Now You See Me (Saturday)

So whenever a vaguely interesting movie pops into the dollar theater, I'm likely going to see it.

This time it was Now You See Me.

So, for your recommendation:

This movie is pretty good. Good effects, good characters/actors, and good pacing.

I felt that some of the story was a bit obvious, but according to the second-time viewers I was with, it wasn't obvious to them the first time, so that may just be me. The only other complaint I have for this side of the review is that they should've stuck with all physical effects, no CGI whatsoever.

So I do recommend this movie, and hope that you enjoyed it at least as much as I did.

Onto the Review!

Spoilers:

The opening does a really good job of introducing the main... anti-heroes.

The tricks were clever, but Henley's escape trick certainly seemed to have help from some movie magic.

This was how I felt about the magicians throughout the movie,

"Wow, that was really clever! I bet they can't do that live."

Call me a skeptic, but the abundance of computerized effects made it pretty obvious that the things that seem like magic are digital, not actual illusion.

I have to hand it to the Four Horsemen, though, they really made characters that you could get attached to and almost want to see succeed. 

And there lies another issue I had.

Why does pop culture glorify criminal activity so much?

Is it so hard to believe that in the modern era you can be amazingly productive and help people without actually committing a crime?

And why do I wish they'd had more screen time?

Moving on.

Dylan Rhodes was an interesting character, but apparently I was the only one not entirely surprised that the "Eye" turned out to be him.

He really started out as a good character, but towards the end it felt like they were to lazy to hire or write in someone to play the puppet master, and so just threw him in instead.

And to justify all his actions: revenge.

What.

The.

Seriously?

I get it, Thaddeus Bradley ruined your dad's career, but it's not like he locked him in the safe and threw him in the river himself.

Thaddeus's job is debunking magic.

As I see it, he reveals the oh-so-simple-it's-almost-stupid ways that magicians fool us, but you know what? Despite the fact that we know how most magic tricks work these days, it's still really clever.

Honestly, how many of us would think to put a mirror inside a box to make it look like a bunny's disappeared?

Dylan is so mad that this man "caused" his father's death, he's willing to let him get locked away for a crime he didn't commit. Why is it so hard for him to see that maybe it was his own father's foolishness that was the problem?

It really pisses me off when I see themes like this;

Justifiable revenge.

It's cheap and shallow.

Stop doing this.

Please.

So, now for the ending.

Everyone lives and people are in love.

Where have I seen this before?

Oh yeah.

Real original, guys.

The movie could've ended perfectly without the implied romantic attachments at the end.

Really, nothing would have been missed.

The failed relationship between two of the horsemen added to their character, and it would have been more believable if they just stayed broken up.

There's also a lot of loose ends.

Why did the French lady get involved?

How did they do half of the illusions at their last performance?

Where do the Horsemen go now?

How did Henley get her card out of the piranha tank?

I mean really.

If you're going to leave so little room for a sequel, at least answer the questions you bring up.

So all-in-all, the biggest problem with this movie is the writers' sorry attempts to fill plotholes.

The effects, acting, and videography were great.

If that's all you wanted, good for you!

But seriously, this movie is fairly engaging and the characters are memorable (even though I had to look up their names for this).

Go with God,

~Allie

Oh, just found out that there is some hope of making a sequel to this movie.

Maybe they'll do better next time.

The Artist Writes a Review: The Hobbit (Tuesday)

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

For the record, I'm really excited to be doing this review.

So yes, I'm gonna set up how this is going to work.

Things to Know:

1. I have not read the book, but I will before the next movie comes out. I have seen the movie twice, in 3D and 2D (I favor the 2D).

2. This is my opinion. I will acknowledge that you have one as well, but don't think that I will change mine to suit yours.

3. There will be my Recommendation, and then my actual Review. Only the Review will contain spoilers.

Got it?

Ok, now for the disclaimer:

I am not responsible for any plot spoilers that exist beyond the spoiler alert.

With all that squared away, let's get to the fun stuff!

Recommendation

See this movie. It's awesome!

However, I must warn you.

Some of the videography threw me off in the 3D version, which I saw first. They shot this movie in a much higher resolution than I've come to expect from this genre. I recommend that you go in to see this movie with an open mind as what to expect visually, or you're going to run into the same issues I did. It looked much better in 2D, but from adjusting my expectations I was able to see just how great the quality was. So don't let that deter you.

