Bumblebee's Reviews

The A-Team is one of the most anticipated remakes of the older generation. Viewers of the old television series were eager to see if the movie could match up to the overly tacky lines and the extremely over exaggerated action; but did it? The Film stars an all star cast such as Liam Neeson (Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith), Bradley Cooper (Faceman) and of course Jessica Biel as Charisa Sosa. The film follows a group of Iraq soldiers sent to stop the printing of 100 Dollar bills. Plates were stolen by foreigners in order to print a billion dollars and these plates need to be found and recovered for the government. After completing the job, the A - TEAM returns home and in doing so, find that their Commanding officer is killed in a fatal car explosion. The plates are stolen by another Operative group, and Hannibal and his team are imprisoned.

After some time a CIA Agent comes to them and alerts them that they are needed to re-take the plates and ensure that all's well that ends well. Thats the Epic story in a nut shell.

This all being said, I myself never took an interest in the old television series and therefore, I will only be speaking from my experiences with the film itself.

The film took on a very regular and un-original story line. We've seen it a million and a half times already, and for that matter, going to see this movie for the story is an out for me. The action sequences are hardly impressive, nor are they overly long ~ I found that they were a little too short, and a little too over the top for my liking. Characters were made out to be GOD's in certain aspects.

Director Joe Carnahanput put in an effort to try and make this movie magical - that was obvious. With this being said however, he failed to do so. There were twists and turns which you may (or may not) have seen coming, and for that the movie gets a thumbs up. The let down of these little twists were; yup you probably guessed it. They were far too OVER THE TOP. Things that wee planned seemed to go far to well to plan. After viewing the movie yourself, many of you will more or less take note of that. None the less, all in all the director attempted to succeed, but inevitably failed to entertain me for the whole sequence of the film. I found myself coming out criticizing it more so than praising it.

With the negatives being viewed in the film, Neeson once again saved another film. His acting was solid and he carried the character of Hannibal out the whole way through; or at least i felt he did. Mister T's replacement of Quinton Jackson could have been better, but from what I could see, he put in a partially decent effort.

Will the film be as memorable as the Series? Hell No Fool!

Doctor Strange: Sorcerer Supreme is a animated film created by Marvel to express on of their less viewed Comic Book characters (depending on who you are, you may agree or disagree with me). The film takes viewers on an adventure of the ever ego full Doctor Strange who is involved in a terrible accident in which stops him from continuing his life career path of medical work. Strange ventures far and wide to find himself a cure, however, finds nothing and finds himself in debt to every thing and every one. In a last hope for a cure, Strange pursues a anonymous tip given to him, finding himself at the Ancient One's door steps. From here, Strange discovers that mystical arts of magic, as well as finding out all the terrible things that lurk the Earth; unimaginable horrors.

The film followed onto the comics, explaining the story of Stephen Vincent Strange to audiences that were unaware of his existence. It was well written, well done, and the story indulges you - action from start to finish which was quite interesting to see in a movie with such a low rating; more so aimed at young viewers and comic book fans. This film however, whether a comic book fan or not, is worth a watch - especially if your up for a reasonably short running film that is able to explain itself in its given time of wonder on your screen.

Directors Jay Oliva & Frank Paur put in a solid effort on both their parts. The film is solid and doesn't have all that many flaws unless you really look for them. The movie had obvious character turns throughout the film, but none the less, it didn't take away from the awesome story drive of the film. The director(s) attempted to take Doctor Strange to a new level, and really, they succeeded. Great story, great characters and even greater action sequences. It was really quite impressive on the behalf of these two.

With so many positives to the animated film, there is no reason why one shouldn't give this movie a view; especially if your a marvel / animation fan. The voice acting was reasonably solid, however, it could have been better with a little more expression - none the less - it was great.

Will the film live up to expectations? I thought so.

The Soloist is a movie starring Robert Downey Jr, Jamie Foxx and Catherine Keener in some of their finest performances yet. The film takes viewers into the world of the homeless, the talented and even into the office of a journalist and his trip to change himself from the ever so egotistic and careless man he was, to a man that raised above all odds to make a difference for some one who meant absolutely nothing to him bar a story for his column in the paper. In 2005, the only thing hurting Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez (Downey Jr) more than his face from a recent bike accident was his pressing need for story ideas. That was of course before he discovered skilled musician Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx). Ayers is homeless, alone and suffering from a mental illness in which he is forced to battle with. He is absent of medication or any medical treatment and never found himself needing any for the simple fact that he was never a danger to any one. Ayers played a violin with two strings; the rest being broken, and this was when Mister Steve Lopez stumbled upon him, at the foot of a statue of Beethoven. Inspired by what he learns from Ayers, Lopez returns to his office and begins writing a series of stories on the exasperating musician and finds that readers love them. Lopez, inspired by the very feedback he got began to try and aide not only Ayers but the entire homeless community, leading him on a journey in creating new friends, and discovering new talent. None the less, along the path, Ayers (Accompanied by the good intentioned Lopez) is faced with the demons of his past and is forced into a struggle of over coming them.

