Skyfall REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to FINALLY present his review of 007's "Skyfall." First thing though I would like to aplogize for the lateness of this review, in the process of moving, school, and working two jobs. Give me time to get situated and I promise it will all be back to normal. Anyways in this film, Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her murky past comes back to haunt her.

Well well well what can I say about this film that I hated?!?!?!? Um nothing all I have is good things really, and most importantly that this is the Bond film that we deserve after a four-year wait for one. Daniel Craig excels as James Bond again, and seriously in my opinion he is the best Bond there is or ever was. Judi Dench returns as M and again you just love her. Judi and Daniel have just the greatest chemistry and it really starts to show in this film. Then the villain in this film is played by Javier Bardem, and lets just say that he does a superb job. He just plays the creepy and insane character so well. I loved him in this film. Moving onward though . . . I loved, loved, LOVED the screenplay within this film. Just a perfect Bond story after the years of waiting. Why? Well the address the fact that James/ Daniel are both getting a little old. They play with it perfectly. Plus there was also amazing twists within the film that I enjoyed. Never thought it would end the way it did. I do want to mention how they had a bunch of older Bond film references too. I thought it was neat and creative in a way. Director Sam Mendes was at the helm of this film and lets just say, he does a great job with James Bond. The camera angles are just amazing. What I mean by this is that they just capture the feel of the movie great and they capture the amazing scenery that they shot this film in. The action is amazing and extremely engaging, you will never be bored with it I can promise you that.

So all-in-all is this Bond movie the best James Bond film yet? Does it live up to the hype? Yes indeed it does. I can say that for sure this is the best James Bond film I have ever seen. I loved it so much and I really do not have any grips. This film is a little more involved but that is not a negative, actually I would consider that a HUGE positive.

Now for the ratings I am going to give "Skyfall" a must-see film rating because it really is worth it. I want to see it again here soon. Maybe in IMAX? I will also give it a Blu-ray buy worthy rating for it too. I will give it this new rating of BADASS! It literally is just full of awesome action, awesome dialogue. "Skyfall" will also get a popcorn flick rating. As for the rating out of five, "Skyfall" will get a 5/5 rating for sure.

Well thanks for reading this post, and thanks for staying loyal to the blog. I apologize for the lateness of this review. I promise once I get situated in my new house I will be back on track with reviews. Thanks again and stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

Taken 2 REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present his review for the feature film, "Taken 2." This film takes place in Istanbul, Turkey. Retired CIA operative Brian Mills and his family are on vacation when the father of a kidnapper Brian killed when saving his daughter seeks revenge. 

Well lets begin with the positives shall we? Well I am going to have to say again that the acting that Liam Neeson gives us in this film is great. He pulls off the role of Brian Mills again with a superb performance. Maggie Grace still does wonderful as his daughter, Kim. They still have that amazing chemistry they shared in the first film. Famke Janssen plays the mother of Kim. She did in the first film. You never really saw much of her in "Taken" but in this film she really excels, well done. Rade Serbedzija is the villain in this film and he can play one pretty well.  Now I really did enjoy the action scenes in this film, they kept you on the edge of your seat once again. They were again bad-ass as in the first film. 

So the negatives from this film. Well let me just say that the first film is WAY better than the second. The direction and the camera angles of this film were that shaky camera type, and I found them okay in some spots. Sometimes I found them extremely distracting and annoying. How come they never brought back the original director for this film?  Then there was the plot again . . . REALLY? What really happened in this film? What I mean by this is that the movie was over just as it began really. It was really slow in the beginning of the film, dedicating a lot of time to build up. Then they built up to something that was quick and never really lasted long. You just felt like the movie was over as soon as it began. Way to fast-paced of a film. Then there was the fact that a girl with NO training at all, did what she did. That is just ridiculous, there is no way that is possible. Then the premise of this film also had bothered me. Revenge on the guy who killed your son because your son kidnapped your daughter? No I found the premise of this film to be ill thought of a dumb. Then there is the music. In the first film it was good, this film it . . . SUCKED! I felt like it intruded on the scenes and I found it to be extremely annoying. 

So all-in-all what did I think of "Taken 2?" Well it was a good mindless action flick. If you like action just to see action you will enjoy this. Otherwise this film does not have much going for it. I will give it the rating of popcorn flick along with rent worthy. As for the rating out of five, "Taken 2" will get a 2/5 rating. 

Well thanks for reading . . . so to answer the question of seeing this film or not this weekend, well that is up to you really. If you like mindless action then yes. If your looking for a really good movie to see . . . pick something else like "Looper" if you haven't seen that yet. Well now make sure you stay tuned for more reviews of motion pictures . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff 

Taken REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present a review for the movie, "Taken." In this film a retired CIA agent goes on a hunt for his daughter after she was taken by some fugitives who kidnap young women for prostitution.

