My top 10.
OK the rules :
It has to be a 2011 movie that I had seen in the theatre this year. For example True Grit I saw in 2011 BUT it was technically a 2010 movie. Also rentals and bluray purchases don’t count. So Cowboys and Aliens I didn’t see in the theatre, so it’s not counted in this list.
I wont go into each movie on its own as I have reviewed all these on the blog. This is just a list.
1. Sucker Punch
2. Captain America
3. Ra.One
4. Priest
5. Real Steel
6. Immortals
7. In Time
8. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
9. Killer Elite
10. Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol
Thanks for being with us in 2011 – lots more to come in 2012!
J-Man.
Don 2.
If you saw Don part one (which was a remake, but still amazing and 5/5) then you know that Don is on the loose and Interpol is hot on his trail.
The first Don film was an older film where a criminal mastermind named Don was killed and replaced by a look-a-like to impersonate him. Complications arose when the fake Don was getting too deep into the criminal world and Interpol had to get him out before everyone found out he was fake. Now I never saw that movie, but I heard it was great! The remake of Don, starring Shahrukh Khan (SRK) was the same story, only there was a big twist at the end – stop reading if you don’t know it – the ending of the remake showed that the evil Don had killed the fake Don before the authorities could implement the switch. Thus, the real or evil Don was really pretending to be the good one, who was pretending to be the bad one! That was brilliant and I was totally stunned when they revealed that in the end.
This second film has some twists, but I could see them coming, but that doesn’t make it bad. You see if you truly understand the character of Don, then part 2’s twists MUST happen in order for the character to be true. It’s hard to explain unless you see the movie, but in any case, this film has tons of action and its one hell of a fun ride regardless of the twists, or even if you see them coming. Example, I knew Tom Cruise wouldn’t die in MI4 etc.
Continuing 5 years after the first Don, Don is now being hunted by everyone. See you don’t get to the top of the criminal ladder without making enemies. And Don has pissed off every drug lord in the world so he decides to turn himself in before one of his enemies gets to him first. In exchange for immunity, he is willing to rat out every drug lord there is! Interpol turns him down and Priyanka Chopra (from part one) isn’t buying it.
Don is taken in and quickly plans an escape with his former enemy from part one, who was locked up after the first film.
Don’s new plan is highly complex and so intricate you’d think that Professor Moriarty was behind it! I wont get into the details of the plot for fear of ruining something for you, but it’s pretty darn cool. Actually, this whole movie is pretty darn cool.
It’s not as good as the first one, in terms of the twists, but this movie is just kick ass in every other way! It stands up to Hollywood films in terms of production value and action. And for those of you in fear of Bollywood films because of their dance numbers, you’ll be happy to note that this only contains one, and it’s in a nightclub, so it’s not out of place. The running time has also been chopped down for you to just over 2 hours.
So there you have it, SRK strikes again and strikes hard. I cant wait for Don 3.
4/5
J-Man.
Cars 2.
So all Pixar movies are great, that is a standard it seems, and this one is great too! I have to say that I know some people didn’t much like the first Cars movie, not sure why, I thought it was amazing! This second one isn’t as good, but only because it lacks a strong message. Not that it really needs one to be entertaining, but most Pixar films have some kind of lesson, or morale at the end and this one didn’t really have one, or it was very similar to the first one.
But having said that it’s a wicked movie with a lot of details and some really cool ideas. I love the way the story took place in different parts of the world. Japan was really awesome! I also liked how the story was more about Mater now, rather than Mcqueen. I like Mater and think he is a good character. It’s funnier when a “redneck” goes around the world seeing different things and giving his own perspective! See Mcqueen is already used to technology and the way of the world, Mater isn’t. So it’s more interesting to discover stuff through his eyes!
All in all this was an enjoyable movie and even though there wasn’t a message, it was still really cool and fun to watch.
4/5
J-Man.
So, the first Sherlock Holmes movie was alright. Not great, not anything that will resonate throughout history, not even what you would call a good Sherlock Holmes movie, at least based on the literary character, but next to this assmeat of a movie, the original Sherlock Holmes is an endearing classic that will be handed down from generation to generation. This movie is frigging terrible.
Where to begin? The plot. Good lord, the plot. It drags like nobody's business. This movie is over 2 hours long. Let me repeat, 2 HOURS LONG. What happens in those 2 hours? Not 2 hours worth of movie. In fact, I don't really know what the movie is about. I can tell you what happens in it and Moriarty's part is simple to the point of ludicrous (more on that later), but this movie is so damned convoluted, I cannot tell you what is going on in this movie. Basically, you're just following Robert Downey Jr. around. That's it. This movie should have been called 'Robert Downey Jr.: A Game of Shadows", because it is not Sherlock Holmes. It isn't anything! I don't know what this is! It's just a mess. You're just following Downey Jr. as he goes from location to location, with no rhyme or reason, just whatever. "I'm going here now!" Oh, okay. It's all explained, but it's such a confusing mess, that it really doesn't even matter what the explanation is. It's still crap.
