REVIEW: The Avengers

Hate it or love it, The Avengers is a huge box office success. Here is a film which juggles six super heroes in such a way that many people thought not possible. I really don't understand why people thought this wasn't possible, as X-Men movies have been managing just fine but I suppose it is because the heroes in The Avengers are each grand enough for their own films; which besides Black Widow and Hawkeye, they each have.The real reason the film works lies in Joss Whedon's fantastic script which balances each super hero so well that the film actually feels like an Avengers film, and not just a movie with one or two super heroes dominating the film. In the X-Men franchise, for the most part Wolverine took center stage.

REVIEW: Blue Valentine

Blue Valentine is a well directed and well acted film starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams(wife of the late Heath Ledger). It is said that the two actors improvised often on set. The thing that I found amazing was its been reported that director Derek Cianfrance hardly ever had more than one take on any given shot. Not only is it difficult as a filmmaker to be able to get perfect shots in one go, but it's incredibly difficult to make such a gripping film based on those shots. Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to a filmmaker is not getting enough coverage. Making such a film on limited coverage is almost as uncommon as non-yellow taxis.

REVIEW: Avatar Extended Edition

What makes Avatar so great is not it's story, or it's action, but it's technical achievements. James Cameron pushed the envelope in terms of what 3-D can truly do, as well as special-effects. In the three years since Avatars released nothing has come close to matching what Cameron was able to pull off. It's breathtaking how a majority of the film does not even exist in the real world and never will. It is pure zeros and ones. The special-effects the Cameron uses are not to entirely used to render items like in the Transformers trilogy. Here, his special effects are designed to immerse you into the film. If one did not know about Avatar and you asked what parts are real and which aren't, I guarantee they could not tell the difference. To be honest, I cannot even tell myself.

Por El Amor A Mi Padre

Synopsis: When Hector Villarreal, a wealthy business owner, passes away, he gives his entire fortune away to two individuals he never once met; His children. When Victoria Villarreal, the only daughter Hector raised, finds out she not only has other siblings, but that they are inheriting all of Hector's fortune, she becomes enraged and helps devise a plan to take back what she feels is rightfully hers.

REVIEW: Rampart

Is man inherently evil? That is one of the questions I had while watching Rampart. What could drive a man so far off the edge? Dave Brown (Woody Harrelson) is a Vietnam veteran. His "brother" Terry (Ben Foster), or as Dave calls him "the general", also served in Vietnam. However Dave clearly was not affected by the Vietnam experience. He clearly acts the way he does now without any influence from the Vietnam war. It would be interesting to see what he was like during high school.The General clear suffers from shell-shock as well as alcoholism.

REVIEW: The Raid: Redemption

Here is a film that is being described by Rotten Tomatoes as "No frills and all thrills, The Raid: Redemption is an inventive action film expertly paced and edited for maximum entertainment". It currently sits at 83% Certified Fresh. It only proves that sometimes the Tomatometer is inaccurate. The Raid is all action and no story, but somehow manages to keep your attention, but is that a good thing?

REVIEW: The Cabin in the Woods

In general originality is hard to come by in films. Originality is even harder to come by in films in the horror genre. Most horror films of late try to follow the path of Hostel. Extreme violence over actual horror and scares. Joss Whedon has said that this film is a love letter to the horror genre. In reality The Cabin in The Woods is actually a dissection of the horror genre. Joss and screenwriting partner Drew Goddard(director of Cloverfield)present the audience a traditional horror narrative. For those who have not seen the film but are reading this first, please be warned that major spoilers loom ahead.