming qualities but bad choices in pacing and a fail of an ending keep this one from pushing this series to new highs. We will see what happens with part two which with all the set up and character stuff out of the way has the potential to be a great film. If not though we could be looking at one of the biggest let downs (and poor decisions) ever in film.

The Social Network Review

The Social Network

A+

A Film Review by Frederick Cholowski

    In 2004 Mark Zuckerberg launched facebook. Since it has become a global phenomenon becoming one of the (if not the) biggest social networks in the world. The next logical step was to make a movie about its founder's right... Yeah when I heard about this I was very skeptical. In the end though this is an amazing character study and one of the best of 2010.

 

    The film opens in the middle of two lawsuits against the founder of facebook Mark Zuckerberg (Jessie Eisenberg). One is by his former best friend and business partner Edwardo (future Spiderman Andrew Garfield) and the other is from two brothers who say that Zuckerberg stole their idea. From there the movie is a set of flashbacks from how it all began up to that point.

 

    The flashback method works well here. This film pulls it off with amazing writing and interesting characters. All the performances are spot on as well with Jessie Eisenberg leading the way as Zuckerberg as well as (surprise) Justin Timberlake as the mouthy founder of Napster Sean Parker.

 

    David Fincher dose an amazing job of making this film seem modern and smooth. Every shoot is clean and crisp giving this a very modern feel. The writing is amazing as well. Aaron Sorkin's dialog is crisp and witty adding that extra spark to the film. Let's not forget the score either that fills in the wholes when needed.

    
 

    The Social Network for me is one of the surprises of the year. At approx 2 hours this film blows by. With fantastic characters, acting and writing The Social Network is one of this years big winners.

Summer Movie Awards 2010

Summer Movie Awards 2010

A film article by Frederick Cholowski

    Well it's that time of year again. Time to take a look at the summer that passed and find the best films. This summer was a bit disappointing for me. The filler films this year where just not as good as last years and there weren't many movies that made me go back. Let's get to the awards now!!! As usual I have not scene all of the films the summer have to offer including Shrek. So without further due here are the second annual summer movie awards.

 

Best Action film:

    Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

        No matter what category this film fits in it is a front runner. From the awesome action sequences to the visual style and writing this movie had it all. An amazing film all around there was no competition in this category

Runner up: Prince of Persia

 

Best Si Fi film:

    Inception

        Three cheers for Chris Nolan!! The guy just keeps delivering with another amazing summer film that is on par or maybe even better than my favourite film of 2008 the Dark Knight. Sweet creative plot about dreams pared with some of the best cinematography and action sequences ever and you have your self the best film of the summer.

Runner up:????

 

Best Trailer:

    Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Parts one and two

        Is this just because I'm a Harry Potter geek?! The trailer makes the movie look so epic and awesome. This is still just a trailer and we have yet to see how they will turn it into a two part affair, but wow this trailer got me jacked for the film finales and is not that the job of a trailer?

Runner Up: Sucker Punch

 

Best Comedy:

    Toy Story 3

        Yay!!! Woody and Buzz return for the best threequal ever!! This movie is intelligent and funny while keeping the heart that the first two had. It even tugged the old heart strings at the end. The last adventure we will see from Andy's toys will not be one to be forgotten.

Runner Up: Scott Pilgrim Vs the World

 

Most Anticipated film for next summer:

    Super 8

        Yes all we got was a short little teaser but Super 8 looks awesome. Produced by Spielberg and directed by J.J. Abrams this film is in good hands. If this film is even released next year it should present a cool original film.

Runner Up: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

 

Most Disappointing film:

    Robin Hood

        Man this sucked. From the director of Gladiator and Russell Crow I had some expectations for this film and it fell on its face. It was boring and all the acting talent is wasted with bad dialog and not much to do.

 

Runner Up: Vampires Suck

 

Worst Film of the Summer:

    Vampires Suck

        Man I'm not going to go into detail. I did not laugh!!!!!!! This film made me furious. This is one of if not the worst film I have ever scene.