The film took one of the more original story lines that could have been picked up. Something that would be a good family watch, and something that would be sure to inspire any one out there that wanted to pick up an instrument and try their hand at it; not to mention inspire people to judge people on who they are inside, rather than out. The movie does a good job of explaining itself, hence being very well directed and very well written.

Director Joe Wright was definitely at home with this film, knowing that it was going to be a true successor. His direction was brilliant and every thing in the film felt like it should have been there; anything short and the movie would have simply fell short. There is a good development created throughout the film between characters, as well as a very good set of scene selections for the vast majority of scenes within the film itself.
The movie had it comedic outlooks which was good to see, as well as having its extremely dramatic and heart warming (and heart breaking) moments throughout. The moments were elegantly placed on screen, truly allowing the viewer to feel the pain (and happiness) of the characters and members of the film.

All members of the cast put in a solid performance. Robert Downey Jr as always impressed and the character in which he found himself in the role of was perfect. He truly got the characters emotions across, as well as getting the characters place in life across. Jamie Foxx delivered a great performance as well, and was truly shining in this film, but perhaps not as much as Downey Jr. I truly believed throughout the film that Foxx was Nathaniel, in which brings me to the conclusion that much like Downey Jr he made the character he was placed in the role of his own.

At the moment, there aren't all that many negatives I can come to mention. All questions that you have about the characters are answered throughout the film, and even the supporting cast was great.
This film is definitely worth the watch.

A Musician and a Journalist, good duo? Definitely.

Butterfly on a wheel is a film starring some big names such as, Pierce Brosnan (James Bond), Gerard Butler (300, The Ugly truth, Law-Abiding Citizen), Maria Bello and a small role played by Samantha Ferris (Supernatural: Television series). In Chicago, the family man and executive of an advertisement agency Neil Randall (Butler) has a perfect life. He is married to his beautiful wife, Abby (Bello), has a beautiful and behaved daughter, as well as having a wonderful house. In his work his a rising star, expecting a promotion on a more than regular basis. When Neil's boss Karl Granger invites him to spend the weekend in his cottage, Abby hires a nanny for Sophie to spend the day with her sister Diane (Ferris). However, while Neil is driving his wife to meet with her sister, a stranger hidden on the backseat appears with a gun, and tells that he has kidnapped Sophie; the couples daughter. Upon first realization of a man in the back of their car with a gun, the two Randall's go into a state of panic. However, after being calmed by the man in the back seat who know introduced himself as "Ryan" (Brosnon), he explains that he has taken their daughter Sophie hostage. In doing so, Ryan holds all the cards and for twenty-four hours, the couple shall obey his orders, otherwise he would kill Sophie. While keeping the couple under his control, he shows that he is a brilliant mind with nothing to lose, with the intention of destroying Neil's perfect life - no matter what it may cost him.

This film took on something that I hadn't seen to often before. Sure there was the kidnapping of a girl and the holding of her hostage, but it had a very unique feel to it -- as if it was going beyond all those films that we see now days. The movie explains itself extremely well, and ensures that there are no questions in the viewers mind unanswered. It appeared beautifully directed, shot, and written; so much in fact that it had most viewers heard of rather captivated.

Director Mike Barker truly put his all into this film and ensured that it was going to be fairly close to a masterpiece. He obviously wanted it to be unique for the time it was made; to jump out to audiences and ask them "Are you all ready for this thrill ride?"
The majority of scenes in the film felt right - however - I'm sure certain aspects could have been cut away to ensure that he film ran along slightly smoother; but none the less; I guess it was needed in order to explain everything. Seeings as though this movie explains itself the way it does, the writing was well done - like wise with the direction. The line reading was well suited to the said characters and the developments over the time period grew relevant; as well as the feelings one had toward certain characters.

