Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fantasy. Show all posts

Monday, February 14, 2011

Cheap The Lake House DVD

About The Lake House
When two people "connect" the bond between them can be so pure and simple as to stir hearts in heaven. When they connect in all the right places at all the wrong times, heaven weeps for broken hearts. To heal these broken hearts, heaven breaks time.

The Lake HouseThe Lake House Movie

The Lake House

If I read one more negative review of this movie that takes it to task for being "implausible," I'm afraid I will lose it completely.

I have to ask myself what these same critics (assuming they're old enough to remember it) would have said about virtually any episode of the Rod Serling classic "Twilight Zone." I think it's safe to say most of those plots were based on fairly "implausible" happenings, in comparison to our real-life, day-to-day existence.

And I'm sure Richard Donner's "Superman" movie would have felt their wrath as well, since everyone knows people can't fly.

"Implausible." Good grief.

"The Lake House" is a romantic fairy tale -- and a darned good one, too. It's NOT confusing or hard to understand at all, assuming the viewer has more than two ounces of comprehension skill.

To me, the recent film it seems closest to in subject matter and style is "Frequency," which I also enjoyed tremendously.

And yes -- call me crazy, but the things that happen in "Frequency" are fairly "implausible" too.

And, oh yeah -- since I don't really believe angels have to jump through ridiculous hoops to get their wings, I'm guessing these same Scrooges have no use for "It's a Wonderful Life," either.

Cheap The Lake House DVDThe Lake House DVD

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Cheap Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets DVD

About Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Forced to spend his summer holidays with his muggle relations, Harry Potter gets a real shock when he gets a surprise visitor: Dobby the house-elf, who warns Harry Potter against returning to Hogwarts, for terrible things are going to happen. Harry decides to ignore Dobby's warning and continues with his pre-arranged schedule. But at Hogwarts, strange and terrible things are indeed happening: Harry is suddenly hearing mysterious voices from inside the walls, muggle-born students are being attacked, and a message scrawled on the wall in blood puts everyone on his/her guard - "The Chamber Of Secrets Has Been Opened. Enemies Of The Heir, Beware".

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secretsthe Chamber of Secrets Movie

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets


Kenneth Branagh seemed a very strange choice for the hilarious Gilderoy Lockhart. I always imagined a character like Terry Thomas when reading the books. I never thought I'd say this about Kenneth Branagh, but he actually seems to under-play the part (rather than wallop it with a sledgehammer like he usually does).

One thing that did bug me... the sound-track. The Philosophers Stone was great. Another classic John Williams score. Problem is, rather than write a new score that kept the main spirit of the original (which John Williams did brilliantly in the Star Wars trilogy), they seemed to have lifted entire bits of music used in the first film, particularly the dramatic parts that you associate with a certain scene from Philosophers Stone, and transplanted it into Chamber Of Secrets! Couldn't help thinking... cheap... cheap... cheap

Three of us went to see this film at a preview screening last night, and chatting afterwards we all felt basically the same way. Good film, good fun, but lacking the "spark" that made the first film so magical. Maybe because part of the fun of Philosopher's Stone was being introduced to this strange, quirky new world and its characters. In Chamber Of Secrets, we are now familiar with this so the story takes centre stage, and at the end of the day... it aint that strong.

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Cheap Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone DVD

About Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first film in the Harry Potter series based on the novels by J.K. Rowling. It is the tale of Harry Potter, an ordinary 11-year-old boy serving as a sort of slave for his aunt and uncle who learns that he is actually a wizard and has been invited to attend the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is snatched away from his mundane existence by Hagrid, the grounds keeper for Hogwarts, and quickly thrown into a world completely foreign to both him and the viewer. Famous for an incident that happened at his birth, Harry makes friends easily at his new school. He soon finds, however, that the wizarding world is far more dangerous for him than he would have imagined, and he quickly learns that not all wizards are ones to be trusted.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stonethe Sorcerer's Stone Movie

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone


That's it! I give up! I surrender! White flag! My friends want to see the new Harry Potter that is about to be released this summer, The Order of Phoenix, but they looked at my like I just lost my head when I told them I never saw the Harry Potter films. They just said I've seen every movie yet I never saw Harry Potter? Well, I never saw the point since I don't read the books or wasn't interested in the films, it looked like typical kid's stuff to me. But my friends said they would not take me to see the movie until I've seen the films, it's now that I realize I got myself into trouble since these movies are all 2+ hours each. I just finished the first one a couple days ago.

