Thursday, November 14, 2013

TRAILER OF THE WEEK: Maleficent


I can't believe it has snuck up on us again, but here is this week's TRAILER OF THE WEEK. For this week I chose a Disney film due out next summer called, Maleficent, which stars the wondrous Angelina Jolie. This film is centered around the villainous Maleficent from Disney's classic tale, Sleeping Beauty. This film looks at the events that hardened her heart and drove her to curse young Princess Aurora.

Now why did I pick this film for this week's Trailer of the Week? Well as a kid I had always watched Disney movies. You name it, I most likely have seen it. My mom has our old VHS's all locked up in a closet somewhere because as a kid we loved these movies and would watch them over and over. As for the Sleeping Beauty, I will have to say I always liked that one quite a bit to be honest. I loved the story of it, and I always remember the three fairies in the movie. Thats something that is embedded in my memory from my childhood. Now this movie is a twist on the whole story!

Like with Oz: The Powerful, it is kind of a prequel and first of all part of me hates that. The other part of me though loves the back story to all of our favorite classic films from forever ago. Now this movie seems interesting enough. It is going to center around the Maleficent from the classic film and that seems interesting enough. From what I can remember about Sleeping Beauty, there really wasn't a reason to why the Maleficent did what she did. In this movie though it seems like they are going to explain why she was so evil and why she hated or did the things she did to the beautiful princess.

There are a few things I hope to see from this movie though. One of them would have to be, the whole story from the perspective of the Maleficent. What I mean by this is the exact tale of Sleeping Beauty told from the Maleficent's point of view. I wanna see the dragon again! That would just be awesome because I just love that fantasy creature. Another thing I want to see from this movie is well for it to be good and not some crap-ass Disney movie just trying to make some money. I want it to have all the right elements, and be one damn enjoyable movie. Thats all I can hope for!

Well I have added this movie to my watch list! What about you? What did you think of the trailer? Will you be checking out this movie next summer? I will try. Well make sure you stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

Noah Mark Bitney

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

The Big Wedding REVIEW


Well it is time for another review even though it is a little late this time. Today's review is for the 2013 romantic comedy, The Big Wedding. In this movie a long-time divorced couple must act like they are still married to try and impress there foster kid's real mother right before his wedding day. As you can expect there are many things going on right before the wedding and it all comes crashing into this one weekend. Secrets are revealed, trusts are broken, and love is in the air.

For as corny and ridiculous this movie is, I will have to start off by saying that I actually did enjoy this movie quite a bit. Sure there are a few things I would change and like to have happened differently, but overall I really did enjoy this movie A LOT! What about it did I enjoy? Well the characters really, and everyone who portrayed them. The couple that are getting married are played by Amanda Seyfried and Ben Barnes and they had decent chemistry. I mean you believed it but there was nothing special. I like how they eventually end up doing there wedding, but I do not want to give any spoilers. I will have to say that picking my favorite couple in this film it would have to be between Robert DeNiro and Susan Sarandon. They just seemed to me, the most believable in this entire movie. They had some great chemistry and I loved to see them bicker back and forth between each other. Now I could go on all day about the characters and the actors playing them. They main this I want to convey is that throughout the movie I actually cared about the characters. I wanted to know more about them and cared what happened to them.

This I guess would have to do with the story of the movie though as well. Justin Zachman wrote and directed this movie and I think he did a great job with it. He made it enjoyable and just a feel good romantic comedy. Sure it is not prefect, but hey sometimes I just want a movie where I can sit down and enjoy it. Not every movie has to be perfect. Now what about the script is not perfect? Well for starters I would say that is is kind of predictable. In the beginning of the movie I knew these couple things were going to happen and needless to say they did happen and I was right. So that could have been improved. The other thing I wanted to mention is that this has all been done before. What I mean by that is that there is nothing special about this movie that really stands out from the movie. We have seen all these elements in other romantic comedies before, and I am sure we will see them again. So yeah that could have been worked on, but again this movie was still pretty enjoyable. It has been awhile since I have torn a movie apart because I have been watching some decent ones lately, but wait till my next review, I have a movie to rip apart.

To warp up this review I want to say just a couple things. This movie is enjoyable, not special. I would recommend only a renting this movie, as what I did, because that is really all it is worth. It works for a movie rental night with either your girlfriend, maybe even your family (just not younger kids). I will also say this movie works for a rainy day. Its not something you are like, "OH, I want to watch The Big Wedding." It just isn't a waste of time if you end up watching it, and is in no way a must-see movie. For the rating out of 10 stars I will give, The Big Wedding, a 6/10 star rating.

