Die Another Day REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present his second review of his reviews of the James Bond franchise. Here he reviews 2002's "Die Another Day." In this Bond film, James is sent to find out about the connection between a North Korean terrorist and a diamond mogul who is funding the development of a international space weapon.

Well lets begin with the negatives for this movie shall we? First things first, I am going to have to say that in this Bond film there were a lot of pointless explosions that really made no sense at all. Car would hit a house . . . BOOM bursts into flames. Next thing is next that this Bond film just doesn't feel like a Bond film at all. It doesn't really have that spy feel to it. Maybe it is the fact that I don't think Pierce Brosnan is really a good choice for James Bond, or maybe the studio lost the feel of what Bond really was about.

Other than that I really enjoyed this 007 movie! Why do I really enjoy this one? Well the plot behind it is actually very interesting and it seems to make sense. Everything just clicks and it creates a good story that keeps you on the edge of your seat wanting more. Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were the screenwriters for this film, and I think they did a good job with this Bond. Director Lee Tamahori was at the helm of this film and I think he did a good job with it. The action sequences are engaging and exciting. You will enjoy them for sure. The score is good and fits along with the action, and of course the James Bond theme is just as good as ever. Now for the acting well I may not like Pierce as James bond, but he is does a decent job with this film. He keeps the action cool and enjoyable. Halle Berry is awesome in this film, she could be a spy in real life and you would never even know it. Toby Stephens plays one of the bad guys in this film and let me just say his performance in this film I enjoyed the most. He really played a bad guy extremely well. He had that look in his face throughout the film that just helped his performance I thought. There were of course other actors/actresses in this film and I think everyone did a good job and helped create a enjoyable addition to the James Bond franchise.

So all-in-all a good addition to the Bond franchise that just has good action and a good point to it. For the ratings I will give it a popcorn flick for sure. Good film to kick back with some buddies and watch. It will get a Blu-ray buy worthy rating, but still don't think this bond is even worthy of a must-see rating. Just not that good yet. As for the rating out of five, "Die Another Day" will get a 3.5/5 rating.

Well thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this review. To see my first review of the first James Bond film CLICK HERE. I also want to mention that you can follow the "Motion Picture Buff" on Twitter HERE. So thanks again and make sure you stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff

Dr. No REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present the beginning of the James Bond reviews with the first Bond movie, "Dr. No." In this film James Bond must investigate the death of a colleague in Jamaica. This leads him to a mysterious island, which also leads him to the mysterious Dr. No. Dr. No has plans to end the United States space program.

So shall we begin this with some positives about this film? Well the acting I am going to say I enjoyed. Sean Connery was the perfect James Bond for the age. He had the looks, the voice, and he played the part perfectly. Ursula Andress, Jack Lord, Bernard Lee, and others were also in this film. I thought the acting from each individual was enjoyable. Not amazing, but good enough to enjoy. Moving on I am going to have to say the whole premise of James Bond is quite interesting to me. I love spy mysteries. They are good, especially when they are played out well. This one seems to be pretty good and keeps you interested at what is happening. I will say I did like the direction by Terence Young. I thought it was pretty good, and I felt like he helped create an intriguing film. Oh I did also want to say that the score and the James Bond Theme is just AMAZING. I give a lot of credit to Monty Norman for creating a great score. I loved it.

Other than that though I have a bit about this movie to complain about. I am going to start with the end of the movie. Well I feel like it was WAY to quick. I mean they had about an hour an a half build up to the end and it ended in a matter of maybe five to ten minutes. I just felt like it could have been a better battle between the good and evil in the end.  Then there is the fact that this movie at some points could be extremely slow and boring. I mean there are points in the film where nothing happens for at least 10-20 minutes. Just dialogue and some of it not even that interesting. Their is also the villian Dr. No. Maybe I missed it but do they explain what was wrong with his hands? Like what happened to them?

So all-in-all a decent start to a franchise that is still going on today. "Dr. No" came out in 1962 and "Skyfall" will be released in the US in less than two week. Their have been 23 Bond movies today, and "Dr. No" definitely set the tradition for the Bond films. I enjoyed it and if you enjoy a good spy film, so will you. As for the ratings, I will give it a DVD buy rating along with a popcorn flick rating. A must-see? I am going to have to say no. For the rating out of five, "Dr. No" will get a 3/5 rating.

Well thanks for reading and I hope you have enjoyed. Their are more Bond movie reviews coming soon so make sure you stay tuned for them. I did also want to say that make sure you "like" the "Motion Picture Buff" on Facebook HERE. Thanks again ands stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff

Cloud Atlas REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present a review for the anticipated movie, "Cloud Atlas." In this film it shows how the acts of an individual life can affect lives of the past, present, and future. It also shows us how everything is connected in a way throughout each century. How one soul can transform from a killer into a hero.

