15. Immortals- 3 out of 5 stars

The obvious comparison for this movie would be 300, and honestly I found Immortals a lot more well made then it. The movie is about an evil man named King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) who wants to unleash the titans to start a war against the gods. The story then follows a man named Theseus (Henry Cavill), a simple peasant who fights against Hyperion's army. Acting was a bit above average, there was no scene that really showed off their acting abilities, while there really wasn't a scene that really showed how bad the actors were. The best part would be the action scenes, there is plenty of blood and gore and the use of slow motion was a good choice for them. Then there's the 3D.... honestly I found the addition of the 3D effect really showed the flaws in the CGI especially if there was a CGI background. For example a CGI cliff off of a mountain in the background with a person on said cliff. I will say though some of the scenes the 3D did help a bit, however I still think the 3D was unneeded. I don't really know how I would rate the soundtrack. It in no way shape or form killed the mood like in the latest predators movie, it was nothing outstanding, but it felt like the work of a new starting off composer who has much potential. Now back to the topic of 300, Immortals had a good amount pivotal action moments and I loved the choreography of them, but there wasn't any scenes as hilarious has the "This is Sparta!" scene. Like 300 if your girlfriend doesn't like action movies then you probably shouldn't take her to this one. The best way to put it, if you're looking for a good movie to go see for a guys night out, this ones a good choice.

Favorite Quote:
Theseus: Fight for Immortality!

14. The Dark Knight 5 out of 5 stars

If you have not seen this movie yet, then there is something wrong with you. With the spot of #9 on the top 250 movies on IMDb, when I say perfect I mean it. The Story follows after the events of Batman Begins (I Recommend you watch Batman Begins first) with Batman (Christian Bale) rising in fame and inspiring many wanna be superheros to be vigilantes. That is when a man who calls himself The Joker (Heath Ledger) decides it's time for him to step in and cause a bit of anarchy. Hands down the best acting job ever by Heath Ledger, along with his catch phrase "Why So Serious?" I get shivers down my spine just thinking about how convincing and creepy The joker was in the movie, I loved the makeup they used on the Joker (Seen above) the only problem that I have is that I'm sick of all the casuals who tried to copy it for their Halloween costumes. But alas after Heath's death I don't think any man is worthy, let alone adapt enough to ever take on the role again. But that aside every cast member acted beautifully. I honestly feel a little bad for Aaron Eckhart who played Harvey Dent because his acting was so superb but was still over looked by Heath's. Hans Zimmer crafted every note into a masterpiece, as a musician myself I cannot get over how skilled Zimmer is at what he does. The cinematography was masterful in every aspect, I don't even know which scene I consider the best because even when you think you have the Joker figured out, Chris Nolan pulls something out of left field and you are left dumbstruck. The CGI used to make two-face's face was very well done as I know how difficult to make a computer generated human face. As I said before if you haven't seen it yet, turn off your computer right now, drive to your nearest Red box / Blockbuster and rent it this instant.

Favorite Quote:
The Joker: Do I really look like a guy with a plan? You know what I am? I'm a dog chasing cars. I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it. You know, I just... do things. The mob has plans, the cops have plans, Gordon's got plans. You know, they're schemers. Schemers trying to control their little worlds. I'm not a schemer. I try to show the schemers how pathetic their attempts to control things really are.