Well I am hoping that you have enjoyed this review. I know it is not when I promised but I didn't have time this morning. I am hoping to get a review out tomorrow along with the NEW Trailer of the Week already. So stay tuned for that as well as that movie I have to rip to shreds (that I had mentioned above earlier). Stay tuned for lots more . . . coming soon.

Noah Mark Bitney

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Thor: The Dark World REVIEW


Well it is finally time to review another Marvel film, this time starring the Avenger from another world. Here is my review of Thor: The Dark World, starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, and many more great actor/actresses. In this film Thor is faced with an enemy that even Odin and the forces of Asgard cannot withstand. Thor must reunited with his beloved Jane Foster and his tricky brother to try and stop the forces of Malekith, the evil dark elf. He must sacrifice everything to save us all.

Now lets start of this review by me saying that this movie is freaking enjoyable. I enjoyed every single part of this movie, from the beginning to the end. That being sad lets talk about this movie. This movie brings back most of the original cast for an epic return to the world of Thor. Chris Hemsworth continues the role of the god of thunder, Thor. As said in my other review of, Thor, he pulls of the role perfectly. When casting these Marvel movies the could not have done a better job. They got all amazing actors to portray these amazing roles. The breakout performance in this role again though would have the be Tom Hiddleston as the god of mischief, Loki. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is like Heath Ledger as the Joker in The Dark Knight. They were practically born to play these roles and they do it just perfectly. I will get to more with Loki later though. Now the one performance in this movie, as I had also mentioned in my review of Thor, that I wasn't really happy with was Natalie Portman's. My real issue with her is just that I could see any actress playing the role of her character. Natalie doesn't become the character, and really I just do not see her as Jane Foster. I don't know what it is, I just don't see her as this character. Other than that everyone else does a great job in this movie. I love how Kat Dennings was back in this movie, and the fact that she had a bigger role in this movie than I thought she was going to have. The last person I want to mention is Stellan SkargÄrd as Dr. Erik Selvig. Again he pulls of the role and I could not have been happier with the twist they added to his character.

Moving on I want to mention the story of the movie. Let's start of by saying that I absolutely loved each and every single twist involved in this movie. Almost every single twist I never saw coming. I predicted some things before I went into the movie, and I thought I was right on several occasions but then I ended up being wrong because of the twist. I wasn't wrong with a few things though, I was right on a couple things. Now the only couple things I would have to complain about from this movie would have to be the fact that it left you hanging with a lot of things. The end scene you were like, "WHAT!?!?!" Then the end credit scene you were really confused with as well? I really hope we get a good explanation later, unlike the end credit scene with The Avengers. We still really don't know how that is tying in with that scene yet. I thought this movie would, but so far there has been nothing. The last thing I wanted to mention about this screenplay would have to be that it is just your basic ordinary superhero movie storyline. There is nothing spectacular about it except the twists that are thrown in with the movie. I did like how the story was a lot more humorous though. The comedy in this movie worked and it was well enjoyed. Loki was really the star of the comedy in this movie, which I loved even more.

Now there are a few last minute things I do want to mention. These would include the visual effects, the cinematography, and then music. Yes as with almost every Marvel movie the special effects are pretty darn incredible, but I love a movie with good special effects. I can't stand a movie with bad special effects these days because we know the technology is there now and this movie proves it. I never noticed one bad special effect scene in this movie. Moving on to the cinematography of this movie I just really wanted to mention how I love the gritty look of the movie along with the whole feel the movie gave to the watcher. Kramer Morgenthau did a great job with this movie I will have to say, that is for sure. Now Brian Tyler did the musical score for this movie and he had also done the musical score for Iron Man 3. I thought the music seemed similar, and lucky for Brian I loved the score from Iron Man 3. So the score from this movie was just as good. It is one that I really would buy to listen to. I love the musical score of movies and this is another good one.

Summing up this review, I will say that Thor: The Dark World is a very welcomed return to the world of Thor. It is super enjoyable and the action scenes are epic as heck! I will be seeing this movie in theaters again because I love Marvel movies and this is a great addition to the Avenger series! Now for the ratings I will have to say that this movie is a MUST-SEE FILM, if you are a Marvel fan and a fan of the Avenger series. Like I had said it is a great addition to the series. Thor: The Dark World also deserves a buy on Blu-Ray rating. Now I did see this in 3D but really there is no need, so I will say that this movie is worth the ticket price for a movie night. So go out an see it, right NOW! Now for the rating out of 10 stars, I will have to say that it deserves an 8/10 star rating. 