 

Film of the Summer:

    And the nominees are:

        Inception

        Iron Man 2

        Scott Pilgrim Vs the World

        Toy Story 3

 

    And the winner is...

 

 

 

    Inception

 

        Creative, well thought out, and amazingly shot Nolan has struck gold again with Inception. A mind bending thriller with the best action sequences all summer. The characters are fleshed out as well each with physiological problems. This film bends the mind and reality and is the best of the summer.

 

 

Vampires Suck Review

Vampires Suck

F

A review by Frederick Cholowski

 

    What was that?!!! Wow this sucked (cue the title). Vampires suck is suppose to capitalize on those poor boyfriends who where dragged to a Twilight film but has poor writing and direction that makes this film unfunny boring and one of (if not) the worst film I have ever scene.

 

    Plot hum? If you take the first two Twilight books and attempt to spoof them with no writing and really bad timing you have this movie. There is nothing good about this I chuckled lightly once in this film once. The joke was not funny either just the appearance of the actor. I could not even laugh at how bad this film was. Ya it was that bad.

 

    I'm going to stop there and say do not go see this film!!!! It was so bad I came out of it angry. Unfunny and overall terrible movie it is the worst of the summer and will probably end up being my least favourite of the year by far.

Schindler’s List Mini Review

Schindler's List

A Mini Review by Frederick Cholowski

If you where to ask right now what my favourite film of all time I would give the confident response of Schindler's List. Schindler's List represents legendary director Steven Spielberg at his absolute best and is pure geniuses through out. The film is about the holocaust a devastating event in human history where millions of Jews where slaughtered. It also tells how one flawed man in this case Oscar Schindler (Liam Neeson) can save hundreds of lives. This film is about heroism and sacrifice something Spielberg captures fully through out the entire film. Schindler's list was wisely shot in black and white with hints of colors here and there. The only fully color sequences are the beginning and the ending. This choice in style genius and this is the only way it could have been shot. On one more note Liam Neeson is brilliant as Schindler. As well the supporting cast is just as excellent. The one word you will find throughout this review is genius. That is the one word that can describe Schindler's list my personal favourite film of all time

Buy it now!!!!! Must see no matter what!!!

Mini Reviews

 

    With me going through a lot of older movies on DVD I have decided that I can not fully review them all. There for a new feature has arisen, mini reviews. Mini Reviews are streamlined reviews that are there so I can give opinions on all the films I am watching on DVD. The rating system for mini reviews is changed as well. It will be streamlined into recommendations such as buy it, rent it etc. There will still be full reviews on new films and these are just for the older films. Coming up as well there will be a roundup of the summer movies I say but did not review yet. For now though enjoy these.

Cheers

Fred

Memento Mini Review

Memento

A Mini Review by Frederick Cholowski

 

    With Christopher Nolan Making a crap ton of money let's look back at their roots, Memento. Memento is about a man whose wife is raped and murdered. During this attack he loses his short term memory witch means that he can remember everything before the attack but can't form new memories. He remembers things by putting notes onto photos witch allows him to find out who to trust and who to not. Memento is presented backwards. With the movie starting at where the events end up and moves back to the beginning. The way it is edited into chunks of 3-8 minutes is genius and Chris Nolan is the star of this film with his editing and pacing. Memento is perfectly paced with awesome revelations when needed and the ending leaves you hanging yet satisfied. Memento is a great film and one of my favourite directors at his best.

Buy it!!!!

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World Review

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

A-

A review by Frederick Cholowski

    Fun, something that has been sorely lacking in the films of the summer. That is until Scott Pilgrim vs. the World comes around. A film that is just as cool as an action film as a comedy Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is great fun and this year's Star Trek.

 

    Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is dating a high school girl. Her name is Knives Chau (Ellen Wong). They haven't kissed and almost held hands once. Then Scott finds the girl of his dreams (quite literally) Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) at a party. After a happy little first date Scott finds out that in order to continue dating Ramona he must defeat her seven evil exes. He must also face his past and look at his life and evaluate his problems.