13. Footloose- 2 out of 5 stars

So, basically the message of Footloose is that parents should be with with 1. Their kids smoking pot 2. Their kids drinking alcohol 3. Their 17 year old daughters having sex with 40 year old men 4. That if a child talks back and gets nasty with her parents they aren't allowed to smack them and 5. that the church should have no involvement in the government. As a Christian myself I hated just about every minute of this movie. Towards the end of this movie the main character uses scripture that supports dancing as a form of praise so as to justify their "Dance" that is nothing more then humping each other. The movie Follows a boy named Ren MacCormack (Kenny Wormald) who moves in with his Uncle Wes (Ray McKinnon) into a town where it is outlawed to dance. It then tells of his journey to rebel against their strict laws. Ariel Moore (Julianne Hough) plays the preachers daughter who is to put it bluntly, a complete tramp. At one point the characters race buses and since they don't have a green flag, she pulls her green shirt off and waves it around. The acting was decent, Kenny Wormald I thought did a really good job, but Julianne and most of the rest of the cast was less then impressive. As far as dancing goes, the first and last scenes were very well done, but every other dance in between mainly consisted of the kids humping each other, or just reflected someone who has anger issues. The main theme song for footloose is a classic, but none of the other tracks were memorable. If you are looking for a good movie to take your young elementary school girls I would highly recommend not seeing this one, but on the other hand, if you are a middle-school/ high-school girl who loves shows like jersey shore you will wanna see it.

Favorite quote:

 Rev. Shaw Moore: He is testing us. Our Lord is testing us.

12. In Time- 1 1/2 out of 5 stars

The Ironic part about this movie is that it was about not wasting time. After watching it, I've lost 2+ hours of my life I'm never going to get back. The movie takes place in the future where time is the new currency. People age until they are 24 with which they then stay that age rest of their life, and then are given one more year to live after that. However with time being the currency, The rich basically get eternal life, while the poor die young. It then follows a man name Will Salas who is very poor, he then meets a rich man who gives him a "great sum of time" and simply tells him not to waste his time. Honestly just writing that summary it sounds good, but I place all the blame for this movie in the Director/Writer Andrew Niccol. The movie really didn't develop past the fact that time is money. I at least expected the movie to make me question whether I was really using my time efficiently, but besides the time puns, it really didn't develop more then a bank heist movie just have money swapped with time. The time puns weren't even so terrible they were funny, like what they were in Spy Kids 4, they were just really annoying and extremely unnecessary. On top of that the whole plot of the movie was very dumb and did not explain a lot of pretty important plot devices thoroughly. If you know me personally you will probably be laughing when I say Chris Nolan could have made it a masterpiece if he directed it. Acting wasn't too too bad but it was very clear that they didn't try. I know of what Justin Timberlake has done for social network and Cillian Murphy for Inception, so I know they are very capable actors. but I just put the blame of the acting in the fact that the actors were tricked into thinking it was gonna be good, and then just didn't try when they realized the movie was garbage. I liked some of the filters they used, but besides that nothing raised my attention visually. The choreography of the chase scenes was pretty dumb, one scene had Will Salas (Timberlake) and Sylvia Weis (Amanda Seyfried) run over spikes in the road in a convertible no less with the canvas down, then do multiple front flips, and then land on it's wheels, all while they weren't wearing seat belts. They both emerge with nothing more then a few scratches. All I can say is, don't waste your TIME with this sad excuse of a movie.

Favorite Quote:
Borel: What would you do if you had all this time?
Will: Well I certainly wouldn't waste it.

11. Trollhunter- 1 out of 5 stars

The name says it all. It follows a group of college kids who are making a documentary on a man who is poaching bears, only to find out he actually hunts trolls! Yea sounds dumb already. The movie has English subtitles but I could tell the acting was bad, during one scene one of the kids dies because he is Christian and his friends don't even really care, they kinda just keep going and find a replacement for him who is Muslim. The Director made it quite clear he does not like Christianity as he has the trolls able to smell a Christian man's blood. From all the reviews that I've read that were obviously planted by the movie company, he intended it as a joke, but it ended out pretty offensive. The movie claims it's 100 percent true and not edited at all, but the terrible CGI, Plot holes, and acting obviously tell a different story which was just as dumb as the title. The was little to no Character development. Little to no music. Not the least bit scary or intense or funny. It's not even so bad it's funny, it just straight up dumb. Don't waste your time with this sad excuse of a movie, it honestly almost put me to sleep.

Favorite Quote:
Hans: TROLL!