So hm shall I start with the negatives first? I literally had to sleep on this movie because I was not sure what to think, but I will do my best to give this film justice. First negative I really noticed was that in some scenes it was hard to tell what the actors were saying. I was listening hard but it just seemed like their words were muffled. The next thing was that this movie could be extremely confusing at times. Their were scenes in this film that didn't really have anything to do the main point of the film. So in the end the film could have probably been at least 30 minutes shorter; as it is pushing the three hour mark already. The last thing I guess I would have to mention would be that it skips from each time-place to quickly in some spots, but at times this could also be a good thing.

Now for the good parts about "Cloud Atlas." Well first of all for being a three hour movie, it really had kept me intrigued and interested the entire time. Their were times when I was sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for something to happen, and their were also times where I was almost crying! Plus there is this one scene with Jim Broadbent that I actually put my hands in the air cause it made me happy. I did want to mention also that at one point I couldn't look because I was scared to see what was going to happen. Of course though I looked. So this film did good with all the emotions it had. The next thing I wanted to mention was that how it kept the tone of the movie together well. Like their would be a battle scene and then it would show that tone throughout each timezone. I thought it did this well, so I guess I will give credit to the directors there. The premise of the movie too is very interesting and I did like how it wrapped it all up. The love stories in it were very heartwarming and each individual story I enjoyed. Last thing to mention really though is that all of the acting from all of the cast in this film was very good. I enjoyed everyone's multiple performances in this film. I would mention some but this review is dragging on. My favorite though I would have to say is Jim Broadbent's.

So all-in-all a three hour movie that you really have to think about and pay attention, but it is actually enjoyable. You might be confused at times, but go home and think about it because you will. As for the ratings I am going to give it a Blu-Ray buy worthy rating. It has some neat visuals in it that would be worth it, plus the cinematography I enjoyed. It's not must-see worthy though, its that kind of movie that is preference to what you enjoy, and I enjoy this type of film. For sure though I am going to give it tour-de-force. As for the rating out of five, "Cloud Atlas" is going to get a worthy 3.5/5 rating.

Well thanks for reading and I hope you did enjoy this review. So make sure you stay tuned for more . . . coming soon because "Bond" is coming . . . "James Bond."

The Motion Picture Buff

Black Swan REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present a review for the 2010 movie, "Black Swan." In this film a ballet dancer is the prefect dancer for the white swan in "Swan Lake." She wins the lead role, but as time progresses she becomes more and more like the black swan.

Well shall we begin with the negatives of the film? Well lets just say that in some points of this film it can be SUPER slow and just down right boring. Then there is times when it is hard to distinguish between Nina's (main character) imaginations or reality. There are times when I had a hard time telling if what was going on was real or not. I did also want to mention that at some points this film could just be a little bit to weird. There are parts where it is good, but then there is just the down right weird scenes. So to recap this film could be boring and slow-paced at times, and also that it could get confusing when it came to Nina's reality.

Other than that I really liked this film quite a bit. Natalie Portman was just OUTSTANDING. Seriously if anyone ever deserved their Oscar it was 100% her. This girl can really act the dual personalties just perfectly. Natalie was also really good at the depressed look Nina always had. She was literally transformed into her character, Nina. Mila Kunis is also in this film and she just like Natalie, did incredible. The chemistry between them too was amazing! Now, the rest of the cast also included: Vincent Cassel, Barbara Hershey, and more. The cast was filled with amazing talent and great dancers. Speaking of dancing, everyone did fantastic. The choreography was just outstanding and if Natalie did all her own dancing . . . well done is what I have to say. I usually am not a dancer type person and I do not enjoy watching it usually, but holy shit was this dancing good in this film. I do also want to move onto the cinematography of the film. I thought it was literally beautiful for this film, and helped the film with its feel of dark emotions. So I guess a well done does go to the cinematographer, Matthew Libatique. Now the story of this film I thought was very intriguing as well. It's a girl transforming/losing herself to her character she has to become for the part she so desires. I thought Mark Heyman, John L. McLaughlin, and Andres Heinz created a good script, just needed to fix issues above. Now director Darren Aronofsky was at the helm of this movie. I can say he did a good job with this movie. I was interested and pulled into it, just needed to fix issues above. Yet though he did do a good job.