Well I am hoping that you have enjoyed this review of Thor: The Dark World. It really is a good movie to go see in theaters. It really is worth it. Now make sure you stay tuned for more reviews. I have a couple movie waiting to get reviewed. So make sure you stay tuned for those reviews . . . coming soon!

Noah Mark Bitney

Thursday, November 7, 2013

TRAILER OF THE WEEK: The Lego Movie


It's a little late but it is time to talk about this week's new Trailer of the Week. For this week I decided to choose a little older released trailer, but it is still new and fresh to talk about! So I chose the trailer for The Lego Movie. This movie is about an ordinary LEGO minifigure, mistakenly thought to be the extraordinary MasterBuilder. He is then recruited to join a quest to stop an evil LEGO tyrant from gluing the universe together (courtesy of IMDb). This film is due out on February 7th, 2014, and stars, Chris Pratt, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnet, Morgan Freeman, Will Ferrell, Cobie Smulders, Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Liam Neeson, and quite a few other well known actor/actresses.

Now why did I choose this movie to be this week's Trailer of the Week? Well as a child I grew up with LEGO toys. I loved them so freaking much! I would build things, be proud of what I built, then keep it for a few weeks, then build something entirely new and awesome! Then after I grew up they started coming out with LEGO video games for certain movies like, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and many others. I owe both Harry Potter games and most of the Star Wars ones. They were just the greatest games you could buy because they were all just so much fun and creative. Anyway getting a little off topic, this movie connects to my inner child and I am really excited to see how and where they take this movie. So far from what we have seen in the trailers released thus far, it seems like a pretty legit and awesome movie. Has an awesome cast to talk for it, and I am excited to see how it pans out come February. I hope it does well because maybe (and we all know if it does do well) we will see a series come out of this.

Apart from the inner child in me though, this movie seriously does look good, and quite funny. So it defiantly has been added to my watch list, and it should be added to the rest of yours too. It is on my radar and we will just have to see where this movie takes us. Hopefully it is down a good movie road, instead of some crappy movie. Well now make sure you stay tuned for some more movie talk along with some more reviews . . . coming soon.

Noah Mark Bitney

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Olympus Has Fallen REVIEW


The Motion Picture Buff would like to present a review for the film starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman, called, Olympus Has Fallen. In this movie Gerard plays a disgraced former Presidential Guard. After an attack on the white house, he uses his skill and knowledge from his previous job to try and save the president from bend kidnapped by North Korean terrorists.

Well well well . . . I want to start of this review by saying that this movie is an enjoyable action movie, but it has nothing else going for it. The cast is good yes, but they aren't great. They just make the film able to watch. Before I get into the acting involved in this movie though, I want to talk about the main bad thing this movie had, and that would 100% have to be the special effects. Oh my goodness, the effects in this movie were just absolutely terrible. Now this movie came out back on March of this year, 2013. So personally I do not understand why the graphics would be that bad, because the special effects of today have progressed immensely. There wasn't one scene in this movie where I wasn't saying, well thats fake. My guess is that the budget of this film was wasted on the well-known actors in this movie that they couldn't pay for the great special effects, because honestly they were just terrible. The effects in this poster I have above are better than the whole movie. I just wanted to mention that because that was the main negative throughout the whole thing.

Moving on I want to talk a little about the acting in this movie. Olympus Has Fallen, has some pretty well known actors in it. As mentioned earlier, Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, and Morgan Freeman, are all in this movie and they do a good job. They don't do anything special though. Its not like they were giving a performance of their career. I would have to say that Gerard Butler's performance I enjoyed the most because he just seemed more believable in this situation. Gerard has kind of taken over Bruce Willis in the roles that Bruce used to perform in.

Which brings me into the screenplay of this movie, or the story I suppose. What I want to mention is the fact that it is a little bit predictable. You know what is going to happen, you know they aren't going to let something happen that they are trying to trick you into thinking happened. The story is your basic and generic disaster/action film that you have seen countless times before. You still enjoy the ride which makes this movie a great popcorn movie night movie, which is what it became for me when I watched it.

Now wrapping up this review I want to say that Olympus Has Fallen, is an enjoyable film that serves a good purpose. That purpose is to be a good popcorn movie night film. It works perfect for a rental movie and thats what I did with it, so that is the recommendation I will give it. Only rent this movie, it really isn't worth a buy. You are going to enjoy it once and then there will be no need to watch it again. Anytime you are trying to think of a movie to rent for a popcorn night with a girlfriend, group of friends, or anytime, this movie gets my recommendation for that. I will also say that this movie gets a 5/10 star rating.