10. Taken- 4 out of 5 stars

Taken is a solid movie. It follows a man named Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) who's daughter gets kidnapped. Thankfully though Bryan has a "Job" with the government and he go on a search and rescue to find his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace). Honestly I'm not too particularly crazy about Liam's acting, He can do a good job but some scenes it just seems a little off, but that set aside Bryan's character was one of my favorite protagonists I've seen to date. I loved the choreography of the action scenes, to keep the rating at Pg-13 every time Liam shot his gun the screen would flash white so as to limit the amount of gore shown. It really isn't noticeable as most people won't even realize it, but to the trained eye you might pick it up. Nothing really too serious to complain about, but I think I would have liked to have seen more of Maggie and what all she went through with the human trafficking, the movie clocks in around 90 minutes so they definitely would have had the time to include her story in it. However that probably would have taken away from the action aspect and kicked the movie rating up to R. I've heard they a making a sequel, no idea how they could fit it in without being a rehash, but it's definitely one I'm going to be looking forward to.

Favorite Quote:
Bryan: I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for a ransom, i can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career. Skills that make me a nightmare for people like you. If you let my daughter go now, that'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.

Marko: (after a long pause) Good luck.

9. The Ides of March- 4 out of 5 stars

Political movies don't typically interest me, but I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed this movie. The movie follows Steven Meyers (Ryan Gosling) who is a young campaign adviser and his conflicts during a presidential campaign. I felt the acting was very well done, especially by Ryan Gosling who deserves at least a nomination for best male actor. I'm not the most educated in politics and I was afraid I would be getting lost, but the way it was played out wasn't too difficult to follow, however I did get lost a bit during it. I liked the cinematography of some of the scenes. Music was catchy but nothing award winning. Ending seemed a little abrupt but I guess it made sense. Honestly I feel there's a possibility of it getting nominated for best picture, I'm still gonna stick with The Help for getting it, but we still do have a bunch of movies coming soon like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but only time will tell.

Favorite Quote:
Tom Duffy: All the reporters love you. Even the reporters that hate you still love you

8. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest- 5 out of 5 stars

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest is one of the elite groups of movies where I have absolutely nothing to complain about. The movie is about a man named R.P. McMurphy (Jack Nicholson) who is sent to an insane asylum so is to be "evaluated" (Though the movie implies he is not), he then starts causing havoc around the ward and "Trolls" many of the workers there. The entire cast did an outstanding job, especially those who played the mentally challenged patients, as I feel that type of role can easily be messed up and end up very offensive. I loved the story and the development of characters. The movie was surprisingly actually funny, not in a laugh out loud matter but in a "Troll Face" matter if u will. This movie is an american classic and definitely a must watch.

Favorite Quote:
McMurphy: But I tried, didn't I? G********, at least I did that.

7. Real steel- 2 1/2 out of 5 stars

The best way to put it, I wasn't the target audience. The movie was obviously designed for dads and their 5-11 year old sons.The Story is about a man named Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) who is a professional robot boxer. After losing multiple matches and a ton of money, he gets help from his step son Max Kenton (Dakota Goyo) who finds a robot called Atom. Acting really wasn't that good. Hugh Jackman could have done better, and Dakota Goyo was one of the most annoying people I've seen in a movie. The script was really bad, it was very predictable and had me face palming multiple times during the movie. Music was good, until Max started dancing with his robot and then continued to before every fight, It was one of the stupidest things I've seen and they were obviously trying to make Dakota into a mini-bieber. After that part it was all down hill. The CGI, probably the best I've seen, Some parts of the movie they used actually robots as props instead of CGI and I honestly couldn't tell the difference between them. Action really was pretty disappointing, the first few scenes were pretty good, but then after that each fight seemed exactly the same. In the movie they say Atom was a sparring robot, that he was built to take hits but not deal damage, but in his first fight he takes what seemed like a hundred hits and then punched the bad guy once and killed him. It just kinda bothered me they did that. All that aside it's entertaining and it at least won't put you to sleep.

Favorite Quote:
Charlie: Times have changed. Fighting has changed. But the crowd? They never change. They just get bigger. The human body can only take so much. But the steel never stops.

