Taking One Week Break

Yes I am taking a very short break while I learn more about the craft, and study for exams.

See you guys in a week! 

Die Hard Film Review

Initial Thoughts

                Said to be one of the greatest action movies of all time, and by far the most famous Bruce Willis film to date, the first Die Hard movie adds fun one liner, with intense action senses to create one very thrilling “man against the world” film.

                What does “man against the world” mean? Well it refers to when someone impossibly attacks an army of well-trained men and comes out without a scratch. This plot device is mainly used by action stars (Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Sylvester Stallone), But we will get into all of that good stuff in just a little bit.

                Does Die Hard really live up to its high reputation? Or is it just another terrible action film such as Red Dawn, Alien resurrection, and others? Let’s find out! This is Die Hard!

Story: 20 out of 25

                Okay let’s face it, we don’t watch these movies for the story, we watch it to see things blow up. And since this film came out in the 1980’s, it is pretty obvious that the story isn’t going to be anything special.

                The 1980’s was the time when the most famous action/thriller movies came out such as First Blood (Sylvester Stallone), The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), and Aliens (Riley Scott). And while all of these films are different, all of their storylines follow roughly the same pattern. One individual or a small group of individuals are put up against one or more extremely deadly enemies, and somehow manage to defeat them. The writing style is used a lot today so we don’t really think that it was coined in the 80’s. Before this point many films put equal characters against each other, as seen in the 1971 action film Dirt Harry.

                By today’s standards this films storyline and plot would be seen as extremely clichéd, in fact, that’s one of the major problems many critics had with A Good Day to Die Hard, that its techniques were clichéd, the story had been seen and heard before. In other words there was nothing new added to it.

                However at the time, this storyline would have been new and exciting, so I can’t really criticize it for keeping up with its times. And like I said, we don’t really watch these films for its storyline or plot devices anyway.

Characters: 17 out of 25

                One problem that most action movies is not developing their characters enough, in other words, focusing on the action and the story, and leaving the characters to rot. Thankfully, this film does not do this, it adds enough main characters to make things interesting, but not to many that things get confusing. Each character is given enough screen time in order to develop them nicely, even the minor characters change and see worthwhile development throughout the film, such as Ellis (I won’t give any spoilers).

                But just because they are well developed does not mean they are developed, the characters are overused in many other 80’s action films just like the storyline was. However at least the Bruce Willis’s character was relatable, given his marriage status and occupation, as in today’s world, many people do have problems with their marriage and given John McClain’s occupation, with all of the violence and blood and gore, he may be more susceptible to little issues. In other words little problems might push him over the edge easier, then other people. However I would have liked to learn more about their issues together more before all of the action, so I could feel a more emotional attachment to John McClain’s wife, instead of just jumping into all of the action and not really fully understanding their problems together.

Action/Villain/Special Effects: 50 out of 50

                Now we get into the juicy stuff, the reason why it was and still is such a widely loved film, it’s not because of the story, or the characters, or the plot, it’s because of the gripping suspense, amazingly deep and intimidating villain and the extremely well directed action scenes. The entire time it’s clear that John doesn’t really have a plan together, and is always getting ambushed and having people turn against him. This really makes him seem like the terrorists have the upper hand, thus making it seem like harm could come to John at any moment.

                Each action scene takes place in a new location in the building each room different than the other. Each new room feels fresh and the props and setting gives more different ways for John to dispatch his foes, each one in a different manner. The setting can sometimes be a problem such as in Red Dawn (2012) which makes it feel like every fight scene is happening in the same place, in other words every fight scene is boring and feels rather generic.

                The main villain is by far one of my favorite villains of all time, in fact, the actor Alan Rickman tends to play a lot of villains in the movies he does such as his role in Robin Hood and Harry Potter. And let’s be honest, that’s what he’s best at, his thick English accent really adds a lot of intimidation and cold heartedness to his character, and he plays the role so calmly, even when his men are being killed off one by one, he still keeps thinking that the plan can still work. And that makes him seem more psychotic and more determined.

                As for the Special Effects, they are done well, and in fact I think I like them more than some modern films, because they didn’t have the sophisticated CGI that we have today, directors back in the 1970’s and 80’s had to figure out ways that they could do the stunts they wanted, in real life, using real people, and that’s why everything seems more real in older films. Because they are real, CGI in modern films looks good, but you can still tell that they are fake, and that the characters could not take certain injuries, in older films the main characters needed to survive because it was real people doing the stunts.

                In short, the action is very intense and gripping, the villain is well written acted and directed, and the special effects even out do some modern films. Plus, who doesn’t like big explosions? 

Side Note

                I love this film, however there is one aspect of the film I must address (which I probably should have addressed in previous film reviews) this film is not for kids. This is defiantly a PG 13 film, there is lots of bad language (which we should expect from a Bruce Willis film) used all throughout the film, some of the terrorists are dispatched in rather gruesome ways (Hanging, falling many stories, RPG, etc.)

But it’s mostly the language that parents should be aware of as it is used A LOT.

And so the famous Bruce Willis film Die Hard earns a…

87/100

Fantastic

So does it live up to its reputation, well yes it does! It nails every aspect needed to make a great action film; gripping action and suspense, pulse pounding special effects, and an extremely intimidating antagonist. The story and characters are clichéd but who cares? We didn’t watch it for the marriage advice or to hear a fairy tale we watched it to see explosions and gun fire, and if that was what the film was trying to accomplish then it succeeded.

