jonathan-e-denny Reviews

The Lego Movie (2014)

Childhood Awesomeness

[10/10 · 7 February 2014]

I was the only adult who didn't bring kids to the theater and all I can say is that I was leading the clapping when the credits rolled.

"The Lego Movie" was an awesome, super creative, and extremely satisfying film for all ages- that is, if you have ever played with Legos. Even people that have never bought a Lego set will this enjoy this awesomely humorous and in the end, heartfelt movie.

(Notice I am using the word awesome a lot, because one cannot stop singing the "Everything is awesome" song played in the movie. Too catchy!)

The creators did a wonderful job putting all the classic things about Legos and making a new movie packed with humor.

The voice actors were outstanding. You can tell they really enjoyed doing the movie and put in a lot of effort. Liam Neeson was fantastic as the Good Cop/Bad Cop. But the most credit to the success of this movie goes to Will Farrell who played the villain, President Business. He gives such a great effort in this movie which allows you to laugh, smile, and want more Lego awesomeness.

I give the Lego movie a big two thumbs up and is by far the best picture I've seen in a few months. Highly recommend this movie to all Lego lovers who have a passion to build and create something awesome, just like the movie makers created this amazingly, AWESOME, film.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

The Hobbit is big, yet falls short of the required height.

[7/10 · 14 December 2012]

Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit" has long been in my watch list. Being a huge Tolkien fan and a very big fan of Jackson's previous films, I was ever so eager to watch The Hobbit.

While overall I found it to be a good movie, there were too many things that just didn't work and should have been done differently.

I want to keep this review short and down to the point, kind of like a hobbit don't you think? So let's go through some pros and cons.

PROS: 1. The Beginning. The entire movie up till the company meets Radagast is absolutely fabulous. Jackson hit gold on the whole Bag-End scene with the Dwarfs. 2. The Acting, especially Martin Freeman as Bilbo. He was fantastic, as was Mr. Thornton as Thorin (sorry...I could resist that N&S reference.) 3. The Dwarfs. I was very impressed how they were able to make each of the 13 dwarfs unique and didn't put some in the darkness. All had plenty of screen time. 4. The Music. Howard Shore. Need I say more?

CONS: 1. The CGI. It was just not well done and I honestly expected more from WETA. The orcs looked so fake, as did other things and they should have, in my opinion, stuck with real life actors as orcs as they did in LOTR. 2. The added stories from the Appendices, mainly Azog. This took away from the original story and it was all rather pointless in my opinion. 3. Radagast. As much as he was funny and entertaining, he totally took away from the story and really should have been left out. 4. At one point of the movie I was totally bored....Something I never really experienced in LOTR. So the con here was overall, the movie wasn't LOTR standard and you could see that in many areas.

So overall, "The Hobbit" is an average movie. There were many things that did the book justice and I really appreciated that. However, they messed up on a lot and overall it didn't do the book and the Lord of the Rings movies justice. See the film for yourself and state your opinion. I will see the next films hoping Jackson makes up for the ground he kind of lost.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The perfect ending to the perfect trilogy.

[8/10 · 21 July 2012]

Christopher Nolan went out with a bag. And I mean a BIG one. "The Dark Knight Rises" met my expectations head on, and blew them up, in a good way. However, the explosion had one spot where it did not meet my expectations. (I will get to that)

The movie was phenomenal. The craftsmanship, the cinematography, everything came together to make the ending of the long awaited final.

When it came to the characters of the movie, yes there were quite a few many new ones. However, being a huge fan of this movie years before it came out, I knew who each of them were already, so it didn't make things too hard to keep up. Christian Bale gave probably his best performance of Batman to date. He gave us a Bruce Wayne, who, though beaten and torn from the horrendous things from the "Dark Knight," rose from the darkness.

Michael Cain also gave us his best performance as Alfred. Every moment he was on the screen, he gave the heart of the movie. Trying to get Bruce to stay in the world and be happy, but not as batman, and not as a hermit.

I could keep going down on how good the performances of the cast were. Gary Oldman was phenomenal. Tom Hardy's Bane, though everyone says is not as good as a villain as the joker, you can't compare the two. Each is very different, and I have to say that I found Bane to be quite frightening and a very good villain. Joseph-Gordon Levitt's new character was one of the best. Every moment they showed of him, you liked him.

Anne Hathaway's Catwoman was also incredibly enjoyable. Not being sexist or anything, but usually when there is a strong female character; she usually is annoying and to the extent, ruins the movie. Catwoman didn't for me. She was cool and fun to watch and her fun relationship with Batman was neat.

Marion Cotillard's character on the other hand, was the reason I did not give this film 10 stars. Miranda Tate is a board member of Wayne Enterprises and her character was just badly written. Marion Cotillard didn't even do a bad job of acting, her part was just either not deep enough, or wasn't put in the right places. It gave be a feeling that wasn't good, and that let me to give the movie 9 stars.

But every movie has something that someone doesn't like. But something to like in this movie was Hans Zimmer's fantastic score. Though it was loud, the louder, the better. His score really lifted up moments, and made others dark and evil. Fabulous job Mr. Zimmer. So in conclusion,

Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" was by far the best film of the year. You will be leaving the theater, thinking the same thing Batman does: Why do we fall? We fall, so we can pick ourselves back up again. Though in my mind it was not perfect a movie, it was the perfect movie for the perfect trilogy. A trilogy that when all three films are one, is the perfect movie.

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011)

Just as good as the 1st one!

[7/10 · 23 May 2011]

"How about 3 shillings, and forget the name?" That line is one of the best lines in the Pirate Films, and its from the best movie of all the films. The 2nd one was decent and had its funny parts, the 3rd one was action packed, but lacked the old way of the first one. But now we come to "On stranger Tides" Which in my opinion, is Just as Good as the 1st one! "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" Was just what Disney needed to lift the series up! With the endless funny jokes, to the scary and hair raising mermaids, to the awesome action, This is one Pirates that you should not miss! Believe me when I say it, Its all that good! Johnny Depp was amazing as normal, no matter how many critics said he was toned down. Penelope Cruz was good enough to fit right into the cast, without being annoying. Ian McShane was, as he puts it "I'm a Bad man!", very evil. But the best actor award goes to Geoffrey Rush! Even with his peg leg, He was the best by far! His lines and actions made the movie! And even though so many characters were gone (Thank the Lord Elizabeth and Will were not in there), They did not seam missed.

"Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" Is the 2nd best if not tied for 1st in the Saga, and mark my words when I say this: DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS FUNNY, SCARY, AND ACTION PACKED PIRATES RIDE! "Drink up me hearties, YO HO!"