Dark Shadows (2012)

Title: Dark Shadows

Release Date: May 11th, 2013

Director: Tim Burton

Writer: Grahame-Smith(screenplay)

Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Phieffer, Chloe Moretz

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy

        

                    I really like the "Tim Burton" style to things, so I was pre-disposed to like this movie. It had some unexpectedly well done parts, and some horribly bad parts but I think the consistency in style held the whole thing together. I enjoyed this movie and thought it was well done for one of those "horror-comedy" type movies.

                   The writing was really funny and the delivery was awesome from the actors. A lot of it was a little choppy, but it sort of added to the soap opera-esque quality. I also really liked the take on the 70's and how much they committed to making it kitschy and beautiful. Another thing I can really respect was there use of set and costume for both periods because they flowed perfectly and the CGI was used tastefully and at the right parts.

                   What I wasn't so into was the makeup for Collins (Depp). I understand it was supposed to be overdone, but at times it was darker then others and not in a purposeful way. Lastly, as much as I enjoyed the humor, some of the re-accuring jokes became unfunny within the two hours just because the sheer amount of re-use.

                   This is a fun movie to watch for both horror lovers (a lot of classic references) and non-horror lovers (doesn't get too caught up on scary stuff), definitely worth a watch but maybe not a re-watch, if you know what I mean.

I give this movie a 6 out of 10 stars.

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Title: The Great Gatsby

Release Date: May 10th, 2013

Director: Baz Luhrmann

Writer:  Fitzgerald (book), Luhrmann/Pierce(screenplay)

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Michelle Williams

Genre: Drama, Romance

        

                    I'm glad I'm starting with this one so I can jump right back into the cynical/jaded mindset. So, to justify how hard I'm about to hate on this movie, I'll just say that I really like this book, I really like most of these actors, I love this director (also did Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet), and I just all around had super high hopes for this film. And lets just say halfway through the movie (I saw it in theaters) I was checking my watch. The escapist in me was groaning with boredom.

                Let's start with the really bad and move up from there. To be fair, it was filmed to be seen in 3-D and I saw it in regular old 2-D so the next few complaints might be a little bias, but whatever. It was painfully dizzying. Not in a romantic way, but in a blurry I'm-gonna-be-sick type way. It was embarrassing and really disappointing to see some of the nice shots they had ruined by stupid gimmicky pop out at you transitions. The opening sequence was incredibly overdone in a CGI way. I was ready to call it a day 15 minutes in.

                Another ridiculously dumb and amateur thing they threw in there were these word graphics. Carraway (Maguire) was supposed to be typing and writing this story as it was told, so they would have these handwriting montages that just came off as super History Channel to me. It was awkward to watch. And the last thing I really hated was that sometimes they sacrificed flow and graceful dialogue just to use super direct quotes from the book. They all ended up coming off stiff and out of context.

                 Now, finally what I enjoyed about the film. I was very beautiful. Asthetic-wise, the film was very aware of itself and whatever was shown was meant to be where it was. Also, I thought there choice of music was pretty innovative (considering Jay-Z was a producer and had a hand in it) and the use of subtle humor in a lot of scenes was nice.

I give this film a 4 out of 10 stars.

I'm Back

Okay. So I feel obligated to preface my resurface to this blog just for my own personal records. Sorry it has been almost a year, I just got a little way-layed with art school/real life, but I am back. My plan for the rest of summer and hopefully into the school year, is to review a movie every day. I also made it into film school (yay) so I'm trying to beef up on my movie/cinema knowledge. YUP, that's it, I'll probably post multiple reviews now just to catch up on a few days.