Avatar (2009)

Avatar (2009)
James Cameron

Like I said in my last review, Avatar is a film that only comes around once a decade. Everything about it is fantastic, the acting, the storyline, and of course the audio and visuals. The biggest complaint about Avatar is that the story is unoriginal. However, you cannot think of it as unoriginal, instead realize that this film is a beautiful and fresh retelling of a classic story. The visual effects were incredible, as expected, but an unexpected aspect of the film, the score, was also fantastic and really encompassed the epic nature of the film. You can read tons of different reviews and opinions on this movie, but no matter what you read, there is no reason to not to see this film in the theaters. Avatar should, and most likely will, run away with the Best Picture award for 2009.

Acting: A
Visual: A+
Audio: A+
Story: B+
Other: A

Parney Points: 5

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

The Hurt Locker (2009)

The Hurt Locker (2009)
Katheryn Bigelow

The Hurt Locker is a phenomenal movie, the second best modern-war movie I have seen, behind only Black Hawk Down. This movie is captivating, intense, comedic, dramatic all in one. Jeremy Renner is brilliant in the main role and truly draws you in each and every scene. One of the greatest aspects of the movie is that it is not focused on the war and story is not driven by it either. The Iraqi war is simply the setting of the story revolving around the protagonist. The true purpose and beauty of the film is the examination of the protagonist's dual nature. He is both a great soldier and terrible soldier at the same time; you love him or hate him depending on the scene. In any other year The Hurt Locker would deserve best picture, unfortunately it is going up against a film that only comes along about once a decade. The Best Directing award is Katheryn Bigelow's to lose and if the Best Picture Award ends up being an upset, this is surely the film to surprise everyone. Due to the film's limited release, it is possible that you have not yet seen this film; out of every film nominated this year, this is the one you should not miss.

Acting: A
Visual: B+
Audio: B
Story: A
Other: A+

Parney Points: 5

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

District 9 (2009)

District 9 (2009)
Neill Blomkamp

This film was the biggest surprise of the Oscar season. While I was expecting a purely-political satire trying to force its message on the viewer, that was not the case. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that District 9 was instead a true science-fiction adventure, with deep characters and a compelling story line. What set this film apart from others was the exceptional detail of the visuals, especially the emotions and personalities of the Prawns. The first third of the movie, told in a documentary-esque form was fantastic, and really set the tone for the entire film. This is a must see and should go down as one better Science Fiction films in the last decade.

Acting: B
Visual: A
Audio: B
Story: B+
Other: A

Parney Points: 4.5

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

An Education (2009)

An Education (2009)
Lone Scherfig

An Education is one of those rare low-budget films that actually lives up to the hype its given. The story was heartwarming, the acting charming, the costumes creative, and were it not for the ending, I probably would have scored this film even higher. Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard played the lead couple perfectly while Alfred Molina and Olivia Williams shined in their supporting roles. This is normally not the type of movie I, or the average movie-goer would probably enjoy, but that is one of the best things about An Education, it is great for every type of viewer. I would recommend giving this movie a chance, even if it doesn't seem like one you would enjoy.

Acting: A
Visual: B
Audio: B
Story: A
Other: B+

Parney Points: 4

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

Up in the Air (2009)

Up in the Air (2009)
Jason Reitman

Up in the air is finally the film George Clooney has been waiting for. This film reminded me of both Michael Clayton and Lost in Translation, except this film was actually good. This is the classic story of a man reaching his mid life crisis and realizing his life is not what he thinks it is. Whether it was the strong supporting acting by Anna Kendrick or Clooney's charming character, this film accomplishes its purpose - something that others of its kind have not. This film is special, something worth seeing and a serious Best Picture contender. I am very glad that someone has finally done this genre of movie well.

Acting: B+
Visual: C
Audio: C
Story: A
Other: B+

Parney Points: 4

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

Up (2009)

Up (2009)
Pete Docter & Bob Peterson

Pixar always delivers quality films, and while viewers are blessed every year with their magic, that also means that there are some pretty high standards expected of each film they make. This was the major problem with Up; yes it was magical, yes it was heartwarming, but unfortunately it does not live up to the likes of Monsters Inc, Wall-E, Finding Nemo, and Toy Story just to name a few.

The voice acting was very convincing, the visuals were stunning, and the music was great. The storyline was good, but not as captivating as its predecessors. The single greatest aspect of this movie was Doug, the hilarious and charming talking dog. Up benefits greatly from the Best Picture expansion to ten films, as it would not get the nomination otherwise. However, Up is definitely a movie you should go out and see with your family, just don't expect it to live up to other past Pixar films.