So all-in-all a good film that is enjoyable. It has its negatives, but then it has it's strong points; one of them being the cast! For the ratings I am going to give it only a rent worthy rating. Its not a movie you need to buy because it really isn't something you will watch over and over again. It's possible that it is a must-see film though because Natalie's performance is just that good, plus it is still rather enjoyable movie. It is 100% a tour-de-force film too. As for the rating out of five, "Black Swan" will get a 3.5/5 rating.

Well thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed this review. I do want to mention that I only have one more review/post before I will be doing my 100th blog post! The 100th post is going to be for a special movie to me. It's not my number one movie, but it is a movie that made me fall in love with the film industry. So stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff

The Green Mile REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present a review for the movie, "The Green Mile." In this film  the lives of guards on Death Row are affected by one of their charges: a big black man who is accused of child murder and rap, yet has an extraordinary gift.

Well I might as well start off this review with the positives. So, the acting in this film is great! Tom Hanks really gives another great performance like he always does of course. He is really Paul Edgecomb in this film for sure. Then of course I have to mention Micheal Clarke Duncan (may he rest in peace). He really is amazing in this film. I have never seen this movie before, and I was truly moved by his performance in this film. He really gave an amazing performance as John Coffey. David Morse, James Cromwell, Sam Rockwell, Doug Hutchinson, Harry Dean Stanton, Jeffery DeMunn, and Michael Jeter are also in this movie. Well done, well done to all of you! I love it when a movie has a great cast that really fits there characters. It makes a movie so much more enjoyable. This movie script does really good with all the emotions that are in this situation that we are watching. You laugh, you cry, your even terrified, and then at one point your even horrified at what happens. So yes, I thought the movie did a good job with those emotions within the film. The story or premise I guess behind this film was also very good. It was very interesting to watch it play out. Now I do want to mention that the sound effects in this movie were awesome in fact. I usually don't mention sound effects, but in this film I actually noticed how good they were to the scene. I thought the sound team did a good job with this film.

Now I do have a negative to say about this film and I really think that this is the only thing I can think of, otherwise this film was in fact really good. "The Green Mile" really just DRAGS and DRAGS onward slowly. This film probably could have been about two hours long, but instead it is over three. This film just moves along so slowly, and in some spots to slowly. There are points in this film where you are just waiting/ hoping for something exciting to happen, but it probably won't happen for at least another five to ten minutes. Their are actually two more things I wanted to mention. First of all, how and why does John Coffey have the extraordinary gift? I really think they should have explained that? Then there is the fact that would a life sentence last that long? I feel like it would be a lot quicker right?

So all-in-all a slow moving movie that has truly phenomenal performances baked into it. For the ratings I am going to give this film a must-see rating because of Micheal Clarke Duncan's performance along with everyone else's. They all do a really good job. I will give it a DVD buy rating too along with a tour-de-force rating also. As for the rating out of five, "The Green Mile" is going to receive a 3.5/5 rating.

Well thanks for reading this review and I really hope you enjoyed it. Sorry for the delay in reviews, been busy around here but remember I can't promise one everyday anymore. I am attending Full Sail University and I have to work alongside that. I do promise some more tonight though. So make sure you stay tuned for more . . . coming soon.

The Motion Picture Buff

The Amazing Spider-Man REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" would like to present a review for the reboot film of a series loved by many, "The Amazing Spider-Man," which stars Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. We all know the classic tale of Spider-Man right? A high school student named, Peter Parker, (Andrew's Character) gets bit by a biological spider and develops spiderlike powers that he uses to fight crime. That is really the basic Spider-Man story. So shall we review this new retelling of a classic tale?

Lets start with the positives of this film because there were many! The first thing I want to say is that this Spider-Man story is way better told that Sam Raimi's story told back in 2002 with, "Spider-Man."  The story line of this film just follows a more believable story of events, and like a lot of people have said, "It stays truer to the story of Spider-Man." Moving on to acting from this film. Let me just say that Andrew Garfield was meant to play Spider-Man. He just pulls off that cocky tone Spider-Man has, but when Andrew needs to be serious for his role he can pull that off greatly also. Andrew and Emma have amazing chemistry together. It was literally so believable. Its like I think they should be dating in the real world but I remembered this is just there acting for this movie. The guy who played Dr. Curt Connors, who is actually played by, Rhys Ifans, does an incredible job. He was meant to play him as well. Then there is Emma Stone as her character Gwen Stacy. She does it really well. It seems like Emma always does an incredible job in her movies. I cannot think of one movie where she is bad at her role? Now Gwen Stacy's dad, Captian Stacy is played by, Denis Leary, and let me just say he can played a cop. Now I remember sitting in the theater thinking that the score of this movie is just incredible, and when I am done here I have to look that up. I didn't have to wait though, because we were watching the credits because in Marvel movie's there is always that extra clip right? Well I saw that one of my favorite composers did this movie and I want to say props to James Horner for putting together an excellent score. I most definitely will have to buy that sometime. The rest of this film like the directing was all great. 