 

    Scott Pilgrim vs. the world has a quirky story. The whole movie is played out like a video game, with each character's actions exclaimed with otomatapia like in the old Batman comics (words like bang pow etc.). The script is just as funny as it is filled with action with several laugh out loud moments. The big thing with the story though is that you actually care about the characters and the relationships that are happening. The one problem I have with this film is that even at 1:55 minutes long it feels too long and some parts of the movie loose steam compared to the fast in your face pace that the rest of the film is. As well considering that this is a video game and comic satire this will not appeal to every one. There are a lot of nerdy references that a lot of people won't get.

 

    The action scenes are fantastic. The fight scenes are played out like a one on one fighting game. They use no gravity or logic and there are a lot of both hilarious and totally awesome moments in each scene. The effects and camera angles work really well. Also there is no 3D version (thank god).

 

    Acting wise Michael Crea is doing the Michael Cera role. The nerd jerkish character that goes after the girl. Both Ellen Wong and Mary Elizabeth Winsted are both good as the girlfriends. There are many good secondary characters but the role that truly stands out to me is Scott's gay roommate Wallace played by Kieran Culkin who is really funny and cool.

 

    Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a really fun film. It may not be on par with my favourite films of the Summer Inception and Toy Story 3 but it comes close. A quirky and fun film that is right down my ally Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is also one of the best this summer has to offer.

Inception Review

Inception

A+

    Two years after the Dark Knight was released and made a crap tone of cash, Christopher Nolan returns to the movie scene with Inception. Dose this mind bending thriller live up to the Dark Knight? The answer is yes. Inception doesn't only live up to the Dark Knight it surpasses it.

 

    Inception is complicated, very complicated. I will simplify. Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) an extractor (a person who steels secrets from people's dreams) after failing a mission is given a job by the leader of a major energy corporation Saito (Ken Watanabe) to do something that is thought to be impossible an inception. An inception is where you plant an idea into someone's mind. Cobb is given an offer to get his life back and also knows an inception can be done because he has done it before. He assembles a team consisting of a young brilliant architect Ariadne (Ellen Page) who builds the landscape of the dream, a man who can impersonate anyone in a dream Eames (Tom Hardy), a chemist whose drugs keep people in a dream state Yusef (Dileep Rao), and his long-time partner Arthur (Joseph-Gordon Levitt). The target is Robert Fischer Jr. (Cillian Murphy); they need to plant the idea to split his father's empire. Cobb has one big problem though, his subconscious is haunted by his wife (Marion Cotillard) who died. Cobb keeps revisiting his wife and can't let go allowing memories of his wife to interfere with the job.

 

    This is a film you must keep your brain checked into at the door or else it will not make sense to you. The plot is brilliant from beginning to end. It will hook you than keep you hooked. Some people will find themselves but it never feels lost at all and is pretty straight forward at times. Cobb and gang are well developed and you care about these characters when the fireworks begin to happen. Nolan keeps you guessing when needed but always is clear about where he is going. That is a true sign of brilliance.

 

    Speaking of Nolan, this is a Nolan film through. The camera work and dialog as well as the amazing score from Hans Zimmer's all fee very Nolan. The action scenes are very Matrix mixed with Nolan. The last half of this film is a continuous flow of action scenes and development of the plot all driven together in multiple stages of the dream. All of witch is handled very well and is actually pretty straight forward (for the thinker).

 

    Performances are key in this type of film and DiCaprio is the perfect choice for the role. It's just his type of role. While he's not his very best he doesn't have to be as the role just fits him. Ellen Page and Marion Cotillard steal the show as the dead wife and the concerned Architect. All the supporters are great and do what they have to, support. Overall this is one interesting and believable dream planting group.

