The Avengers

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Nerd Tears™

Genre: Action, Adventure
Released: 2012

Rating:

For interviews with the cast, click here.

Note: “The Avengers” was NOT SHOT in 3D but I will say it’s one of the best conversions I’ve ever seen. The same company who converted “Titanic”, Stereo D, converted this film and it looks very solid. Also, the film was NOT SHOT in IMAX. Whedon did not use 70mm film to shoot this movie. Therefore, you’re best bet is to see it in a regular 3D digital theatre. Just as a reference point, an evening show 2D ticket is $12, a 3D ticket is $16 and an IMAX 3D ticket is $18. I say go for the $16 3D experience. (Prices for AMC Theatres in Tyson’s Corner, VA)

There is an action scene in this film that lasts less than ten seconds which is worth paying the entire price of admission to experience. I still have tears in my eyes from the epic nature of that sequence. All I will say is that it involves Hulk and Loki. While “The Avengers” is flawed, a bit too long and convoluted, the action scenes will easily evoke nerd tears out of any comic book or action movie fan. I don’t understand why this movie is even called “The Avengers”. They should have just called it “The Hulk” because he steals every single scene he is in. Until I sat in that dark theatre a couple of weeks ago, I found myself oddly worried about Mark Ruffalo taking on the iconic role. The part has never truly been mastered considering Eric Bana’s version is one of the worst movies of all time and Edward Norton’s version was decent. Though, the problem is that I never truly felt an emotional connection to those actors playing Bruce Banner. Ruffalo brings this bad-ass yet very subtle and sweet vibe to the Hulk where you actually care for him in human and super hero form. Through performance-capture technology, Ruffalo was able to give the Hulk character an arc that we can truly believe in. I honestly just wanted to give Hulk a hug after the movie was over! Read The Full Review

Think Like A Man

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Nerd Tears™

Genre: Comedy
Released: 2012

Rating:

Note: Can someone please show Tim Story, the director, a copy of “Pom Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”! Thanks, Kevin

“Think Like a Man” is an unsuccessful marketing campaign for Steve Harvey’s book, “Act like a Lady, Think Like a Man”. I say unsuccessful because it failed to convince me to buy the book. That was the point of the film right? After being knocked over the head with the message of “Buy my book” for an hour, I never wanted to see Steve Harvey ever again. It was a blatant disregard for the audience’s intelligence and very disrespectful. It was like I was paying to see one of those infomercials you see on TV at 3am for thirty second abs or the Shamwow. Imagine this for a second; The movie is literally going along smoothly with intriguing characters, funny dialogue that suspend you in to the movie world. Then, all of a sudden, they cut to Steve Harvey being interviewed on a TV screen about his book where he’s referring to the problems the characters were having in the previous scene. Then, on top of all that, characters blatantly read the book on camera and there was even a moment where it was talked about being sold out everywhere! If you’re going to adapt a book, adapt and don’t make us aware of the author. I understand the book is a self-help book but referencing it like that only makes it seem like you’re trying to sell it. I can’t remember a better example of a film that lost my suspension of disbelief so quickly. Every character just became a set piece to promote his book and it was just awful. Read the Full Review

The Lucky One

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Nerd Tears™

Genre: Romantic Drama
Released: 2012

Rating:

“The Lucky One” had potential to be an interesting story but falls flat with an emotionless performance from Efron and an awful ending. What’s weird is that Efron isn’t bad in the film at all. His character was simply written with no arc and therefore doesn’t truly emotionally grip the audience. The person we meet in the beginning is the same person we know at the end. Sure, he’s a great person and a great soldier but I just feel that for a two-hour film, you need to give the audience some growth. I get that his co-star, Taylor Schilling, was supposed to have the major arc and that his presence brought her that change. I just didn’t feel the movie could handle his character not having an arc since he is “The Lucky One.” It’s not about him, it’s about the girl who’s affected by The Lucky One. Read the Review

The Cabin In The Woods

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Nerd Tears™

Genre: Thriller, Horror
Released: 2012

Rating:

Note: This review is SPOILER-FREE – though, I would still stop right now, go see the film and then come back and read the review. You should experience this film with the same fresh eyes that I did so you can be on the edge of your seat having your mind blown by the refreshingly original material. Read the Review

American Reunion

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Nerd Tears™

Genre: Comedy
Released: 2012

Rating:

“American Reunion” is on par if not better than the first “American Pie”. I’ve always loved the perfect blend of gross-out/raunchy humor and great story with characters you actually care about; even Stifler. For any fan of the series, this film helps us re-live those classic moments from the first movie while simultaneously creating new classic moments. Yes, I understand “new classic” is an oxymoron but you get my point. What I found to be the most rewarding were the jokes that were thirteen years in the making. It was as if filmmakers Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg made a deal with the original “American Pie” directors that the punchline to those earlier jokes would occur thirteen years later in the fourth film. There is one particular moment of revenge for one character that seriously made me want to do back flips in the theatre. The moment this character notices that he will take his revenge, you could see the tears welling up in his/her eyes. It was beyond epic and any “American Pie” will feel the same way this character does. Read the Full Review

Titanic 3D

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Nerd Tears™

Genre: Drama
Released: 2012

Rating:

I fell in love with “Titanic” on December 27th, 1997. That love lasted through the theatrical window and on to my VHS player in 1998 (which was a two tape VHS if I may add that). Though, I have to admit that I haven’t been too faithful to the film over the years. The VHS made it to the back of my dusty closet and my heart moved on. The epic nature of that film was lost in my mind and yeah, I would talk about it being a great film but I didn’t have that spark I did the day I left theatre. I just remember riding in the back of my mom and dad’s car, completely silent, in complete awe of what I just experienced. Much like “Terminator 2: Judgement Day”, Cameron succeeded in making an epic flick that had an epic heart to it. Now, after seeing “Titanic” again on the big screen, I have re-fallen in love with this classic and now I can truly appreciate the genius of Cameron. Fifteen years later, the film still holds up as if it was shot yesterday. The story and the effects appear to be timeless. From it’s remarkable pacing, to the state-of-the-art special effects (even by today’s standards), to the gorgeous cinematography to James Horner’s score, this is that rare film that is also an epic experience! Read the Full Review

Wrath Of The Titans

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Nerd Tears™

Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy
Released: 2012

Rating:

Note: The film was shot in 2D and post-converted to 3D. Even though the movie is garbage, the 3D conversion is one of the best I’ve seen. “Clash of the Titans” is the worst 3D conversion I have ever seen so that was really the only improvement between flicks. Just go watch “Taken” instead!

I’m so flabbergasted by this one line of dialogue in the film that I feel I should open my review discussing it. Sam Worthington’s character in the film is on a mission to save his father and he has to travel to the underworld (AKA Hades AKA Tartarus AKA Hell) to do so. Zeus (Liam Neeson) is trapped down there by Hades (Fiennes) and Aires (Ramirez) because they want to allow Cronus and the other Titans to rise to earth. While on his mission, he comes across a gentlemen who can lead him the right way. This gentlemen, who is clearly upset about being locked up, tells Sam Worthington’s character to “Go To Hell!” Standard line right? Well, it just happens to be funny considering that is basically where Worthington’s character is headed. The movie became a complete disaster when he responded with something along the comical lines of “That’s exactly where I’m headed.” So bad! Beyond bad! Like, comically bad! When a writer puts that on a script, do they want the audience to laugh? I was honestly very confused. Luckily, it sparked some type of entertainment for me so I was able to enjoy myself in some way. Read the Full Review

Mirror Mirror

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Nerd Tears™

Genre: Children & Family,Fantasy
Released: 2012

Rating:

First of all, if you haven’t seen “The Fall”, stop everything you are doing, including your job, going to the bathroom or anything, drive to your local DVD/Blu-Ray store and purchase the film. Open up the package put it in your DVD player and prepare to be blown away. Director Tarsem Singh is one of the greatest visual directors I have ever laid my eyes on. The cinematography in such films as “The Cell”, “The Fall” and even the very bland/confusing “Immortals”, is breath taking. Tarsem has now ventured in to the comedy/adventure genre but still holds his own with the spectacular visuals and beautiful costume designs. Sure, the story of Snow White has been told so many times before but I admire a director who can add his own spin, visually and story-wise. We already know that Hollywood is out of ideas, for the most part. Rare films do come along (like with “Drive” last year) but we’ve seen mostly every story out there, numerous times. Read the Full Review

The Hunger Games

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Nerd Tears™

Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
Released: 2012

Rating:

Notes: 1) This review is from the perspective of someone who did not read the books. 2) The film was NOT shot in IMAX. Therefore, don’t waste your money seeing it on the “fake” IMAX screens across the country. Save yourself $3 and see it in on a normal screen. 3) The movie is NOTHING like “Twilight”! I really dislike when people try to compare the two. Just because they are both based on books means nothing. The characters are much more rich and the story is much more interesting than anything “Twilight” could ever accomplish!”

»VIDEO: The Hunger Games Interviews

“The Hunger Games” masterfully transcends the teenage genre by opening a story intended for young adult readers to a much more mature adult audience. At its core is an emotionally engaging love story on top of this sick, twisted and sadistic idea of having teenagers fight to the death until one survivor remains. What Gary Ross does brilliantly is let the film breathe. The first hour – all very entertaining character development – allows us as an audience to become emotionally engaged in the relationships between all of the characters; specifically Katniss and Peeta. This is so important because once we enter the world of The Hunger Games, it is that first hour that allows us to become even more involved in the outcome. Ross could have easily lost that emotional element in this violent arena but he keeps it going and that’s what ends up standing out the most in the end. Read the Full Review

21 Jump Street

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Nerd Tears™

Genre: Action, Comedy
Released: 2012

Rating:

Note: Try to stay away from twitter/facebook this weekend so that the surprises in this film are not ruined for you!

“21 Jump Street” is one of the funniest films I’ve seen since “Superbad”. It has the great, raunchy humor mixed in with great action and violent shoot-outs. From the get go, the movie makes the audience aware that they know Hollywood is out of ideas. As Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum sit in their captain’s office, The Captain goes on about how how everything is a re-hash of the 80′s. What’s great is that the movie puts an entire new spin on the classic 80′s TV show with Johnny Depp. Sure, there are very similar elements but it’s obviously much raunchier and more extreme than the TV show. The TV show, which aired from 1987 to 1991 was very serious and rarely contained any humor. I completely respect directors, Chris Miller and Philip Lord (“Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”), for giving the film their own voice. When you remake something or recreate a classic, you should always do it with your own spin. That is where Craig Brewer failed with the “Footloose” remake. Brewer essentially made a shot for shot remake of the Kevin Bacon classic. Read the Full Review