Well I am hoping that you have enjoyed this review of Olympus Has Fallen. Tonight will be a post about why The Lego Movie trailer is this week's TRAILER OF THE WEEK, so you are going to want to stay tuned for that. There are also more movies to be reviewed, so stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

Noah Mark Bitney

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

What's Eating Gilbert Grape REVIEW


As promised it is time for another review tonight, and the second review is for the 1993 film, What's Eating Gilbert Grape. In this film Gilbert, played by Johnny Depp, has to take care of his special brother, Arnie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. He is also in charge of making sure his obese mother is taken care of. When Becky comes into his life, he becomes irritable about all the responsibilities that he doesn't want to have.

(Applause . . . applause) This movie is seriously just fantastic. I was engaged in the story right from the beginning. The screenplay follows the story and mind of Gilbert Grape who is way more complex than we are led to believe. I love how everything in this story actually has a point to it, and there is no excess things that are pointless. There were a few points in the movie though where the movie drags on a little bit. You want it to pick up its pace but it takes a little bit before it goes onto the next thing. Now the last thing about the story I wanted to mention was the fact that the love story in this movie was good. It wasn't great and it was a little unbelievable, in my eyes it seemed kind of forced into the story. With all that being said you still root for Gilbert and Becky to end up together in the end.

Next I would like to give a HUGE round of applause to Leonardo DiCaprio for an AMAZING, AMAZING, AMAZING, performance in this film. Leonardo DiCaprio plays a mentally challenge 18 year old kid, and I seriously was shocked by his performance. If it was me I would have given Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar for this performance because he literally blew my mind. He really became his character in this film and he made me super emotional which is just beyond great. Now the chemistry between Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio is fantastic as well. For a moment there you really think they are brothers, they just do a great job together as brothers. Those two main things being said I want to generally say that each and every single cast member in this film does a great job. I could and would not complain about a single person's performance in this beautiful film. A few people who stand out are of course Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates, and Mary Kate Schellhardt.

Now the last thing I would like to mention is the direction of the movie. Before I get into that though I want to mention how great this movie is. Leo's performance is seriously the greatest part of the movie, but when it comes to the direction it is only okay. I mean I love the story and I love the acting in the film, but the way Lasse Hallstroöm does this film could have been better. I just felt like some of the things in this film were way to obvious and I could tell what was happening. Do not get me wrong, still a GREAT movie, but there are always little things that could have been better.

Wrapping up this movie I will say that What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a fantastic film with little flaws. It has an amazing cast with one breakout actor in the film that you would have never expected. For the ratings I will give this movie a buy on Blu-Ray rating because it is one of those movies that is a classic that should be seen by everyone because it is a MUST-SEE film. Sometime in your life you should definitely see this movie. I will also rate this movie as a perfect popcorn movie night film, but it would be even better for a rainy day. Be prepared though it is an emotion draining movie, like you have to be in the mood for it. Now for the rating out of 10 stars I will have to give this film a 9/10 star rating. 

Well I hope you have enjoyed this review of What's Eating Gilbert Grape. I highly recommend this movie because it really is very enjoyable. Well I hope to get at least one more review out tonight or tomorrow mooring. So stay tuned for that, but also stay tuned for this week's Trailer of the Week, coming out tomorrow. There is so much to stay tuned for, so stay tuned for more . . .  coming soon.

Noah Mark Bitney

The Paperboy REVIEW


The Motion Picture Buff would like to present a review for the 2012 film, The Paperboy. In this film a newspaper writer returns home to investigate a case with a victim on death row. This film stars Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron, Matthew McConaughey, and John Cusack.

This is a tough film to review to be honest. The first thing I want to mention I suppose is the fact that this movie has an amazing cast. As per mentioned above the cast is pretty darn incredible. They aren't just a good cast, they have amazing characters to portray and they portray each role perfectly. Who really stands out in this movie is Zac Efron though. Zac Efron plays Jack Jansen in the film who is love with Nicole Kidman's character, Charlotte Bless, who is a 40 year old woman married to the prisoner who is on death row, played by John Cusack. They way Zac looks at Nicole in this movie is just perfect. You can see it in his eyes that he is really in love with this woman, and he would do anything for her, which he does. I also do want to mention John Cusack's performance in this movie. I have never seen John play a bad guy really before, and honestly I don't think I could have ever seen him play one. In this movie though John Cusack plays a complete jackass and pervert. He does it perfectly as well, I was literally disgusted with this character.