Harry Potter lives with an extremely cruel family, but there is something different about him, he can talk to snakes and make things appear and disappear. Well, he receives a letter, he's a wizard! Not just any wizard, he is the only wizard ever to survive the wrath of Voldemort, the most wicked wizard. Harry goes to a magical school, Hogwarts, where he learns the truth of his heroic parents and meets two other wizards, Ron and Hermione who soon become his best friends and they discover the power of the sorcerer's stone and what might happen if it's put into the wrong hands.

Harry Potter I have to admit is off to a good start with me, it had wonderful and magical effects that anyone could enjoy. The actors were just so perfectly cast, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, John Cleese, we have some of England's most brilliant actors. It's a well made film, now I still haven't read the books, so I can't base this film on a comparison. Even if I did, this is the movie and the movie itself is a magical and enchanting experience. Well, I'm onto The Chamber of Secrets, wish me luck.

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Cheap Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban DVD

About Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter is having a tough time with his relatives (yet again). He runs away after using magic to inflate Uncle Vernon's sister Marge who was being offensive towards Harry's parents. Initially scared for using magic outside the school, he is pleasantly surprised that he won't be penalized after all. However, he soon learns that a dangerous criminal and Voldemort's trusted aide Sirius Black has escaped from the Azkaban prison and wants to kill Harry to avenge the Dark Lord. To worsen the conditions for Harry, vile shape-shifters called Dementors are appointed to guard the school gates and inexplicably happen to have the most horrible effect on him. Little does Harry know that by the end of this year, many holes in his past (whatever he knows of it) will be filled up and he will have a clearer vision of what the future has in store.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkabanthe Prisoner of Azkaban Movie

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Gary Oldman was good as Sirius Black, but we didn't seen enough of him. His confrontation with Rickman was emotion filled and was one of the best parts of the movie. I wish it had gone on longer.

Timothy Spall plays a disgusting and revolting Peter Pettigrew. He looked the part and played it well.

Remus Lupin was played by David Thewlis. I was not sure what to think at first; I was hoping Anthony Stewart Head (Giles from Buffy) was going to get the part. But Thewlis was excellent, he made Lupin a character you liked and cared about, a feeling you didn't get from the book. But Thewlis makes you feel that for the character. He got a fair amount of screen time, but I wanted more. Fantastic acting. I can't wait to see him come back in the next few films.

All in all, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is an good movie, as long as you don't compare it to the book or other HP movie. The plot holes really damage the film. The acting and the feel of the movie are great, but still don't quite make up the difference.

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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Cheap Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire DVD

About Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts is about to start and he is enjoying the summer vacation with his friends. They get the tickets to The Quidditch World Cup Final but after the match is over, people dressed like Lord Voldemort's 'Death Eaters' set a fire to all the visitors' tents, coupled with the appearance of Voldemort's symbol, the 'Dark Mark' in the sky, which causes a frenzy across the magical community. That same year, Hogwarts is hosting 'The Triwizard Tournament', a magical tournament between three well-known schools of magic : Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. The contestants have to be above the age of 17, and are chosen by a magical object called Goblet of Fire. On the night of selection, however, the Goblet spews out four names instead of the usual three, with Harry unwittingly being selected as the Fourth Champion. Since the magic cannot be reversed, Harry is forced to go with it and brave three exceedingly difficult tasks.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Firethe Goblet of Fire Movie

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire


I just saw the movie for the first time and i was very surprised on how good the movie relates to the book. this was my favorite book as it was transitioning into a more serious and in-dept story. No offense to the other books before as they were great too, but this is the story were its not so childish and the characters are becoming more mature and serious about their futures. the movie does a great job on its special effects, acting, and all together the direction movie went. The movie kept me on the edge of my seat with all the action, suspense(the dragon scene were especially good), and drama.If your a fan of the books, then I highly suggest that you go see it.

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Cheap Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix DVD

About Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
After a lonely summer on Privet Drive, Harry returns to a Hogwarts full of ill-fortune. Few of students and parents believe him or Dumbledore that Voldemort is really back. The ministry had decided to step in by appointing a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher that proves to be the nastiest person Harry has ever encountered. Harry also can't help stealing glances with the beautiful Cho Chang. To top it off are dreams that Harry can't explain, and a mystery behind something Voldemort is searching for. With these many things Harry begins one of his toughest years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenixthe Order of the Phoenix Movie

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix


Fantasy literature has since the beginning of time been about mediating and making sense of the real world; Harry Potter is part of this tradition.