I would also advise you to not forget about the music, which was so spectacular, I bought the soundtrack as soon as I got home.

Now, go forth and see The Hobbit!

!Spoiler Alert!

The Review

You have no idea how thrilled I am with this movie!

I'm not going to waste time telling you everything that happened in the movie, I'm just going to highlight my favorite parts.

I will try to keep to one subject at a time, but I find I tend to ramble on and on when it comes to this story.

Yes, I did critique the videography a bit. However, that is only because the feel of the imagery was unexpected. As I said, soon as I opened my mind to a new look for the genre, it was a visual treat.

Now I'm going to rave about the songs for a moment here.

The fact that the dwarves actually sing is great. Tolkien wrote quite a few poems to describe the history of Middle Earth and to tell stories to assist the plot, so it was neat to have a little of that included.

'Blunt the Knives' was such a fun bit to watch, and it's a lively song that I love to hear.

'Misty Mountains' does a wonderful job of introducing the main theme of the movie. The singing is beautiful and whenever I hear the melody during the movie I'm thrilled to hear it. Every. Single. Time.

Now, the Unexpected Party is one of the outstanding scenes for me. It really introduces the dwarves as a group, rather than as individuals. This was nice as there are thirteen dwarves. THIRTEEN.

By the way:

I've seen a lot of complaining around the sites I browse about how The Hobbit has been split into three movies rather than the originally promised two, but I can see why they did. With thirteen main characters (more like fifteen, but we've met Biblo and Gandalf before) to make individual from the rest; it would be exhausting to cram all that into just two movies.

So on those grounds, I support their decision.

Back to the scene.

From that scene alone, I saw a fun-loving bunch of dwarves who, despite their poor table manners, are decent house guests. They clearly respect their leaders, Thorin and Gandalf, but aren't above causing a bit of trouble. And again, I really love the songs.

Then there's Radagast the Brown. A notable character, not just for his personality, but his sled pulled by rabbits.

Another thing I appreciated was Rivendell. Not only were the sets familiar, but the music also brought on some Lord of the Rings nostalgia.

After this was the Thunder Battle.

Wow. This scene was amazing for two reasons. One; the thunder, great stone giants fighting one another with hand-to-hand combat as well as throwing huge chunks of mountain. Really visually impressive. Two; the moment when they realized they were standing on the knees of such a giant. Kili and Fili made this scene for me. As the giant goes to stand, the ledge the party is standing on splits in two. The brothers were in the middle, and as they see each other on the other side of the gap, you can tell they are scared. Since they arrived at Bag-End, Kili and Fili have been by each other's side, and I believe that this is the moment they realize that they could lose one another.

I may have looked too deep into this, but I felt it was important.

The final battle of the movie and the confrontation that follows was wonderful.

Thorin sees his mortal enemy once again, not as dead as originally thought, and there's flaming pinecones. The pinecones was a neat element. The fire added an extra layer to the combat, particularly when the eagle uses its wings to cause the flames to flare up at the wargs. Also when Bilbo protects Thorin, it really cements why he is there. He's not just there to pick up the Ring and give his companions a headache, he actually shows what a benefit he is to the party.

Also, when Thorin confronts Bilbo about his actions after the fight there's a moment when you believe he really means it, but he turns it around and accepts Bilbo as one of them.

Then there's the brohug, which makes me happy.
Seriously, I've been devastated by movies that have shown perfect opportunities for bros to hug and not taken advantage of them. It's sad, really.

So yeah, really excited for the next movie to come out and I'll be getting this one on DVD as soon as possible.

Hope you enjoyed this review.
Go with God,
~Allie

The Artist Writes a Review (Monday)

Ok, here's the deal UP FRONT.

I am going to give an honest, to-the-point review of this book.

If you don't think you can handle having the down side of this particular book pointed out to you, by all means, don't read it!

I'm not to be held responsible for "ruining" your favorite book for you. If I'm capable of destroying this story for you, again, don't read this!

And another thing, think before you comment. Seriously, I don't want a single post flaming about how "You're wrong, I'm right, and you're a horrible person for thinking this."

And if you do disagree with me, feel free to make your point, just don't start ranting, and take a stab at proper spelling/grammar (makes it harder for me to mock you).