Cast members put in their solid performances. Gerard Butler pulled off a great helpless dad for the majority of the film, however, might have taken the 'hero' role that was thrust upon him in parts a little too much. None the less, a solid performance on his behalf. Brosnon played an excellent 'bad guy' really allowing us to grow hate for him, as well as feeling what he was doing had a drive to it -- you never thought there was just a random attacker on this family. Maria Bello pulled off a brilliant performance and drove her character throughout the movie as defenseless . It was a perfect cast, set to a perfect story, set with the perfect director for the film and genre. The performances keep you captivated, and the story drives you to want more.

With all the twists and turns in this movie, there's bound to be some people that wont take a liking to it, however, this film allowed my mind to play with the pieces that were left jumbled as the movie went on; trying to figure out exactly what Ryan's motive was, and what he was going to do next to these poor, innocent people.

Bond gone darkside ? Is it possible? After this, Brosnon's got me convinced.

Today was the day I was going to see a masterpiece. Yes the most amazing movie this year; PREDATORS! Boy was I wrong. Predators is the highly anticipated "Addition" to the PREDATOR films of the older generation; Schwarzenegger and Glover. The film is set on a planet, foreign to that of the human race in which eight military experts are dropped and forced to fend for their lives against the elite Alien Race which goes by an unknown name, however, has been seen as Predators. The warriors band together once landing on the planet in a hope to find a way off of it, and discover a way to keep safe until they can escape the Predator's hunting ground.

The film took on one of the WORST story's I've ever witnessed in a film. In fact, i think it threw the original PREDATOR story line back together, threw the elite team on a new planet and replaced the cast members with "wannabe ex-characters". Clearly, this movie just didn't want to impress. Certain scenes were far too much like Earth. Scenes made me feel like I was in a national park rather than that of the Predatory and dangerous world that the team was meant to be on. Questions are not left unanswered however; then again; there aren't really all that many questions to come up with as the movie goes by. In fact, Characters seem to find the need to narrate everything that they - or the Predator(s) are found to be doing.

Director Nimród Antal let every one down with this poor excuse for a movie, as well as poor excuse for directing. If Antal truly put his all into the movie, I would have at least been happy -- however -- with a terribly shot, unoriginal story driven supposed action flick, I cant even pride this director on at least trying. Casting was not done well on this film, and with that kept in mind, Director Antal didn't really try to work the actors into the characters. The writing was plain bad with unoriginal and tacky deliverance; bar lines written for one said character -- this i will abbreviate on momentarily.

Cast members all put in a very, very, very average performance minus one member; Topher Grace. Grace pulled off an excellent and very complex character. He helped a lot of those in the theater get through the film with his comical relief, and brilliant deliverance. He seemed as if he was one of the only members of the main cast to truly get the feel -- or even want to get the feel for his character.
Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Oleg Taktarov, Danny Trejo, Louis Ozawa Changchien and Mahershalalhashbaz Ali (who I have not heard of - hence the link in case you have not either) put in a very average performance. This was surprising due to the fact that Brody was the main cast member and didn't deliver on the slightest. He was the most out of place on terms of casting, not suiting his character in the slightest. Since the viewing of King Kong I had, he is more suited for a role of which he prized in that then a Hard-Nut-Soldier-On-A-Mission-To-Destroy.
Another member of the cast however who saved the movie was of course Laurence Fishburne. His really embodied his character, and to be honest, I felt that he should have been leading this cast which definitely needed a lot of help.

With the very little action sequences in this movie (or at least a lot less then most would expect) it's hard to really stay involved with the movie. It gets repetitive seeings as though we've seen this in Predator movies before, and nothing has really changed; some of the explosions appear as if they were just taken from the old films. Yes ladies and gents, thats how fake they look.

Will the Predator be back any time soon? I freaking hope not under this cast set and direction.

I went into the theater expecting to be blown away, and that is exactly what I was; blown the hell away! Due date is the unbelievably hilarious film which takes place between two key characters, Peter Highman and Ethan Tremblay. The films starts off with Highman trying to get to his wife who would be giving birth to their child in the up-coming days and due to an extensive variety of troubles, Highman is put on the no-fly list. Losing everything he had with him (on the plane), Highman is forced to ride alongside Tremblay who seems to be extremely eager to help Peter and befriend him; despite being the original reason of why Peter was added to the no fly list. Now traveling the distance in a vehicle with an extremely irritating companion, Peter Highman's patience, wit and courage will be put to the test.

This films story was simple and easy to follow. It's a good thing to have in the likes of a comedy -- I mean you're there for a laugh after all, not to be overly concentrated on the story development. None the less, the scenes shot were beautiful, captivating and had your attention at all times. If witty dialogue wasn't keeping your attention, than the picture was. The story was well driven, not only by the characters but by the simple fact that it was so well written, the story could in a sense 'drive itself'.

