Did It Suck Movie Reviews

Archive for the ‘Fantasy’ Category

Review:     3 Stars     Rated:  PG

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a 2010 fantasy adventure film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, directed by Jon Turteltaub, and distributed byWalt Disney Pictures, the team behind the National Treasure franchise.

Review:     5 Stars     Rated:     PG

It’s only a dream if you wake up from it

Plot: Inception is a 2010 American science fiction action film written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, and Cillian Murphy.  The film, essentially a caper movie, centers on Dom Cobb, a thief who enters the dreams of others to obtain/steel information that is otherwise inaccessible. His abilities have cost him his family and his nationality.

Cobb finds himself desperately seeking a way home until he is finally giving the opportunity by a wealthy and powerful man known as Saito (Ken Watanabe).  Instead of steeling information Saito wants Cobb to plant a destructive idea that will cause his victim to tear his business empire down.

Did It Suck? Not since The Matrix movies (1 and 2) has a film satisfied my craving for a good Sci-Fi action thriller like Inception.  Christopher Nolan apparently spent ten years writing his screenplay for Inception and in my opinion, it really shows. By the end of the movie my brain was still buzzing trying to process  everything that I had finished watching.  The trailers do no justice  for this movie;  they plant an idea in your mind to tease you but leave no suggestion as to what it’s really about.  Amazingly, with how deep and complex this film is,  it was still somewhat easy to follow.  I’m also happy to say I can’t think of anything bad to say about this film which now leads me to the final sentence.  I will definitely see this movie again and it is Most Definitely Worth A Ticket.

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- Dan Kersey

Review:  1 Star     Reated:     PG

Plot: The Last Airbender is an American adventure fantasy film.  The film stars Noah Ringer as Aang and also stars Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, and Dev Patel.  One hundred years ago, a twelve-year-old Airbender named Aang learns he is the new Avatar, the last of his kind.  He is the only person in his generation capable of controlling and manipulating all four elements to his will and the one tasked with maintaining peace between the four nations of the world who are at war.  His task is to bring peace back to the world.

Did It Suck? I was hoping that this movie was not going to be as bad as all the critics were making it out to be; they were right. This movie sucked on all levels of the suck scale. There were very few parts I liked in this film, at the moment I can’t think of any.  Most of the movie was action-less with very bad dialog, making you think, did the director even watch the scenes after each take?  Kids 12 and under may find this movie entertaining, but for the rest of us it is a very disappointing movie that had incredible potential. Don’t Bother with this one.

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- Dan Kersey

Review:   3.5     Stars     Rated:     PG

If you take;  Aladdin and Indiana Jones, some Tomb Raider, National Treasure and lots of  Parkour, mix them together you’d get Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Plot: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a 2010 fantasy–adventure film written by Jordan Mechner, Boaz Yakin, Doug Miro, and Carlo Bernard; directed by Mike Newell and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer.  The film is loosely based on the 2003 video game of the same name, developed and released by Ubisoft Montreal.

We follow Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal), a street urchin in the Persian Empire in the sixth century.  After standing up to some royal guards, he is adopted by the king as his third son.  The two older brothers are Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell).  He grows up as part of the royal family and then finds himself on an adventure like no other… (more here)

Did It Suck? I really liked this movie despite all the negative reviews.  This is a fun movie with lots of action, sword play, and Parkour.  The acting was generally good throughout, though some of the dialog might have been a little goofy.  It was a little tiresome watching the constant lovey-dovey eyes between the two main characters and some of the the comedy relief  was really not needed.  Overall this was a good movie and probably the best movie yet that has been based on a video game; definitely Worth a Ticket.

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- Dan Kersey

Review:     3 Stars   Rated:     PG-13

It’s Round 2 for Zeus, Hades, and of course The Kraken! Join the fight against the gods in Clash of the Titans.

Plot: A Demigod, mortal son of the god Zeus, embarks on a perilous journey to stop Hades, the god of the underworld,  and his minions from spreading evil to Earth.  Perseus, one man destined to fight against the gods.  Director: Louis Leterrier Actors: Sam Worthington (Avatar 2009), Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Alexa Davalos.

Did It Suck? Aficionados of the original 1981 movie shouldn’t be too disappointed by this update. The plot is very close to the original, with a few changes, but overall if you know the first movie you’ll be able to follow this one and know what is coming next.  I did find the hops between the different segments of the quest to be quite abrupt in that you’d have a ‘big’ scene, then a short bit of travelling, then the next ‘big’ scene.  This made the movie not quite as fluid as I would have liked.

The fight sequences were good, but way too short, and there were not enough of them.  The movie would definitely have been better if they had drawn it out longer or had paced it out so you got more story from it.  The effects were OK, but nothing special for this day and age; however, I like to think that Ray would have approved.  I quite liked the acting by the major players as they seemed to have more feeling for their characters than is evident in other movies recently viewed by Did It Suck.  Overall this was an enjoyable movie, but not spectacular and not as good as I hoped from the hype.

Final thoughts:  I saw it in 3D but this added nothing at all and I would strongly suggest saving the extra few dollars and sticking to 2D.  This movie is Mostly Worth a Ticket for the fantasy enthusiasts.  But still not worth the 3D price.

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-Andy Hughes

Review:     4.5 Stars     Rated:     G

Saddle up for a fantastic ride that will take you to new heights in  How to Train Your Dragon.  Voice Cast:  Jay Baruchel,  Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, and America Ferrera. Directors: Chris Sanders and Canadian film director Dean DeBlois.