 

    One word can be used to sum up Christopher Nolan's latest film Inception, brilliant. The complicated plot, great characters and a keep you at the edge of your seat feel all are wrapped up into one superb movie treat with a stunning and brilliant ending to boot. My favourite Nolan movie so far (have not seen Memento) even over one of my all time favourites the Dark Knight. Inception is a must see in this summer of uninspired 3D crap and is my new favourite film of the summer.

 

Toy Story 3 Review

Toy Story 3

A review by Frederick Cholowski

A+

    It has been around almost ten years when we saw our lovable toys and now they're back!! Pixar is taking a huge risk by making a third film considering the curse of the third film and the satisfying ending to Toy Story 2. Dose the risk pay off? Yes yes it dose.

 

    Toy Story 3 takes place years after Toy Story 2. Andy is off to Collage and the toys have not been played with for years and years. When Andy is packing for college a mistake is made and the toys are thrown away instead of put into the attic. They narrowly escape that and the toys go into a donation box straight to daycare. Woody (if you don't know he is the sheriff toy ) is totally against this he still thinks that they have a place with Andy but Buzz and the rest of the gang see the day care center as a paradise. This soon changes when the true motives of the daycare toys are clear (and evil) the toys go on a mission to bust out of the daycare.

 

    Simple but hugely satisfying. The plot is familiar within the Toy Story code. The parts that really make this movie are the subtle humour and the last half of the film witch tugs on the heart strings. The ending is both satisfying and has great themes. The film is also hilarious. There are some great lines and awesome scenes that are really subtle and cool (and Spanish Buzz Lightyear for the win!!).

 

    As performances go all the old favourites are back. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are, as usual the best as the dynamic duo of Woody and Buzz. Their are so many other roles I won't cover the rest I'll just say that they are great and not one is out of place. That is the best complement I can give it.

 

    The animation as usual with Pixar is amazing. It looks even better than the first two Toy Stories the films that revolutionised animation. It is sharper and crisper. There is also greater detail and brighter colours.

 

    Overall Toy Story 3 is the complete package. Funny, entertaining and satisfying. All the things you want out of a Pixar film. One of my favourite animated films, Toy Story 3 is the whole package with a great ending too boot. I can't wait to se what Pixar dose next.

 

Iron Man 2 Review

Iron Man 2

A review by Frederick Cholowski

A-

 

    Well it is here the 2^nd film in the marvel phenomenon called Iron Man. 2 years ago the first film shocked movie audiences with its pure awesomeness. Now we have the second film dose it live up to the fans big expectations? Well I'm glad to say it is on par with the last film witch is a big complement.

 

    The story of this film comes just 6 months after Tony Stark's (Robert Downey Jr) "I am Iron Man" revel to the public. Things seem to be going well. All except for one thing his blood is becoming more and more toxic. In other words the thing that is keeping him alive is killing him. Also he gave the position of CEO to his assistant Pepper Pots (Gwyneth Paltrow). Party is crashed though when Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) busts Toni's race car and reviles that Tony is not the only one with the palladium technology. Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) the leader of the compeering company Hammer industries is interested and decides to put him to work to make Tony's model look like an antique.

 

    The whole plot is good but has issues, especially in the pacing department. The first part of the movie is great started with a hilarious court scene. There is good set up and the race car action scene is awesome. Then it slows down to a halt. It just gets boring after awhile and there are some parts that are setting up other movies (cough cough the avenger's movie) and it is well pointless. But than the last 30 minutes goes back to what an Iron Man film truly is. It's one big action scene and is totally awesome and makes you completely forget about the middle of the film.

 

    As for the action. Yes the meet and potatoes of this movie. There are some cool moments at the beginning than a very dry middle with only an average iron man to stolen iron man fight. Than the last 30 or so minutes it explodes to pure awesome action with lots of explosions. Nuf said.

 

    Robert Downey Jr and Sam Rockwell steal the movie. They are ying and yang. They are the only standouts in the movie and they play basically the same sort of characters but they are on opposite sides. They are both absolute jerks to (the characters not the actors) so it makes for a hilarious fun filled ride. Mickey Rourke is sort of there, Gwyneth Paltrogh is fine, and Scarlet Johansson as black widow is also just there as a attraction to immature people in there teens and twenties.