Acting: B
Visual: A
Audio: B
Story: C+
Other: C

Parney Points: 4

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire (2009)
Lee Daniels

Precious was your typical 'child fighting to get out of poverty' story. Lee Daniels created a captivating and believable scenario and all of the actors played their parts well. There was nothing wrong with the film, but there was nothing great either. The story, visuals, audio, and acting were all slightly better than average. Monique was the only one who really shined and definitely deserves the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

The film is lucky to have the Best Picture and Best Actress nominations, for as decently as Gabourey Sidibe acted, her role was not challenging and she wasn't required to do much more than mumble a few lines during the two hours she was on camera. Apart from Monique's great portrayal of Precious' mother, the best part of the film was the short, 10 second cut scenes used to demonstrate Precious' creative coping mechanism. This is another film you should add to your Netflix queue, but don't go out and spend any money to see it.

Acting: B
Visual: C
Audio: C
Story: B+
Other: A

Parney Points: 4

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

The Blindside (2009)

The Blindside (2009)
John Lee Hancock

The Blindside is exactly the type of movie that you would expect from the previews. It is a heartwarming story of a poor, troubled young man who is taken in by a wealthy southern family. This telling of the true story of Michael Oher is a very entertaining film, but not far different from any of the other inspirational sports movies. The film probably does not deserve the Best Picture nomination, but it is still worth seeing if given the opportunity. Sandra Bullock plays a convincing role as the strong-willed Leigh Anne Tuohy, and Quinton Aaron holds his own representing Oher.

The audio/visual was nothing too special, but that was obviously not the aim of the film. The best feature of the film, and the most unique was the opening scene. The extensive breakdown of the infamous Lawrence Taylor/Joe Theismann play and how it impacted the future of football is the most memorable part of the film. Overall, The Blindside is a good Friday night family picture, but not a serious Oscar contender.

Acting: B
Visual: C
Audio: C
Story: B
Other: B

Parney Points: 4

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

Inglorious Basterds (2009)

Inglorious Basterds (2009)
Quentin Tarantino

Inglorious Basterds is the type of film that could have been great, but isn't. I will start with the good first; Cristoph Waltz, the shoe-in for Best Supporting Actor, was simply phenomenal. He speaks four languages and plays a variety of personas, both extremely comedic and dramatic. In addition to Waltz's performance, Brad Pitt's representation of the typical American soldier was quite entertaining. However, other than the few scenes where these two shine, the movie simply failed to live up to the standards many expect from Quentin Tarantino.

The greatest problem with the film was the overall pace of the story. There was no rhythm or flow; some scenes dragged along with unnecessary dialogue and then others tried to make up for it by forcing in extra violence. There is not enough room on this blog to discuss all the problems with a World War II movie in which Hitler is killed in the end, suffice to say that it was not good. Overall the acting and name of the director are the only reasons this film was nominated for best picture. Add it to your Netflix queue to see eventually, but not worth seeing in the theaters or buying on DVD.

Acting: A
Visual: C
Audio: C
Story: D
Other: D

Parney Points: 3

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
David Yates

When it comes to a movie like Harry Potter, everyone has very different opinions and strong feelings to support their opinions. The following review is my opinion of the movie, and I will attempt to explain why as objectively as possible. The Half-Blood Prince is arguably one of the weaker movies of the series thus-far; it is not a bad movie, but unfortunately, it could not live up to the standards of the Order of the Phoenix, which was easily the best of the series. While there were some redeeming factors of the movie, including the improved acting and some very good comedic moments, there were two major reasons why the movie failed. First, the pace of the movie made it very difficult to watch. The action sequences were randomly placed throughout the movie, many of them not even appropriate to their place in the story. Secondly, and most importantly is that the entire essence of the book was lost. Here I must note that I do not think movies should follow the book chapter by chapter; in fact the reason that I love the Order of the Phoenix so much is that they filmed it as its own movie and not a film-version of the book like every other HP movie thus far. The reason HP5 worked so well is that the scenes from the book they chose to include were important in capturing the foundation of the story. In HP6 however, the scenes they chose to include were not important to the story and left out scenes that are essential to advancing the story. In addition to this, they added new scenes that weren't even in the book that served no purpose rather than including important details. The prime example of this was the entire storyline of Snape being the half-blood prince and the several memories that Harry witnesses. These parts of the story are not minor details, they are essential plot points and are in fact the entire purpose of the book. If anything should have been left out, it should have been some of the romance scenes, which could have been explained in a scene or two, not half the running time of the film. Although I feel that the movie was heavily damaged by its failure to tell the story, the visual effects were very good and the added humor helped to make the movie more appropriate for children. In the end, it is worth seeing, and perhaps could be very entertaining for someone who has not read the books, but do not expect to see a Harry Potter masterpiece this summer.

