2013 Most Anticipated Movies Review

1. Man Of Steel     4
2. Iron Man 3    3
3. Hunger Games: Catching Fire 4
4.      Despicable Me 2
5. Thor: The Dark Worlds 3
6.      Fast Furious 6    4
7.  Star Trek Into Darkness     4
8.  The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 4
9.      The Wolverine 4
10.  Enders Game 2
11.  A Good Day To Die Hard    2
12.  Oblivion    2.5
13.  Lone Ranger 1
14.  Anchorman: The Legend Continues 3
15.  Pacific Rim 2
16. Red 2  3
17. 300: Rise of An Empire *
18. World War Z     2.5
19. Monsters University     2
20. Gangster Squad      2.5
21. GI Joe: Retaliation     2.5
22. Elysium  3.5
23. Jack The Giant Slayer   1.5
24. The Great Gatsby  2.5
25.  After Earth      1.5

   Best movie of the year was either Star Trek or Hunger Games. Worst movie is not doubt Lone Ranger. Maybe the worst I've ever seen.

*300 obviously got pushed back to 2014.

2013 Most Anticipated Movies--Halfway Upade

Being halfway through 2013, I decided to show my rankings for the 2013 movies I have seen so far.

1.     Man Of Steel     4

2.     Iron Man 3    3

3.     Hunger Games: Catching Fire

4.     Despicable Me 2

5.     Thor: The Dark Worlds

6.     Fast Furious 6    4

7.     Star Trek Into Darkness     4

8.     The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

9.     The Wolverine

10. Enders Game

11.  A Good Day To Die Hard    2

12. Oblivion    2.5

13. Lone Ranger

14. Anchorman: The Legend Continues

15. Pacific Rim

16. Red 2

17. 300: Rise of An Empire

18. World War Z     2.5

19. Monsters University     2

20. Gangster Squad      2.5

21. GI Joe: Retaliation     2.5

22.  Elysium

23. Jack The Giant Slayer   1.5

24. The Great Gatsby

25. After Earth      1.5


I've done pretty well so far, Iron Man 3 was a little let down. However, I began with Elysium at 22. Wow. Seeing the trailers have definitely changed my mind and I would say it is top 5 now. Still lots more to go!

White House Down

2.5 Stars

I knew what to expect going into this movie. And I was right on par. I thought it looked "ok" and "ok" it was. Sure it was fun and pretty cool action but it was a little long and just a little to goofy. Pretty short on this one but thats basically it. If you buy a ticket, just remember you're seeing an action movie with Channing Tatum and Roland Emmerich; you know what you're buying.

Monster University

2 Stars

First off, I will admit that Monster's Inc. was one of my least favorites from Pixar. That being said, I didnt expect too much from the prequel. The story line isnt Pixar worthy in my opinion. I feel like I've seen this movie with human beings loads of times. Secondly, the humor wasnt there like it is in Up or Finding Nemo. There were no puns that adults would understand and it was clearly tailored to the younger crowd. That's fine and what's expected in an animated Disney movie, but from Pixar's past, I feel that I enjoy the movie more than the kids. Monsters University wasnt that way.

World War Z

2.5 Stars

Ill begin by saying that the storyline of the film was the best part. I really liked the idea for the "cure" and the process of finding it. Other than that, the movie was average. The action sequences were almost to fast paced, making it hard to focus. This was primarily because whenever a zombie gets ahold of someone, the camera transfers somewhere else, making sure we don't see the carnage. But this took away an aspect of intensity and uneasiness. Unlike The Walking Dead, there was zero blood. This just isn't realistic in a zombie world. 

Brad Pitt is good in this kind of role and played it well, along with the rest of his family. But, a movie like this should be keeping you uneasy, and I just wasn't on a consistent basis.

Man of Steel

3.5 Stars

It baffles me how other critics are giving this negative reviews. They complain about it being to "big" and "no character development." First off, they do have a good hour of character development. Secondly, who cares! You go to the movies to be entertained, not to analyze every aspect of the films tiny parts. Man of Steel is action packed, humorous at times, and exciting. Sure, it's not the Dark Knight but nonetheless, it is an awesome movie and makes me go home and research if Superman could be real...or if I could become him.

Oblivion

**check out Instagram @movskis for quick ratings

2.5 stars

I spoke about Jack Reacher previously and said Tom Cruise is basically an action king. Oblivion came across in trailers as an action movie but ended up being an environmental dud. The scenery and cinematography was well done but the story just was off par. It was hard to follow and felt as if they couldn't figure out a way to end it without making aliens come into play. I would've liked to have seen a different plot but in the same environment and world that it was filmed in. 