 

    Iron Man 2 is a fun awesome ride. Although the supposed bad guy is just there and the middle is dry, the combine powers of Sam Rockwell, Robert Downey Jr and the last 30 minutes make this film a worthy successor to the first and an awesome way to start off the summer.    

2009 Movie Awards

    Well another year has gone by and good and bad movies have emerged. It is time to honour the movies of both sides of the spectrum with the 2009 movie awards. Please note I do not have supernatural ability and have not seen all notable films of 2009 this includes Inglorious Bastards and Precious (by the way every time they say the title of that film they say based on a novel push by Sapphire I don't get it). So without further due here are the films of 09.

 

Biggest Surprise:

    Watchmen actually getting realised

        Apparently it sucked I have not seen it so I can not comment. But the war between Fox and Warner came to a halt and the long awaited film got released. Now if it where only as good as the graphic novel (witch by the way is awesome)

 

Runner up: District 9

 

Best Action movie:

    The Hurt Locker

        No real competition in this category. It was this or G.I. Joe (and if I had to pick G.I. Joe I would be shot upon posting this). Despite its haters the Academy Award winner for best picture was a great movie that kept you on the edge of your seat to the end of the show. That and some awesome characters made this one heck of a ride through a life of a bomb diffuser.

 

Runner up: Sigh G.I. Joe

 

Awesomeness line of the year:

    "Madame I need you to remain calm and trust me, I'm a professional. Beneath this pillow lies the key to my release." Sherlock Holmes. The girl runs and screams, guess witch area the pillow covers!

Runner up: 80% of the dialogue Bones says in Star Trek

 

Best Drama:

    Up in the Air

        Funny, cool, and satisfying. Three words that describe this awesomeness film about a guy who fires people for a living. With George Clooney (man I hate that guy) putting on a great performance. It also had a great story and wonderful characters and witty writing.

Runner up: Public Enemies

 

Best Trailer of the year:

    Star Trek trailer 2

        I really really wanted to put the watchmen trailer at this spot but than I found out it was released in 2008 and well this is the 2009 movie awards. The close second was this awesome Star Trek trailer. Really well edited it hit the important parts of the movie and got you really jacked up for it. Turns out the movie was awesome to witch is a bonus.

Runner up: Avatar trailer 2

 

Best Screen play:

    District 9

        This film doesn't get enough credit at all. Weather for its awesome action scenes great plot or well developed characters. I mean this film was made with 30 million dollars!!! That is a low budget film with high budget looking action scenes. Well back to the screenplay. Ya up in the air came real close but it dose not match the power this script provides. Not just that but Neil Blomcamp took a 5 minute short film and turned it into a well written full length masterpiece.

Runner up: Up in the Air

 

Best Sci-Fi movie

    Avatar

        Surprisingly the most hotly contested genre categories of the year it was a really tough choice. Avatar barley beets out District 9 and even Star Trek. Avatar had it all great story, big production values, awesome action scenes and the best 3D by far that anyone has seen yet. It is an awesome movie that deserves every cent of the over 2 Billion it made worldwide.

Runner Up: District 9

 

Most Disappointing:

    Sherlock Holmes:

        Sigh, I had really high expectations for this film and well how do I say it nicely... Failed most of them miserably. The only thing that saved this thing from fullness was Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law. Nuf said.

Runner up: Transformers 2

Best Director:

    James Cameron for Avatar:

        This guy no's how to make a freaking movie. Not only that but when all the business people said that this movie wouldn't make any money and guess what it made 2 Billion dollars. A great plot awesome camera work and good writing James Cameron propelled his vision to awesomeness.