Acting: B+
Visual: A
Audio: B
Story: D
Other: D

Parney Points: 2.5

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

Three Kings (1999)

Three Kings (1999)
David O. Russell

This film was better than I was expecting. From the previews it seemed like another George Clooney political statement, but it was actually a decent movie. What really stood out to me about the movie was the graphic detail of some scenes. Not graphic as in gore, but the scientific detail that you would see in CSI. I first ignored this because this type of filming is common place now in shows like CSI and NCIS, however when I realized that Three Kings was created before any of these newer shows debuted, I was impressed. Another thing I found interesting about the movie was that it was based on the first gulf war, obviously with no idea we were going to go back again in just a few years. I would not reccommend going out of your way to rent this movie from blockbuster, but you can catch it on TV every month or so, or just add it to your Netflix queue and watch it when it comes in.

Acting: B
Visual: A
Audio: B
Story: C
Other: B

Parney Points: 4

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

Eragon (2006)

Eragon (2006)
Stefen Fangmeier

So disappointing. This movie was just bad. I still want to read the book since I heard it was a lot better, but this film is just bad. The dialogue is some of the worst in any adventure movie I have seen. The one good thing about the movie was the dragon Saphira, you can tell that the creators spent a lot more time and money on the dragon than any other part of the movie. See it if you really want to, but you really won't be missing anything if you pass it by.

Acting: C+
Visual: B
Audio: A
Story: C
Other: D

Parney Points: 2

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

Deja Vu (2006)

Deja Vu (2006)
Tony Scott

Much better than expected. Deja Vu turned out to be a great film. With any movie that deals with travel or communication through time, some story elements will be confusing or seem impossible, but the writers did a very good job of explaining the phenomenon. Denzel and Jim Caveizel, of course were incredible.

Acting: A
Visual: A
Audio: A-
Story: B+
Other: B

Parney Points: 4

To see the imdb listing for this film click here.

Hannibal Rising (2006)

Hannibal Rising (2006)
Peter Webber

This movie is a prequel to the extremely successful series revolving around Dr. Hannibal Lector. The story tells Lector's past, and gives insight into how he became the killer he is in the other films.

This movie was good, but it it difficult to watch it without comparing it to the other Hannibal films, and this one doesn't really stack up. The acting was decent, but it is very difficult to follow up the brilliant performances by Anthony Hopkins. The visual and audio techniques were the best aspects of the movie, they really encompassed the sick emotions of the title character. The Story was alright, but nothing special. An overall good film, but clearly the weakest in the series.

Acting: B
Visual: A
Audio: A
Story: C+
Other: B

Parney Points: 3

To see the imdb listing for this site click here.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
Hayao Miyazaki

Howl's Moving Castle, [Hauru no ugoku shiro] is an oscar-nominated, animated film by award winning director Hayao Miyazaki. Based on the novel by Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle explores the growth of several characters as they move through a world in the midst of war while living in a magical moving castle.

This film was wonderful. I don't know if i agree that it should be on Imdb's top 250 films of all time, but it is still a great film. One of the biggest problems with implementing Japanese film into the American Cinema is finding suitable voice acting, but this film hit the mark. Cristian Bale was great as the hero Howl and Billy Crystal, the comedic support, made a talking flame the best character in the movie. The music was perfect, and the classic animation style was a nice change from most modern computer animation. The story was an original fairy tale, different from most of the same-old same-old stories that we see in every movie these days. The biggest problem with this film, and the only reason it is not a 5 is that at several times in the film, plot events occur randomly. Since the story is taken from the book, there is not enough time to develop all the reasons for actions or build up plot points, and so it may take more than one viewing to understand the whole story. I highly recommend this film for anyone who wants to see an original film or who wants to remember how it felt as a child to hear a magical fairy tale.

Acting: A
Audio: A+
Visual: A
Story: B
Other: B

Parney Points: 4

To visit the imdb listing for this film, click here.

United 93 (2006)

United 93 (2006)
Paul Greengrass

I haven't updated in a while because I have been busy with exams and haven't really seen a movie in a while but here you go.