So lets begin this review with the negatives from this film. Well first of all this movie just has no break. Its like one thing is happening and then it doesn't even stall and then BAM the next thing is already happening. The plot and everything isn't the best, it is just the movie moves along way to quick and it feels rushed. The other thing that bothered me is that it really never does a good job explaining things, and it leaves a few things unresolved in the end I thought.

What does this movie have going for it though? Well Liam Neeson is the main reason this movie excels! He just pulls off an amazing performance within this film, and his action sequences within this film are just BAD-FREAKING-ASS! He really can play a bad-ass protective father. His voice too was just perfect for the role. Maggie Grace as Kim is also really good, I did enjoy her performance. The chemistry between her and Liam I thought was very believable too. The next thing I did enjoy was Pierre Morel's direction of the film. The camera angle and shots were always perfect and helped us feel like we were in the middle of the action. Speaking of which the action sequences in this film were just awesome. I loved it and in some scene you just have to cringe at what Liam Neeson does to some of the bad guys. The film was very engaging in this film and you really cared about Liam Neeson's character and what he was fighting for. I thought the writers did a really job setting that up. I also thought they had an interesting idea for the film. It was a very simple idea and they went with it in a decent way I thought. I do also want to mention the score of the film which I thought helped a lot with some action sequences and brought something to the scenes. So well done Nathaniel Méchaly.

So all-in-all this film is a great bad-ass film! It is very intriguing and engaging and I promise you will enjoy it if you love Liam Neeson. I am going to have to give it a must-see rating along with a DVD buy worthy. It is close to Blu-ray, so if you wanted to go ahead . . . it will be worth it. It is 150% a popcorn flick for a movie night and it is again BAD-ASS! As for the rating out of five I will give, "Taken" a 3.5/5 rating.

Well thanks for reading and I am hoping that you enjoyed this review. Make sure you stay tuned because now I am off to see "Taken 2" and the review of the film will be up as soon as I get home. So if you are thinking of going to see it this weekend you can see if it is worth it here. Well stay tuned for more motion picture reviews . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff

Gangs of New York REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present a review for the film, "Gangs of New York." This film takes place in 1863 in the Five Points area of New York. In this film Amsterdam Vallon (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) returns to the Five Points to seek revenge against Bill the Butcher (played by Daniel Day-Lewis), his fathers murderer.

Lets begin with the positives from this film. Well the acting from everyone is outstanding! Really, I think this is the first movie that I have ever seen with Daniel Day-Lewis and I have to say he is an amazing actor. He really "was" his character in a sense. He can also play a GREAT villian. I was just loving his performance. Then there was Leonardo DiCaprio, he always does an amazing job in every film of his I have seen. Got to love his performance. It just shocks me to see that he doesn't have an Oscar yet. Cameron Diaz is in this film and usually I am annoyed with her performances. For this film that is not the case, good job Cameron. This film also has Jim Broadbent, John C. Reilly, Brendan Gleeson, and Eddie Marsan. They all do a terrific job and I do love there performances. There is of of course more actors and actresses in this film but to many to list. Everyone though did a great job. Moving onward I did enjoy the cinematography in this film as well, very well done. I did also enjoy the sets in this film. I thought that for this film they must have had to work hard, and yeah its weird to here me mention the sets. I did enjoy them though. Moving on with the screenplay . . . I did enjoy the last half of this film, after the climax of the film I guess. It gave me a great ride after that.

The negatives now though. Well lets just say that this movie had no originality to it. You have seen this story probably a hundred times. Guy falls in love with a girl, but its captivated by his revenge against the guy! There is that and that the first half of the movie I was so confused on what was going on, and the fact that it was so slow paced and boring. The first half of the film was just a bore. The film had also just had no like meaning to it. I really never felt anything for one guy or for the other. I didn't choose a side because really I didn't care. Shouldn't it have made me care?

So all-in-all your going to get a good film that you might enjoy. The performances are great and thats what made me enjoy the film the most. So what is this movie going to get? Well I would give it a rent worthy rating . . . maybe even a DVD buy worthy. It could serve as a popcorn flick with you and your friends one night. Oh and for sure a tour-de-force. As for the rating out of five, "Gangs of New York" is going to receive a 3/5 rating.

Well thanks for reading this review. I am hoping that you enjoyed it and will come back for more. One last thing to say before I sign off this review though. Make sure you 'like' "Motion Picture Buff" on Facebook, just click the 'like' button in the sidebar. You can even click HERE! Thanks again for reading, I really appreciate it. Stay tuned now for more . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff

"Taken 2" OFFICIAL FIRST TRAILER

The "Motion Picture Buff" presents the first official trailer for the squeal to Liam Neeson's 2008 action hit, Taken 2. I say it looks kind of good and kind of dumb. Not 100% sure how I feel exactly about it yet, but check out the trailer. I think the trailer sets up the film perfectly, but the film is going to have to answer a few questions though (like how are the Mom and Liam's Character back together). I do though have hunch about a part in the film though already.

Well check it out below and let me know what you think about, "Taken 2."



The Motion Picture Buff