Runner up: Neil Bloncamp for District 9

 

Worst Film of the year:

    And the nominees are:

        Transformers 2

        2012

        G Force

    And the loser is:

        2012

            I would have preferred to watch Transformers 2 5 times in a row than watch this film. It in one word is horrible. H-O-R-R-I-B-L-E the main characters aren't even developed and yet they expect you to care about all these random stupid family members and friends. I would have been happier just watching the world explodes for an hour without characters and story. Ya it was that crappy

Runner up: G Force

 

Movie of the Year (Best Picture):

    And the nominees are:

        Avatar

        District 9

        The Hurt Locker

        Public Enemies

        Up in the Air

 

    And the winner is:

        

 

 

        Avatar:

            James Cameron's epic had a lot going against it. The massive budget, the predictions about how much it could make, and the "Titanic" (get it huh huh ok that was bad) expectations. Well not only did it make over 2 Billion dollars but it also exceeded all of my expectations with flying colors. Also the 3D was awesome and the only movie I thought was worth paying the extra $5 for. An awesome movie and the best film of 2009.

The Hurt Locker Review

The Hurt Locker

A Review by Frederick Cholowski
A+

The other contender to rack up big awards at the Oscars (by James Cameron’s ex wife none the less) is present and ready to hold its ground to the massive beast of a movie that is Avatar. The Hurt Locker directed by Kathryn Bigelow is an edge of your seat war thriller that also works as a great character story of how war can affect the human man.

The Hurt Locker starts off with a bang as it shows an average day in the life of a bomb defusing team. But something goes wrong and the man defusing the bomb is blown to his death. Insert James (Jeremy Renner) the senior replacement and new leader of the unit, an adrenalin junkie who comes back to war a lot of times just to get his next fix. Him and his squad of bomb diffusers (played by Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty) work through the last days of their “shift”.


The key words here are character development and it is superb in this film. You get attached to the unit instantly all three have their distinctive personalities and problems. The standout of the three is Jeremy Renner though as he plays his role as the smart and kind in a funny way yet addicted to adrenalin and defusing bombs leader. He definitely deserves the nods he is getting at the Oscars. Otherwise the development is superb and let’s us see the intensity yet touch of vulnerability that comes with the job.

The action here is superb and keeps you on the edge of your seat to the end of the film. While it may not have the production values but it has that pacing and the fact that you really care about the characters that sets it apart from the pack.


The Hurt Locker is a really good film that is definitely another addition to my top contenders for film of the year awards. Relentlessly paced and awesomely developed the Hurt Locker earns its place as one of the best of the year.

Sherlock Holmes Review

Sherlock Holmes

C+

A Review by Frederick Cholowski

Old characters they seem to like to be brought back in its new age. While after JJ Abrams brought back Star Trek, and very well succeeded there were sure to be more to follow. Sherlock Holmes is the next attempt to bring back old characters that seem to have drifted away over the years, but does Guy Ritchie do as excellent of a job as JJ Abrams. Well sorry to say he doesn't and Sherlock Holmes falls flat on its face in multiple ways.

This movie was disappointing for multiple reasons. First let's start with the plot line that involves Sherlock Holmes(Robert Downey Jr.), who has been off the job for quite a while and is going quite insane. His ex-partner Watson(Jude Law) who Sherlock is living with is annoyed with the shenanigans that Sherlock is presenting in his house such as shooting the wall and doing multiple experiments on his dog. Also, Watson is getting engaged with a beautiful woman named Mary(Kelly Reilly) and does not want to be disturbed by Sherlock, but when an old nemesis Lord Blackwood (Mark Strong) rises from the grave, Watson and Sherlock are forced to hunt down their old nemesis and find out what evil plan he's up to.

There's couple other characters as well. Rachel McAdams plays Alder a girl who's trying to woe Sherlock but ends up failing most of the time. She also ends up being a double agent for a larger threat. And there's also a chief of police to get made fun of a lot.

Overall, the plot kind of sucks. It's your average good guy, trying to defeat the bad guy from doing evil stuff plot and doesn't really go far and enough. In other words, it's an origin story that doesn't really speak of any origins. Also, the ending sucks, it's the whole Terminator Salvation thing "oh we beaten this guy, but now there's something even bigger that we have to go destroy" it satisfies even less than Terminator.