Director Todd Phillips really knew what he wanted when going into this movie; that was something of complete clarity. His vision was set and the way he wanted to create this masterpiece was set our in front of him. He clearly had good people to work with, but also, a good head on his shoulders to pull this great cast together and create some of the funniest moments in comedy history. The casting of this film was purely amazing, and it seemed that those working on the film knew it. The characters that they had assigned to roles were perfect for them. No matter what line, situation or position your put on the actor portraying a character -- they could pull it off; with hilariously good precision.

All members of the cast put in a solid performance, ranging fromRobert Downey Jr. as Peter Highman or Zach Galifianakis as Ethan Tremblay. Even those of the minor character variety shone like stars that were taking the lead roles in the film. The likes of Jamiee Fox and Danny McBride had some hilarious moments in this film, even if the parts they had were no longer than five to ten minutes in length. The strength of this cast wasn't one that I'd seen too many times before in a comedy. With the style of The Hangover when it came to some jokes, and the brilliant craftsmanship of characters, this film blew your mind with fun and funny.

With moments of sadness, action and endless laughter, this film is bound to hold all audiences attention right in place. The film feels like it flies past, and there are no slow spots in-between that throw you off wanting to watch further. This is what many comedy film directors should aim to achieve in the future.

Movie Road Trip? If it's with this cast, hell yes!

Thor had been building up a vast amount of enthusiasm from Marvel fans for quite sometime, but, despite the excitement, not too many of the fans knew what to expect. Being a fairly big marvel fan myself, I can safely say that this film is one of the few I've been eagerly awaiting this year thus far, alongside titles such as X-Men: First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger and of course the up coming Transformers film.Let me just say, that the build up to this film was most certainly worth it!

Simply stated, Thor begins with our main character Thor in all his glory on Asgard, his rightful home and place of raising. After some (amazingly well shot, beautiful and action packed!) incidents occur,the powerful but arrogant warrior, Thor is cast out of the fantastic realm of Asgard and sent to live amongst humans on Earth by his very father.
With this being done, Thor's brother discovers truths about himself and ultimately begins to corrupt Asgard and attempts to bring it down on its head, while Thor, to ultimately gain passage back to his own world, has to discover who he really is and what a true heir of the Asgardian throne is expected to be.

The film has a masterfully constructed story which isn't see through. The narrative keeps you glued to the screen at all times with little to no slow parts in the film what so ever. If there isn't an action sequence lighting up the screen, then you're being captivated by witty lines and interestingly constructed scenes. For the Marvel fans, there are a vast few references to other members of the marvel world (INCLUDING A CAMEO APPEARANCE OF CLINT BARTON/HAWKEYE).

It is more than clear to me that the Director Kenneth Branagh did his research and most certainly knew his stuff about Thor. The character stayed true to the comics (as much as possible while driving the narrative) and was clearly represented as most Marvel fans would have hoped. The scenery was amazing and the scenes were perfectly done to a point in which none were too long and none were too short; this movie had absolutely no pacing problems what so ever. Casting was sublime here. Chris Hemsworth pulled Thor off most probably better than any other actor could have (looks wise and personality wise), while Anthony Hopkins played a fearless and merciless Odin. Tom Hiddleston played a brilliant bad guy and really had you disliking him the whole way through, no doubt making you root for Thor and condemn Loki; ultimately being exactly what you want when going to see a hero kick some serious ass!

The other members of the cast put in great performances as well. Natalie Portman pulled her character of vastly well, and her line delivery, as per usual was perfect. Stellan Skarsgård who some of us may remember from King Arthur (starring Clive Owen), was by no means a bad guy in this flick -- in fact, he pulled off a good guy just as well as he did a bad in King Arthur; something I had never personally expected from him. Other members of the cast, greatly more minor, demanded attention to their presence on screen and when found themselves the central focus most certainly held their own amongst the bigger named actors; which is always good to see.

With constant action and moments of lines worth snickering & laughing over, Thor is most certainly going to be a crowd pleaser. I was enjoying the film to a point that it felt like time had flown on by, and I wished there was more to see. Thor shows us a new standard (and the standard we expect) movies to be, really raising the bar for future Marvel films and non-marvel films alike. None the less, if you can, wait until after the credits because there is a scene to be watched. I wasn't able to sit back the first time around, but I will be seeing this film before it leaves theaters again!

As good as Iron Man? You betch'a!