Now, let's go on to Moriarty. He's supposed to be on par with Sherlock as far as smarts goes (at least, that's what the movie would have you believe). Yet, his plan is so ridiculously simplistic, so beneath what the character should do, I can't believe they actually filmed this. It would be the same as not knowing what Darth Vader's plot was in Star Wars. Okay, maybe not quite that bad, but it's bad. Like, it's like going through seven locked rooms full of traps to get a cup of tea. All the supposed machinations and complications of Moriarty, the end result is just insanely not worth the journey. Not to mention that Moriarty himself shows up only occasionally in the film and made no impression on me as a character whatsoever. At times I forgot Moriarty was in the movie. AT TIMES, I FORGOT THAT MORIARTY WAS IN THE MOVIE AND WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE VILLAIN! I wasn't high or drunk or anything either, but obviously whoever made this film was!
Let's move on to the other characters. Downey Jr. was alright, but he's charismatic anyway. Jude Law as Watson...what's the deal with that guy, anyway? It seems at times he can't stand Holmes and it really seems he doesn't respect Holmes at all. I don't think that's accurate to the character in a literary sense, I thought Watson was supposed to have deep respect for Holmes' deductive abilities. That's why he writes about him, for crying out loud! Watson here, he doesn't seem to even like Holmes? Why would he waste life and limb for him! Rachel McAdams shows up briefly in the film (and I'm glad only briefly, I didn't really like her character, either). Noomi Rapace (the Swedish Girl in the Dragon Tattoo star) is a gypsy and she has something to do with something with the plot, but who knows what the hell's going on anyway, so she's wasted. The guy who played Moriarty, what an ineffective presence, the times he shows up, he's not impressive in any way, shape or form, your Aunt Sally would have been a better Moriarty.
I am not wasting one more second writing about this piece of garbage. You can see it if you want, but don't say I didn't warn you.
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars.
- Stephenstein
Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.
The first film of this series I liked. Only problem for me was that it was a Tom Cruise movie and not a TEAM movie. The team was useless; it was all about Ethan Hunt. But the movie was still well done! The second one was John Woo, and I expected more. The lifelike face masks were overused and the motorcycle part was just a rehash of his earlier HK flicks, so I wasn’t impressed. The third one was terrible, nothing made sense and they didn’t even show the major part of the mission – I came to find out that JJ Abrams made that movie! Of course it sucks!
So I didn’t hold out much hope for this one, but it was bloody amazing! The director of this film is the guy who made Incredibles and Iron Giant – both great movies! This is the best Mission Impossible movie easy.
The plot was good, and complex, without being confusing. The action was epic and all the action scenes were memorable. The suspense was good too; the part on the poster where Cruise is on the glass – I was super nervous! I know Cruise wont die, but still, I would never go out there it was like 100 stories high!
Plus the team in this movie was really useful. They actually did something, and it wasn’t all just about Tom Cruise. There are even parts where he is doing the observing while the someone else is doing the important part of the mission. Well written and well executed!
Good job to all involved!
PS – if you are seeing this, see it in IMAX. There is 30 mins of actual imax footage and it’s amazing! I was on the edge of my seat for some of those sequences and they may not have the same impact in a normal theatre!
4.5/5
J-Man.
War of the Gargantuas.
This is a sequel to Frankenstein Conquers the World (aka Frankenstein vs Baragon). You don’t need to see the other movie to enjoy this one, in fact, if you watch the English dub, there is no mention of the other film anyway.
This movie stands on its own and it’s one of the best Kaiju movies I have ever seen. I absolutely loved it! Right after watching I made a cubee for both Gargantuas and I plan on showing this movie as part of my Kaiju Day this year.
The story is that 2 gargantuas are running around, one good, one bad and they fight each other. That’s it – ok so the story isn’t something new, but the fights in this movie are epic!
I would go so far as to say the fights here are among the best that Toho has to offer period. That’s including all the Godzilla flicks and even the Gamera ones!
This is a must own for all fans of the genre!
5/5
J-Man (and no, this isn’t under the Godzilla rule of being 5 stars, this is 5 on its own!)
Robin Hood.
Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe team up for this epic retelling of the legend of Robin Hood.
Coming off the amazing BBC series, I wasn’t too pumped to see this when it came out as the BBC’s RH is among the best versions of Robin Hood ever done period. But time has passed and I decided to see this one, and you know what, it’s pretty damn good!
No it’s not better than the BBC, but it has a lot to offer. The action, scenery, story and acting are all great. Scott is a great director and he’s really good with epic tales and this is a really cool epic take on Robin Hood.
This is about Robin Longstride before he became Robin Hood, but it’s not like Batman before he was Batman, that would just be a billionaire doing nothing, Robin Hood was a soldier in the Crusades and then became a hero to England. So there is still lots of action and all the merry men are in the movie and they are true to their character. And the sheriff of Nottingham is there and Prince John too! So it’s basically Robin Hood anyway! The “prequel” part is really to say how he became an outlaw.
This is a really good movie that I think should’ve done better than it did! I highly recommended this one and I’m glad I got it on bluray!
4/5
J-Man.