The action could have saved this for mediocrity, but some of those scenes are just bad. There is one scene in the middle of the movie, where explosions are going off everywhere in slow-motion, and it just looks terrible and really cheesy. There are some points in this movie, where you wonder why you're even watching it. This may sound harsh, but scenes like the explosions scene does make you shake your head.

The best thing about this film and the thing that saves it is the acting. Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law are really great and have this great chemistry. It's like they've been doing these rolls together for years, and it's fun to watch them constantly yapping at each other. On the other hand, Rachel McAdams kind of sucks in this movie, and does not capture her role as I would've wanted. And then there is that police guy who gets made fun of a lot. Oh and Lord Blackwood is serviceable as well.

Sherlock Holmes is a fairly average film, which is disappointing because I expected a lot out of it. The plots to straightforward the ending sucks, and the actions cheesy and overall it just doesn't live up to expectations. Hopefully in the sequel (which is definitely coming by the way) will improve on multiple things that this one fell short of. It's not a terrible film, but Sherlock Holmes fails to meet expectations on multiple levels. And that's definitely disappointing.

District 9 Review

District 9

A+

Alright let's start on this note. In my review of Avatar I said somewhere on the lines of this film has to be really really good to knock become a contender with Avatar for film of the year. I have to say now after watching this film that I'm conflicted on what my movie of the year is.

Well to the movie now, District 9 is an interesting take on human contact with aliens. The movie starts with an alien mother ship landing over of all places Johannesburg South Africa. After a few months of the ship just sitting there the army of South Africa go in and raid the ship and see what's up. They find 1 million malnourished and unhealthy aliens. They under pressure from the rest of the world create a camp for the aliens come to stay and eat. This camp due to weapons is now heavily militarised and then as soon as you know it it's a slum. Then revolts begin to happen and before long the alien affairs group of MNU is forced to move them to a new camp. Unfortunately though all the legality is a white wash and they take advantage of the aliens who are only "Prawns" beings who are not smart and have lost there leaders.

This is the first third of the film shot mainly in a documentary style with some cinematic portions thrown in there as well. This gets the entire deep back-story of the film introduced before we jump into the last to parts of the film witch are more cinematic and less documentary.

span style="font-size:12;"> The next two thirds are about the leader of the moving the alien project Wilkus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley). He has a lovely wife and a good job at MNU but isn't the brightest. While evicting aliens he finds a mysterious liquid while searching through an alien's shack. He accidently sprays the liquid at himself and begins a slow, painful, and gruesome transformation into an alien. He soon is captured by his own company MNU and attempts to use his now alien arm to use weapons. After finding out he can use weapons, they use him as an experiment. He (of course) dose not like this and runs and takes refuge in district 9. He joins an alien Christopher Johnson on a campaign to get the liquid back and try to get the aliens home.

The whole story is amazing and layered with lots of stuff to soak in. This is the probably would happen if aliens landed. It proves how mean we can be and what the evil things we have done during the ages.

This is a low budget film but you won't even notice. The aliens look amazing and the action scenes are both creative and look great. There is one scene that involves a meck suit that is my personal favourite action scene all year with multiple layers to it and amazing all out skirmishes. Just the pure creativity of this film is amazing from the documentary style at the beginning to the depth and the pure awesomeness of the action scenes at the end it is just amazing.

Just a note though this movie is 14a in Canada but I do not recommend it for a younger audience at all. The violence is extremely gory and they say the f word alone 150 times (give or take 2-3 and yes I actually counted watching this my second time through). Stick with the R rating in the US because the rating in Canada in my opinion is a bit light.

Overall District 9 is an amazing film that is bursting with creativity and depth. The message is strong, the writing is great and the action scenes for 30 million dollars are amazing. Overall this is by

far one of the best of the year and a contender against Avatar for film of the year.