If you are a person who has a problem with bad language, and lots of violence, then maybe you should give it another think before you run out and buy a copy. But if you’re not, then I strongly suggest that you do!

The Terminator Film Review

The Terminator Film Review

Initial Thoughts

                Yeah, what a classic film this was am I right? It was huge when it first came out back in 1984 and it’s still huge today.  Earning a respectable 8.1 on IMDB, and an astonishing 100% on rotten tomatoes I bet that not a lot of people today know why it’s so good, well that’s what I am here to find out!

                So strap on your pistol belt and load your machine guns, this is Arnold Schwarzenegger in The Terminator.

Story: 25 out of 25

                The idea seems very un-original in today’s standards; in fact the storyline is very similar to the storyline in the 2011 film I Am Number Four. A young teenager who is fleeing from an obviously superior force, In fact in some ways the two plot lines are almost identical, which is why I love the storyline, in both films, so much.

                One major idea of the storyline in the first terminator film is the idea of total helplessness, and in a different manor then other suspense/action films such as Alien. For example in Alien there is a team and each member of the team is powerful in some way and from the looks of the characters, they are able to defend themselves if left by themselves. However in Terminator, Sarah Conner is totally useless to defend herself, even near the end when she all alone, she is still running for her life (granted in a more “manly” manor).

                So how exactly does this “Total Helplessness” make the story better? Well it also has something to do with the direction the plot line takes, for example in I Am Number Four the main characters where wandering all over and it seemed like they could be attacked at any angle and that they could end up anywhere. It is sort of like a Role Playing Game (for all of you gamers out there) it could go anywhere, do anything, and become anything. The story and plot are still there, but they are just hidden and told in such a different way that it feels like the film could be taking place in real life, it seems real.

                So in short, the films storyline and suspense writing was done in such a way that it made it feel like the characters and situations could be actual events (well aside from the fact that it comes from the future).

Characters: 20 out of 25

                Honestly Arnold is one of the worst actors I have ever seen (which is why he is my favorite), and the goofiness of his terrible acting is having no expression on his face 90% of the time, which in turn, makes most of his serious scenes seem funny and make him seem more robotic in every film he does. These traits make him perfect for the role of a terminator, and honestly I like his performance more in the first film better than the other films. His character in the first film only had a few lines of dialogue, and the majority of his development was based off of actions and the way he process situations. Seeing the world through the terminators eyes and seeing his thought process is really interesting and makes him seem even more robotic and determined, it makes the fact known that he will kill Sarah Conner at all costs, and that nothing else matters besides that. In the other films, you know he will protect John Conner, but he seems to get distracted by many other worldly problems, such as emotions, which makes him seem more human, instead of robot.    

                The other characters are well done, but the terminator himself was the character I really wanted to focus on.

Special Effects: 20 out of 25

                …Yeah I know they didn’t have the technology that we have today, but to be fair the special effects, for the time, were really top notch. And for the most part, they still are, when the clip scenes from the future appear the HK’s (Hunter Killers) look very realistic, the gun shots and stunts are very well done, and there is one major reason for that, at the time, they didn’t have the technology like green scene or anything like that so they needed to find ways of creating the props and scenery with real life objects so it is quite possible that those HKs were real objects. It makes you think differently when you think of it that way doesn’t it?             

                The action sequences are directed and shot very well, creating some very intense suspense and action, and does a fantastic job of showing how invisible the terminator really is, after all it takes; multiple gunshot wounds, getting in a fatal car crash, getting hit by a semi-truck, being burned alive, and being crush by a 10-20 ton pressing machine to finally kill the beast! And the entire time you are wondering if he will finally die or if he will keep on fighting.

                Intense, realistic, and extremely suspenseful, the action in this film is really what defined it as being a top of the line action/shoot-em-up film.

Sci Fi Elements: 20 out of 25

                I never really considered this a science fiction film (and I don’t really know why) but it is probably one of the most successful and most famous sci fi film franchises ever. And for good reason, unlike other science fiction films such as Alien where everything takes place in some other galaxy, this film franchise takes place right here, take futuristic characters and placing them in the present, which is quite different from placing characters from the present in a futuristic or past time period (Back To The Future, Etc). And it even forced the characters to use our technology, which showed the struggle that they had with adapting to their new environment (especially Kyle, not so much The Terminator), this gives something that the audience can relate to, being placed in a new and un-familiar environment, such as moving to another country, or moving to a new school, etc.

                One of the most famous science fiction film franchises ever known and for good reason.

And so The Terminator gets a very well earned…

85/100

Classic

Yes it is quite obvious that this film is a classic, with an extremely interesting storyline and characters, mixed with great new science fiction elements and blood pulsing action all the way through, this film is clearly a movie for any occasion and so I say if you haven’t seen it yet, go see it right now! And if you have, now you know why it was and still is so successful!  

Happy New Years Everyone!!!

Hello and this is your Doctor Popcorn speaking, and welcome to 2014!
I am proud to announce that in the year of 2013 I released 31 reviews over a course of roughly 5 months!

I would also like to thank everyone who has faithfully read my reviews every Monday and Friday, and i would also like to apologize for my procrastinating on the releases of some of these reviews.

I am currently working on my reviews for 2 films and after that I will post my first top 10 list of the top 10 worst films of 2013 and then the top 10 best films of 2013!

The 2 reviews will hopefully be posted tomorrow, that is Jan/4/2014. And please feel free to comment on my posts of your thoughts or of a movie you would like to see me review!

I hope everyone had a marvelous Christmas and New Years and I look forward to posting many more reviews this year!