With almost every movie though there has to be some negatives to it. I have a short list of negatives for this film though. Starting with the fact that I felt like this movie revealed Spider-Man's true identity to to many people. That kind of bothered me. Then there was the fact that this movie could be a little slow at some points where I was like, "Come on, get to the point here." Then probably the last negative I have is that I feel like there was no build up to Peter becoming Spider-Man. It was just like "Blurp, I am Spiderman." So yeah that bothered me. 

All-in-all though this movie is defiantly better than the original Spider-Man films created to you by Sam Raimi years ago. It is 100% a must-see film. So if you haven't seen it in theaters yet, you are missing out. Make sure you check it out before it is gone. If so make sure you buy it on Blu-Ray when that comes out. For a rating it will receive a 4 out of 5. 

Well again thanks for reading. Now make sure you stay tuned though, I have some new things coming to the blog today (if Wifi cooperates with me). Make sure you spread the word about the blog (if you enjoy it. It helps me greatly, more than you know. Also make sure, if you haven't, that you subscribe to the blog here by email in the sidebar to the right. Once subscribed you will receive emails once I update the blog with a new post. So make sure you do that. Also you only have like two days left to vote on the most recent poll, so make sure you do that. Again though thanks for reading, and make sure you stay tuned for more . . . coming soon. 

The Motion Picture Buff 

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

Buried REVIEW

The "Motion Picture Buff" presents a review for the motion picture "Buried," a Rodrigo Cortés film. This film is about Paul Conroy (played by Ryan Reynolds), who is a truck driver in Iraq. He and other truck drivers were ambushed, and Paul was knocked out in the ambush. The next thing he knows is that he is stuck in a coffin, and so the movie ensues it's plot from there. I am going to give this film a marvelous rating of 8/10. There wasn't much I hated at all about this film, as you can see. Even the things that bothered me were very minor.

So to get rid of the negatives right away, I would like to say that Ryan Reynolds did his most amazing performance I have ever seen. At times though I thought he wasn't doing his best. He still made me believe though everything. I was lost in his character, but I just thought he lost some off his great acting he had in this film at some points within the film. Other than that um oh yeah the . . . well I will not say but . . . Where did it come from? (If you have seen this it should make sense what I just said). My sister saw this movie before me and ended up telling me, and it had made sense that it could have happened that way. I never saw it though, so yeah though just a little thing. (Sorry if a bit confusion but trying not to give anything away). There was also some camera shots I didn't like at some points, I thought they were in the complete wrong spot. Oh, one other thing I have to say though is that I didn't really like this one scene, it really had no relevance and it was weird.

Now the rest of this movie was just absolutely perfect. I love the beginning of the film. I could have thought of 10 other ways to start the film, but the way they did is most likely the absolute best. It keeps in tone with the rest of the movie really because, if they would have done it my ways it would have been the only other odd scene. The ending is another one of those hate and love endings I mentioned in my "Last Night" Review. I loved it more in this film because it just made it absolutely perfect, down to the very last second it was. As I said above, Ryan Reynolds acted his heart out in this film. It was just so freaking believable all the time. He really made me nervous while I was watching the film. I felt like I was in the box with him the whole time. That would probably have to do with some of the direction of the film and camera angles. Ryan though did an excellent job playing a part while being stuck in a coffin. It just shocked me how believable it was. I was totally immersed in the film the whole time. I was screaming for him, crying with him, and feeling all the emotions he felt while he was in the box. By the end you feel somewhat claustrophobic. The score of this film was pretty decent I thought. I also loved the dialogue in this film. Chris Sparling, the writer of "Buried," did an excellent job with that I will have to say. I would though like to say thanks to everyone who helped make this film. It truly was very incredible.

So all-in-all a marvelous film that I enjoyed very much. Just had a few minor things that had bothered me with it now that I think about it. It is a must-see movie though, so it would be good for a movie night one night (popcorn flick). If your ever in the mood for a thriller/mystery, well this would be a great one to watch.

Well thanks for reading, and make sure you subscribe by email to the blog in the sidebar. Then you will know when I update the blog next with more reviews or movie news and information. Vote in the poll in the sidebar also (JUST UPDATED). You can also check out the movie I might be reviewing next on the list of movies I have on the other page. Comment below though if you have seen this movie, and let mw know what you thought about it? Also leave suggestions for movies for me to review next. You are one step closer to being a "Motion Picture Buff," but make sure you stay tuned for more . . .

The Motion Picture Buff