One last thing, I will try to keep this to a spoiler-minimum, but I may mention character names and personalities, so if you haven't read it, I'd advise you read carefully.

So, onwards!

I will be reviewing (*drumroll*)...

The Hunger Games

(Lord, help me.)

Ok, So this book has gotten really popular lately, and I can see why.

I read the book in 6 hours.

Yup, six hours, hardly putting the thing down.

I was glued to it.

Then, after getting over the shock of reading such an (at the moment) zomgawesomebeyondbelief book, I mentally berated myself for jumping on the bandwagon while it was still in town.

I really hate doing that.

Then I began to evaluate what I just read, and the glitter began to die down.

Here's where the hard part begins.

I saw the issues.

First off, this hit while reading it at the start, the writing.

It was... ok.

Better than Meyer (by a good bit), but not in the neighborhood of Rowling (at all).

There were some glaring grammatical errors which really threw me, I mean, the author should've let me proof-read it and I could've fixed it.

Then there were parts that were, in a way, amateurish. I mean, I've read short stories on Deviantart that were better worded than this.

I know this seems harsh, but it's the truth as I see it.

So, here's where there would be a possibility of spoilers.

Now for the storyline.

...

I really didn't find much issue with the story itself.

It was well paced, engaging, and developed enough where you could understand it fully without having to think everything over more than once or twice.

But again, I ran into the amateur bits. 

Some parts could've been drawn out longer, some could've been shortened, but there weren't too many of those, so it wasn't that much of an issue.

It was a lot of the dialog that got to me. It just seemed like the author was just too eager to get information out there. I mean, some things I just saw coming, others were a little surprising, but I felt a little more suspense wouldn't have hurt.

But the story was my favorite part, I loved it, so don't say I'm a hater yet.

Now for the characters.

um...

My favorite character is one we only see a few times and has this air of 'I'm going to be important later in the plot.'

Yeah, Cinna's my favorite. 

He's really the only character that intrigued me, although, those who've followed me for a while know that it takes quite the character to impress me.

For a quiet, understated character, he was, in my opinion, the best.

Now, I'm kinda forgetting the guy in the beginning, if that tells you anything about him.

Rather forgettable.

As was Peeta.

So, that's all I have to say there.

Now, Katniss lovers, look away now.

I mean it, you really don't want to read this.

I don't like her.

Actually, as a lead character, I hate her.

She's got Mary-Sue written all over her.

All. Over.

The problem begins with her tragic backstory and unstable family life.

These things I am willing to overlook if the character has depth and great personality, but Katniss didn't.

She was... shallow.

One thing that I really trip over is, despite how much we learn about her, how little I actually got to know her.

The entire book she's hiding her emotions, and despite us being in her head the whole time, there is little revealed there as to her feelings during this whole adventure.

There was also something else that lacked in her.

Character development.

She didn't change.

She was still ... hiding her emotions.... at the end.

Yes, this is a problem.

She expresses a desire to return to her family, like she promised, but there's really no change in her. We don't get the opportunity to see her feel hopeless. There's no true realization that she may die.

And if there was, I must have missed it, but it should've been a crucial part of the story.

One reason I say she's Mary-Sue'ish is that... well, how do I put this... she's hollow.

A kind of vessel we can just step into and live in this new, exciting world.

You may be thinking "Allie, this isn't a bad thing," well, I say it is.

You shouldn't have to play a part in the story you're reading; you should be a passive observer. You should be able to get drawn into the story easily, but not get that 'I've been on vacation in someone else's head' hangover when you finish.

And yes, hangover is the appropriate term.

Not that I've had one, but if the complaints are true, then it would be similar.

I want to get to know this character. She should be my best friend at the end of the book, not part of me.

That's just too close for comfort.

So, overall, the main character was a disappointment, and many of the secondary characters were forgettable, but the story was fantastic.

I would recommend this as a good weekend read.

So, yes, The Hunger Games is good. Not great, but good.

ONCE MORE FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO COMMENT!

No flaming!

and

Be polite!

The ignorant few who break these simple rules will have their comments deleted and politely asked not to do so again.

Repeat offenders will be banned/blocked/ect.

Go with God,

and

Have a Nice Day,

~Allie