Reviews

I've noticed that on these first few reviews, I've given pretty high reviews on everything, save for Les Mis because that was personally miserable. Anyway, the reason is that I dont get paid to see movies and therefore dont go out and see a movie that has little appeal to me. I wont go see the Muppets and pay $10 to see a movie I am 99% sure I will dislike. I do go to some movies with the mindset that I may not love it, but stay away from most 1 and 1.5 potential movies. Therefore, most reviews will range 2.5 to 4 with the occasional disappoint movie in the mix.

The Hobbit

3.5/4

The Hobbit brings us back to Peter Jackson's Middle Earth. With Peter at the helm, we know that we can expect the same format as The Lord of the Rings. To me this can be a good thing but also tells me that there will be some slow parts
The Hobbit takes awhile to set up its story. We are introduced to the dwarves and their mission and it just goes on longer than I would've liked. However, once they get out of the Shire, the fun begins.
Being a big fan of the Hobbit book, I enjoyed the fact that they followed the book so closely but also liked the new material they added as well. This "trilogy" never had to be and could easily have been done in two films but this is what we have. Adding pieces of Sauron and foreshadowing his rise was a great edition and I think will be key in the coming movies.
Peter Jackson does an excellent job recreating Middle Earth and the special effects are top notch. I love the far away scenes of the landscapes such as Rivendale, it looks beautiful. Although I wanted more in the action scenes, seeing how I loved the fights with Aragorn in LOTR, the Gollum scene was the scene stealer for me. I loved how it was the same dialogue in the book and was exactly how I imagined in when reading.

CONCLUSION: While it is long and took awhile to get going, Peter Jackson brings us back to Middle Earth in beautiful fashion and leaves us ready for the sequel.

Jack Reacher

3.5/4

I can't remember a movie with Tom Cruise and an action oriented plot that I have not liked. Jack Reacher follows suit and was just what I expected.
The movie opens up with...SPOILER...a public shooting which was hard to watch and unusual given the current events we have had. The whole movie is about Jack Reacher tracking down the shooter, even though the government has the "real" killer in custody. As always there's a female presence whom works with Jack and obviously problems arise when this happens.
The acting wasnt anything special and similar to what would be seen in a Mission Impossible movie. The fight sequences were fun and and the plot didnt have as many holes I thought it could.

CONCLUSION: You know what your getting with a Tom Cruise action movie and Jack Reacher delivers exactly that.

The Impossible

4/4

The true story of a family that endured the horrific tsunami of 2004 is something everyone needs to see.
First if all, the acting was superb. Naomi Watts played the mother and looks to get a nod for an Oscar nomination. But who I was surprised with was the oldest son. He played the part completely believable for what a boy his age would act in the circumstance. Overall, the acting was done that should make the real people proud.
Secondly, the effects were incredible. To show exactly what happened close up when the tsunami hits and what happens underneath the water is something I had never seen before. A nightmare would come as close as I could get.

CONCLUSION:
Being that this story is true makes it that much more amazing. It's impossible not to respect and enjoy this film.

Les Miz

1.5/4

First off, I've never seen play or read book. I didn't understand the hype and was confused why so many people clapped during its first trailer. So take that as you will.
The movie was just boring and long. Sure the performances by the actors were great and the singing was obviously done right, but when does it stop? Did they really need to sing they're names? I didn't like that there was hardly any dialogue which caused the song transactions to be jumbled. I had no idea when a new song was beginning, except Hathaways song which was by far the best. But being that after her part, the movie still had another 2 hours, I just struggled to find the "why" of how people were so crazy about this film.

CONCLUSION:
Acting and singing was great, but to go on for close to 3 hours, it gets redundant . I just want some talking!

Zero Dark Thirty

I'm gonna start my quick reviews:

4/4
Zero Dark Thirty opens with dialogue of those from 9/11. It causes you to recall that terrible day and sets up the movie perfectly. We realize how necessary and substantial getting bin Laden was.

Unlike the other "Navy SEAL" movie Act of Valor, ZDT isn't gun heavy. It's 1.5 hours of a women's determination and quest to get the greatest villain of all. That woman is Jessica Chastain and she succeeds with portraying the fierce, intense woman that we hear was actually involved. She shows us the struggle and hopeless feelings that were no doubt felt during the ten years of looking. It makes the end that more satisfying.

CONCLUSION:
Kathryn Bigelow has yet to fail with delivering a perfect score. She just understands what it takes to make a "true" war film that is intense, emotional and rewarding in its entirety.