6. Ip Man- 5 out of 5 stars

Yes I know the first question you are going to ask, Ip is pronounced as one word not as two letters. The movie Ip Man is loosely based on the life of Ip Man, who was the master of Bruce Lee. I can't really begin to find a good footing on where to start the story but it tells of the struggles between China and Japan during the second Sino-Japanese war during the 1930's. The story was unbelievably good and honestly was the best kung fu movie I've seen to date, as well as my number 5 favorite movie. But to give a warning the movie is spoken in Chinese with English subtitles, for those of you who don't like reading subtitles this probably won't be a good movie for you. I can't exactly give a good rating for acting due to the fact I can't speak Chinese, but judging by their facial emotions I'm going out on a limb and saying it's very good. I loved the choreography of the action scenes as well as the sound effects of the punches. All in all, if you're even the slightest fan of action films you will love this one.

Favorite quote:
-Sorry I couldn't find a good list of quotes for the movie-

5. Memento- 5 out of 5 stars

Memento. My second favorite movie I've ever seen. To start the Director Christopher Nolan I believe to be the greatest director ever to live. Every minute of Memento blew me away, and even when you think you know what's going on, you get "Noped" and your mind is blown. Memento is about a man named Leonard Shelby (Guy Pierce) who after an "accident" gets permanent brain damage where he cannot create new memories. In hopes of being able to train himself to remember he carries a camera and takes photos of important people or places and write on the back of them describing them briefly, such as who to trust and who not to, or in the one in the photo above it just says "My car." He also gets "Freaky Tattoos" that describe what happened in the "accident." Now here's where Nolan's ingenuity comes in, the format of the time line is not the traditional one, and I found it best to be explained using a foot long ruler as a representation of it. The first half of the ruler would be black and white, while the second half is color. The movie then plays what would be the 11 inch mark to the 12, so you see then ending first, then the 1 inch to 2, then 10 to 11 and 2 to 3, till it meets at the middle which is technically the end. I've only heard of one other movie make an attempt at a timeline like this and as far as I know it failed.... miserably. I would definitely but Memento in the top 3 movies to watch before you die.

All time favorite movie quote:

Natalie: Tell me about her again.
Leonard: Why?
Natalie: Because you like to remember her.
Leonard: She was beautiful. To me, she was perfect.
Natalie: No, don't just recite words. Close your eyes... and remember her.
*Leonard: (Has short quick flashbacks during) You can just feel the details. The bits and pieces you never bothered to put into words... and... you can fell these extreme moments, even if you don't want to. You put these together, and you get the feel of a person... Enough to know how much you miss them... and how much you hate the person who took them away.

4. Good Will Hunting- 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Good Will Hunting is about a guy named Will Hunting (Matt Damon) who is a mathematical prodigy. He works as a janitor at a university and after solving a math equation that took a Professor named Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) years to finish, Gerald agrees to take him under his wing with the help of Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) who councils him. The movie has Oscar winning acting and is full on amazing movie quotes. As far as date movies go, this is probably the best of them, or at least in the top 3, even though it is considered a drama and not romance. Nothing really to complain about, but the romance part of the story was a little cliche but the way it was executed made up for it. It wasn't like the Lion King's "Romance", where the couple meet each other after not seeing each other for 5 years and fall in love and then in the same conversation break up and then get back together in the end of the movie. Also at some parts the music was kinda really awkward, which happened to be during the romance parts of the movie. I can't get over how much of an amazing job Robin Williams had done in the movie, and after a pretty emotional part I wanted to go into the movie and give him a hug and say it'll be alright. It is definitely a must see.

Favorite Quote: I cant put the full quote in because of spoilers, but here's the beginning.