Now the tough part to review for this movie is the story/screenplay. The plot of this movie is actually quite intriguing. I was always interested in this movie and the movie did a good job with it. I like how the two brothers get along together and work together to solve the crime. At the same time I like how Zac's character falls in love with Nicole's character. I think it just adds a great element to the film. What was annoying about this movie though was that it was extremely slow and the screenplay seems just sloppy. There are points in the movie where I lost interest and started working on other things, like my homework. Whenever that happens in a movie, I think the movie is just way worse. I like a movie way more when it can keep me hooked the whole way through instead of losing and gaining interest on and off.

So there are a few things I would like to mention before I wrap up this review. These few things would include the cinematography of the film, the beginning of the movie, the narration. Starting off the cinematography in this movie is actually pretty darn good. I like the look and feel of this movie is just perfect for the time zone of this movie. Now in the beginning of this movie it starts off with Zac's character narrating the story, and throughout the film we will catch her narrating the whole thing. I really did enjoy this in the movie because it works for the whole feel of the movie. It kind of works in with how Matthew's character is trying to solve a case. It just feels right for the movie.

Wrapping up this review I will say that The Paperboy is an enjoyable film that works perfectly for a rainy day. It has a great cast that create great characters that you will care for and root for in the end. For the ratings I will give this movie a rent worthy rating, only that though. I am glad I did not buy this movie because it is only worth watching once. You will enjoy it though, that is for sure. Now for the rating out of ten stars I will have to give, The Paperboy, a 7/10 star rating. 

Well I hope you have enjoyed this review of The Paperboy. It isn't my best work, but this movie to be honest was hard to review. Anyway I plan on doing a couple more reviews today to catch up on my list that I have. Make sure you stay tuned for them and for more . . . coming soon.

Noah Mark Bitney

Sunday, November 3, 2013

The Man in the Iron Mask REVIEW


It is review time!!! Today's review is of the 1998 film, The Man in the Iron Mask. In this film the evil and cruel King Louis XIV of France has a secret twin brother who he had locked away and his face covered. After the King has angered to many of the old Musketeers, they form up again to make a swap with the innocent brother and the cruel King that doesn't deserve the throne.

Well now first thing I want to say about this movie is that it is very enjoyable. If you ever need a movie one night to watch that you will enjoy the crap out of, this one will work perfectly. The story of this movie is actually kind of good. I like what this movie is about. As for the screenplay though, there are a few issues. I mean it seems like a cheap movie, the bad writing and dialogue really do show in this movie. The dialogue is choppy and doesn't flow very well in my opinion. I would also have to say that it is extremely corny in spots. There are points in the film where I laugh and then say to myself, "Did he really just say that? What was the point of that." That does not stop this from being a good movie to enjoy though. The cast of the film really makes the movie in my opinion. If they wouldn't have gotten the people they had gotten for each role, this movie would not be as good as it is.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Jeremy Irons, John Malkovich, GĂ©rard Depardieu, and Gabriel Bryne are the main cast in this film and they do a great job with each of there roles. They are really what make this movie. Leonardo DiCaprio always does a great job in any one of his movies, and again in this movie he does a great job. I love how he portrays two roles in this film. When he has to switch characters and become the other brother, you can really see it in his eyes and I just love it. The chemistry between each on of these actors is good as well. I love when they bicker and banter back and forth, they do such a good job with it.

I also wanted to mention a couple last things in this review. One thing is that the cinematography really didn't work for me in this movie. It seemed to modern to me, and didn't portray the time zone of the movie very well in my opinion. With that being sad I also noticed a few things in the movie, prop items, that really weren't time zone appropriate. The sprinkler system, I mean, did they really have that technology then? I don't think so. Last thing I wanted to mention where the costume designs. They seemed lazy in my opinion, and not very good. What I mean by this is that they seemed to look fake instead of clothing from that time. The hair as well looked like it was ready to fall of some of the characters. This is my opinion though and I am just bickering.

Other than those few things this movie was extremely enjoyable. I love the story and the actor/actresses in this movie portray characters and a story that you will enjoy anytime you need a good movie for a movie night with the family or friends. For the ratings I want to give, The Man in the Iron Mask, a popcorn movie night rating. I would have to say that this movie only gets a DVD buy worthy rating, its worth a buy on DVD but not Blu-Ray. I will also like to say that this movie is perfect to rent . . . it is on Netflix though so if you have Netflix, just check it out on there. Now for the rating out of 10 stars I will give, The Man in the Iron Mask, a 6/10 star rating. It gets this for being an enjoyable story, and having a great cast to support the story. Enjoyable, in my opinion, is the strongest thing to have for a movie.

Well I am hoping that you have enjoyed this review of The Man in the Iron Mask. Have you seen this movie before? Let me know what you thought of in on the Motion Picture Buff's Facebook page, RIGHT HERE, or even leave a comment below. Now make sure you stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.