Plot: On a small island called Berk lives a community of Vikings who’s occupational hazard happens to be fighting dragons.  For one teenage Viking, named Hiccup, fighting dragons doesn’t come naturally so he finds a different way to deal with them.  Hiccup soon realizes everything he’s ever known about dragons has been wrong.

Did It Suck? This was a very enjoyable film to watch; the animation, the story, and the characters all fit together beautifully.  The opening of this movie was quite good. It gives you a quick overview of everything and everyone that’s involved in the adventure that is about to unfold.  The film quickly moves into the main plot while balancing out the surrounding story giving you a well rounded film.  As with most of the new 3D movies that come out you have a viewing choice of 2D or 3D.  However this movie was really good in 3D and worth paying a little more for.  I am quite happy to say this one is well Worth a Ticket

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- Dan Kersey

Review:     4 Stars     Rated:     PG

She’s back, and bigger than ever!  Or is she small, after all?  Tim Burton returns to the big screen with Alice in Wonderland, telling the story of Alice’s (Mia Wasikowska) return to Wonderland many years after her first adventure.  Although mostly CGI a bevy of famous actors play parts, including two of Burton’s favourites in Johnny Depp (Mad Hatter) and Helena Bonham Carter (Red Queen), with those two stealing the show as always.

Plot: Alice is now grown up but keeps having strange dreams of blue caterpillars and other strange creatures.  While at a party she follows a rabbit, wearing a waistcoat, and falls down a rabbit hole!  Those familiar with the original story will know what is coming for the next few minutes, but then the new adventures begin as Alice is whisked from place to place, meeting all the colourful characters again but without any memory of them, before finally reaching her destiny as the saviour of them all.

Did It Suck? The start of the movie was a little slow, but, the scene did have to be set for what was to come, but it still did not feel to me that the movie really started until Alice fell down the rabbit hole.  From then on the story flowed fluidly and quickly, with humour, both dark and light, mixing well throughout.  As with most of Burton’s movies almost all the imagery throughout was a little surreal, but as always it worked.  Once Alice went down the rabbit hole it is just hard to find fault with this movie!

I saw it in 3D but there were few scenes where the 3D stood out (pun intended) and I think it would be just as good in 2D.  This movie is definitely Worth a Ticket to be sure you get the full effect.

-Andy Hughes

Review:     3 Stars     Rated:     PG-13

The Lovely Bones, don’t let the strange name or the previews fool you in thinking this movie is a typical stalker/killer film.  Peter Jackson directs this film based from the original novle by Alice Sebold

Take a trip beyond an ordinary murder movie into a story thats narrated by the murdered Suzy Salmon (Saoirse Ronan).  Suzy is in the afterlife, somewhere between heaven and earth,  she watches her family and her killer continue on with life.  She is a restless spirit not ready to let go until she’s ready.

Visually stunning with incredible sound and camera artistry. Unfortunately I found the story lacking the intensity needed to balance it out.  Most of the supporting characters including the killer had very little depth in which to feel anything for them.  I did enjoy the film, though please note, I never read the book. The beautiful visual effects were well worth seeing on the big screen, but the rest was not enough to justify a ticket, Wait For The DVD , or maybe Don’t Bother seeing it at all.

- Dan Kersey

Review:     3.5 Stars     Rated: PG-13

Creativity in the hands of directer Terry Gilliam, (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen -and- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas),  gives us an interesting movie that can only be described as an adventuristic story in a fantastical imaginatory playground of quantitve proportions.

The great Dr. Parnassus, was granted immortality after winning a bet with the Devil.  The good Doctor falls in love, and the Devil wagers yet another deal to give up his mortality for youth.  But making a deal with the Devil never seems to go in ones own favour as now his only daughter is caught in her fathers selfish dealings.

NOTE: Johnny Depp,  Jude Law and Colin Farrell step up after Heath Ledger dies during the production.

Going into this movie with no expectations was the best thing I could have done.  I walked out of the theater still trying to figure out what I just saw, but, at the same time was very pleased with the level of unique and imaginary creativity that was done in this film.   Although the movie was a little slow I didn’t feel too bad paying to see such an interesting film, however, I think that most people will want to Wait For The DVD.

- Dan Kersey

Review:     5 Stars     Rated:     PG-13

Ready, Set, Animate! …. James Cameron, best know for the blockbuster  Titanic, has hit the screen again with an epic adventure called Avatar.

The human race, sometime in the future, have found a planet called Pandora and are mining it (so -to -speak) for its resources.  Failing to win the acceptance of the local natives, the Na’vi, the military send in a paraplegic soldier.  Jake Sully is connected to a Symbiont like body called an Avatar and accomplishes his mission only to find himself torn between two worlds, the one he’s from and the one he now loves.

One of  the most enjoyable films I have seen.  Seeing this movie in 3D was spectacular yet this film is visually impressive with or without the 3D magic.  Leave it to James to show up after taking a break and blow the silver off the screen.  Definitely worth a ticket.

- Dan Kersey

Review:     3 Stars

Almost like Harry Potter meets The Lost Boys in a laid back fantasy adventure story that rolls out nicely.  Also a good film for the non-Twilight fans.

Two friends that come from different sides of the track meet their destiny, or fate, when they venture out to see a Freak-Show.  They discover a Vampire that just wants to live a simple life, but there is a cold war going on between the Vampire clans,  and the two friends soon find themselves in the middle.

What kept this film interesting was how simple the story was and, even though slow, it moved along quite well.  No great action or fight scenes no spectacular special effects,  just a simple story.   The movie did lack a little on the exiting side of things and really had no climax.  As much as I liked this film, it had potential to be much better, and needed a bit more bite to it.   Wait for the DVD.

-Dan Kersey