Will: So, when did you know, like, that she was the one for you?
Sean: October 21st, 1975
Will: J**** C*****. You know the f*****' date?
Sean: Oh yeah. 'Cause it was Game 6 of the world series. Biggest game in Red Sox history 

3. Ninja Assassin- 1 1/2 out of 5 stars

So where do i begin? Acting was complete garbage, Raizo (Rain) showed almost no emotion. One of the worst acting jobs I've seen was preformed by Raizo's ninja lover who I was more then happy to see die. Mika (Naomie harris) did the best of all the actors in this movie but still was mediocre at best. I watched in 2D on my TV and due to the fact the real movie was intended to be in 3D, the CGI was one of the worst I've seen to date. The blood in the movie made me laugh about how stupid and unrealistic it was, literally looking like red paint. The story was as cliche as cliche can get, just from the title alone you can tell how bad the story will be. The only thing holding this movie from a 1 star rating was the cinematography, three scenes in particular. The first was a scene where Raizo had a ninja duel with flaming balls hanging from chains around them, the next is the scene above in the picture above where Raizo kicked ninja butt during the rain after killing a target, and the last was the duel between raizo and his master, where it projected their shadows against the Feudal Japanese house walls and blood (though laughable) would splatter on the walls. The twist at the end made me face palm, and I highly doubt that is actually possible, and that common.

Favorite Quote:
Tattoo artist: The Irizumi (Japanese Tattoo) does not hide the skin. The tattoo reveals the nature of the man and illuminate the four noble professions in the book of five rings: the warrior, the artist, the merchant, and the farmer. If there is a conflict between the needle and the skin, between the mark and the man, then perhaps the path you have chosen is not the path for which you're suited.

2. The King's Speech- 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

The King's speech was a wonderful movie. The movie is about the second son of King George V (Michael Gambon) who is nicknamed Berty (Collin Firth). He is asked to give a speech from his father but due to his stutter he fails at it, pretty epically to add. Bertie's wife Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter) then seeks professional from Lionel (Geoffrey Rush) to help to train her husband in public speaking. Some of the best acting I've seen with my personal favorite of the cast being Geoffrey Rush, I would have liked to see a little more of Helena Bonham Carter tho. The biggest complaint I have is that the movie's climax being his final speech was honestly kind of dissapointing. Nothing really stuck for me in the speech and I felt it really wasn't that inspirational. I don't exactly agree it's deserving of the best picture award, but still it was a very very well made movie.


Favorite Quote:
Lionel: (As berty is lighting a cigarette) Please don't do that.
Berty: I'm sorry?
Lionel: I believe sucking smoke into your lungs will kill you.
Berty: My physicians say it relaxes the throat.
Lionel: They're idiots.
Berty: They've all been knighted.
 Lionel: Makes it official then.

1. The Help- 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

So I figured that I'd start out my reviews with a movie that's in theaters right now. The Help is about a girl named skeeter who writes a book on a group of African-American maids, who are refered to as "The Help." It was a very well made movie with superb acting by Viola Davis (Aibileen) and Octavia Spencer (Minnie), Emma Stone (Skeeter) did a great Job also but was outshined by Viola and Octavia. The only thing keeping it from a perfect score would be because I personally felt that it was a little hard to understand what they were saying in the first half of the movie, due to their heavy southern accents, but the second half I didnt have any trouble. I also had a bit of trouble understanding what was going on at a few parts, In particular when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and the only real hint that they gave to it besides the fact it was the same time period as when he died, was just that an officer says "Some n***** got shot." Other then that I would say The Help is the best of the movies so far this year and has my vote for best picture.

Favorite Quote:
Minnie: Minnie don't burn fried chicken.

Jesse's First Blog

My name is Jesse and I love movies!  I have decided to watch 100 movies by next summer.  I will probably succeed in watching them by Christmas because I average a movie about every other day.  I have already watched 21 movies.  I have decided to start a blog so that I can review all the movies that I have watched.  Follow my blog for details on current as well as past hits.  I will evaluate them based on special effects, cinematography, acting, plot, action, originality, age-appropriateness, musical score, and more.  These reviews will be my personal opinion only based on the fact that I am a movie buff.  Feel free to post comments both supportive and against my post!  I'd love to hear from you!  You could also give movie recommendations for future posts.  Thanks for reading!