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

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, Gérard 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.

Captian America: The First Avenger REVIEW

The Motion Picture Buff would like to present a review of Captian America: The First Avenger. This film is about a man who is a solider at heart but is deemed unfit to serve. After countless of attempts to be enlisted he is chosen to become a new breed of super soldiers. This turns him into a solider who is branded by the USA to defend the United States, becoming the worlds first superhero.

So I am going to go out and say it that this Avenger film would have to be my least favorite. Like I had said in my Thor review, this film has way to much of a comic book feel to it. It is really childish and just silly. The whole feel of this movie just does not seem to be right in my opinion. This movie has a hard time trying to find what it exactly wants to be in my opinion. At one point it is focused one thing, but then it moves to the next and then the next. The movie (in my opinion) does not flow smoothly together. It seems choppy. The other thing about this movie is that it is boring. The villain (played by Hugo Weaving) is acted well by Hugo, but you don't care about the villain. He doesn't seem to have a reason for what he is doing and you don't get enough action with him.

Moving on I do like who they picked for the Captian America in this film. Chris Evans has been in a Marvel film before, as the Human Torch in Fantastic Four. He is a good superhero actor and it is nice to see him in a lead role. He pulls of the emotionality that is Captian Rodgers. Captian Rodgers isn't just some arrogant person who got picked to be a super solider, he was a wimpy kid who was shorter than most women even. Chris Evans did a great job. Most of the acting in the film was done great. They picked the right cast for this film. Tommy Lee Jones, Hugo Weaving, Stanley Tucci, Sebastian Stan, and many other were all just great in this film. The other things I did like about this movie was, how it really tied the rest of the Avenger movies together. The way they played out the movies actually did work and I am glad that Captian America: The First Avenger was the last one right before The Avengers. The last thing I wanted to mention was that I actually did enjoy the cinematography in this movie. It seemed to work for the feel this movie was giving off.

Now all-in-all Captian America: The First Avenger was a decent movie that with quite a few tweeks could have been a lot better. I mean it is a fine addition to the Avengers franchise, but it could have been a lot better. I will of course give this movie a must-see rating because it is a must-see in order to see The Avengers. I would say that it is really only rent worthy though, or I will go even as high as a DVD buy worthy. It works for a movie night, but its not a movie you want to watch over and over again, it is just not that good. As for the rating I will give Captian America: The First Avenger a 6/10 rating.

Well before I close this I want to say sorry about the lateness of this review, I hope you do enjoy it. I am trying to do more reviews . . . so I hope you will stay tuned for those. I plan on seeing Gravity tomorrow night so stay tuned later tomorrow night and into Saturday for the review of that movie. I am really excited for that movie. So again stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

Noah Mark Bitney

In Time REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present a review for the motion picture, "In Time" starring Justin Timberlake. This film is about how time is currency, and the fact that once you turn 25 you stop aging and have one more year to get more time. If you want to buy a cup of coffee it will cost you minutes on your time you have to live. This follows the story of Will, played by Justin Timberlake. This film came out October 28, 2011. I am going to be giving this movie a 6/10 rating. Here is why . . .

To start of the negatives of this film I am going to have to say that I really didn't like the costume and make-up in this film really. I know it is supposed to be futuristic and different from our time, but for some reason it just all seemed to weird for me. I kept focusing on this question in my head, "What and why are they wearing this?" Another thing that bothered me was the acting in this film, some of it was good, but I really hated Amanda Seyfried's performance in this film. She annoyed me the whole way through the film. I dunno I just had a hard time believing in her character with her performance. Justin Timberlake and everyone else did an okay job, but I feel like this was a weak cast for a great idea for a film. Which leads me to the fact that this film had an amazing premise, but I feel like they wasted the idea, but more on that later because . . .

The positives of this film include that this film had a great story to it. It all seemed very interesting. This film had me wanting to see it from the trailer (even though I never saw it in theaters unfortunately). They played the idea good I thought, but it could have been better. I expected more I guess. This leads me to the fact that they seemed to explain the system of currency/life in this universe very well. I did like how they explained it and showed it in this film. The action in this film was very good though, kept me on edge in some scenes. The storyline went along really nicely all the parts of the movie seemed to connect logically. The movie kept me interested in what was going to happen. At some times it kept me on the edge of my seat cheering for them, and the ending didn't happen the way I thought it would so it wasn't predictable (which I really like in a film). I like a film that isn't original and won't do what every other film in history would've done, like the ending in the movie I reviewed earlier, "Buried." I may have hated it but I loved it because it wasn't what I expected (unpredictable). Which helps a movie be some what enjoyable.

So all-in-all, "In Time" was a good movie just wasn't as good as I expected it to be. An okay movie to watch for a popcorn night, you will enjoy it but nothing spectacular. So yeah it is a popcorn flick that gets the rating on my scale, a 6/10.

Well you are now one step closer to becoming a "Motion Picture Buff." If you have seen "In Time" comment below on your thoughts of this film or email me HERE. Make sure you subscribe to the blog by email in the sidebar so you know when I update the blog with another review or some important movie related information. I do want to say thanks though to my avid readers (or avid readers to become). I never thought I would have already over 400 page-views within two weeks of starting this blog (goal is to have 500 by two week mark now). I hope you have been enjoying my reviews, and you continue to read them as I continue to write more of them for you. I have a passion for movies, and I am just spreading my passion through these reviews. So thanks again for reading, and make sure you stay tuned for more.

The Motion Picture Buff