United 93 was pretty much split into two parts. One part of the movie featured the air traffic workers around the country dealing with the confusion of the morning's events on September 11, and the other half of the movie featured actors portraying the passengers and terrorists on the flight. The part on the plane was great, the actors really captured the emotion on the plane, and the actors who played the terrorists did an exceptional job. However the part in the air traffic control centers did not feature trained actors and used real air traffic workers. Personally I think this was a bad idea. The dialouge was absolutely horrible, I actually had to stop the movie and come back later because no one could deliver a single convincing line. Here is how I see it, if you choose to make a movie about September 11, and choose to make it a feature film, not a documentary, then you are open to the criticism that comes with it. Luckily the acting on the plane saved this movie from being a terrible film.

Acting: C
Audio: B+
Visual: B
Story: A
Other: D

Parney Points: 2

To visit the imdb listing for this film, click here.

Serenity (2005)

Serenity (2005)
Joss Whedon

Based on the TV-series Firefly, this film is a science fiction adventure that manages to stimulate almost all the different emotions one movie can; happiness, fear, sadness, laughter, etc.. While different than Star Wars, the theme is similar; the crew of a spaceship crosses the galaxy, while running from the government, to uncover a mystery that changes them all.

You know that movie that you know you have heard of before, and every time you see it at Blockbuster you say "maybe I should get that one night" but its not tempting enough to actually rent? Well I finally rented Serenity and boy was I glad that I did! I have never seen the show Firefly, but after only a few scenes, I already loved most of the crew, and once the movie ended I wanted to go watch the show. Every minute of this movie I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next. The acting was great, I really connected with the characters. The visual and audio effects were decent, but could have been a little better. The story was also great, and even though this movie probably won't be on any historic lists, it is entertaining enough to earn 5 Parney Points. Definitely give it a chance.

Acting: A
Audio: B+
Visual: B+
Story: A
Other: A

Parney Points: 5

To visit the imdb listing for this film, click here.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

The Usual Suspects (1995)
Bryan Singer

Sometimes referred to as the greatest mystery/thriller of all time, The Usual Suspects presents the viewer with a crime and a handful of suspects at the very start of the movie, but it takes the entire movie, and then some thinking afterward before the viewer really solves the mystery.

This is one of the few movies that actually lives up to the high expectations I had for it. Even if you figure out the mystery before the end of the movie, it is still a pretty good ending. Each and every one of the actors did a solid job as did the audio and visual editors. The writer's should get the most credit though for coming up with such a thrilling story. Other than the small fact that I thought the ending was pretty obvious the whole movie, I was pretty impressed. Definitely a movie worth seeing

Acting: A
Audio: B+
Visual: B+
Story: A+
Other: B

Parney Points: 4

To visit the imdb listing for this film, click here.

The Black Dhalia (2006)

The Black Dhalia (2006)
Brian De Palma

A thrilling film about two cops who become obsessed with the murder of Elizabeth Short. Based on the novel by James Ellroy

I feel sorry for Josh Hartnett; he is a great actor who again did a great job, but even he couldn't save this movie. I can't seem to pick out what things in this movie were bad, but it just was not a good movie at all. Some of the visual effects were good but the movie was just not interesting at all. For a mystery/thriller it was incredibly boring and whomever adapted the writing to film did not do a very good job of it. This film reminded me of the Da Vinci Code movie, because there was nothing particularly wrong with it, but it was just a failure as a movie.

Acting: B+
Audio: C
Visual: B+
Story: C
Other: F

Parney Points: 1

To visit the imdb listing for this film, click here.

Unknown (2006)

Unknown (2006)
Simon Brand

Five men wake up in an abandoned warehouse, one is shot and handcuffed, one is tied to a chair, another has been beaten badly, some are the kidnappers and some are the prisoners, but none of them can remember anything.

The previews of this movie were great, and I couldn't wait to see this film. While it was not the 5 star film that I thought it would be, I was still very impressed. The acting was fantastic; Jim Caviezel again did a superb job. The audio and visual techniques were great and the story was clever and thought provoking. On the negative side, the writers had a good premise but probably could have done a little more with the story. Also, I will not give away the ending but I usually don't enjoy it when there is a useless second twist thrown at the audience just before the credits come on. Other than that, the movie was fantastic and definitely worth seeing.

Acting: A
Audio: A-
Visual: B+
Story: A
Other: C

Parney Points: 4

To visit the imdb listing for this film, click here.