Indeed, one of the movie's first big special effects embodies this idea. As the movie opens, Harry is the subject of a smear campaign that Valdemore has cooked up because darkness works tirelessly to triumph over the light; when his friends come to rescue him from the suburban horror show known as his adoptive family, they take him to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, a place that doesn't exist until a row of Georgian homes stretches out to reveal it. It's there, but the neighbors are unaware of it. They have no idea their building grew a house that the wizards and witches of the world can solve an internal problem. Such is life; how seldom do we know the inner workings, the coping mechanisms, the interior life of the people around us? In The Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter again does battle with evil to bring home the theme that when you fight, you fight well with and for your friends and to the death if necessary. Truth and goodness--call if love, if you want--are worth the trouble. The Gothic idiom of Harry Potter brilliantly takes the challenges Harry faces out of the present on one level even though these are very clearly 21st century characters facing contemporary challenges. Alongside the power of goodness over evil theme is the theme of the power of the imagination to find solutions to problems that are the same in every generation: politics, power games, jealousy, stupidity, growing up.

Always in Harry Potter is the clear distinction between the good guys and the bad ones right alongside the good kids and the annoying kids, who could very well become evil people if they so choose. They are tragic because they don't understand the long-range consequences of their petty cruelties--but then, as we learn in this movie, even the good kids are capable of petty cruelties that break souls. Always there is Snape, the middling Hogwarts employee who is not clearly good but not clearly bad but capable of both (until fate forces his hand in Book 6).

J.K. Rowling doesn't let anybody off of the hook of responsibility for their choices. But she does present the internal struggle for goodness and justice for the mess that it can be. Just as the Gothic world of Hogwarts helps Harry and his friends mediate the real world, so Rowling helps her readers see the world for what it is. This is a world that can give me nightmares, though not my daughter and my nephews. Perhaps because all they really need is an honest story.

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Monday, January 31, 2011

Cheap The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD

About The Twilight Saga: New Moon
After Bella recovers from the vampire attack that almost claimed her life, she looks to celebrate her birthday with Edward and his family. However, a minor accident during the festivities results in Bella's blood being shed, a sight that proves too intense for the Cullens, who decide to leave the town of Forks, Washington for Bella and Edward's sake. Initially heartbroken, Bella finds a form of comfort in reckless living, as well as an even-closer friendship with Jacob Black. Danger in different forms awaits.

The Twilight Saga: New MoonNew Moon Movie

The Twilight Saga: New Moon


I loved the Twilight movie, that's how I started reading the books in the first place. I've read them about ten times each and I still like them. But New Moon's big screen adaptation was a huge let down.

One thing that was improved was that many of the characters actually smiled or laughed naturally when the moment called for it, as opposed to the "I don't crack a smile cause I'm a seriously deadly vampire" routine in Twilight.

I liked the portrayal of Alice, she seemed more like what she should be according to the book, Charlie and I also liked the wolves and the rest of the special effects.

But I couldn't feel the bond between Edward and Bella. I couldn't believe that they loved each other. Hell, I couldn't believe they even liked each other. Even at the end, after their ordeal, after deciding that they would never let each other go, they were frigid. The actors just delivered their lines, they didn't feel them.

The score ranged from awful to non-existent. It seems as though it was not written specifically for New Moon. Carter Burwell's score brings to memory specific scenes in Twilight. This one is an indifferent, generic one, I guess it would fit in whatever movie you threw it in.

However, the most important flaw was that the entire movie seemed very rushed, like it was originally supposed to be much longer but somebody edited it heavily and really, really badly. For example, in an instant we are informed that Edward is going to commit suicide thinking Bella's dead, she drives off with Alice *bang* next thing you know you see a plane in the air, *bang* next thing you know Alice and Bella are already inside the stolen car on their way to Volterra and it carries on like that until the end.

No character development, no bonds between them, no space to breathe, no explanation whatsoever of how things happened or how decisions were made, nothing but a hastily chopped up summary of the book.

Cheap The Twilight Saga: New Moon DVDThe Twilight Saga: New Moon DVD

Cheap Twilight DVD

About Twilight
Bella Swan has always been a little bit different. Never one to run with the crowd, Bella never cared about fitting in with the trendy, plastic girls at her Phoenix, Arizona high school. When her mother remarried and Bella chooses to live with her father in the rainy little town of Forks, Washington, she didn't expect much of anything to change. But things do change when she meets the mysterious and dazzlingly beautiful Edward Cullen. For Edward is nothing like any boy she's ever met. He's nothing like anyone she's ever met, period. He's intelligent and witty, and he seems to see straight into her soul. In no time at all, they are swept up in a passionate and decidedly unorthodox romance - unorthodox because Edward really isn't like the other boys. He can run faster than a mountain lion. He can stop a moving car with his bare hands. Oh, and he hasn't aged since 1918. Like all vampires, he's immortal...

TwilightTwilight Movie

Twilight

I guess those who hate the movie do not know what a bad movie really is. You can call a movie bad when you regret that you watched it and when you feel that you have lost two hours without any good reason. "Twilight" is not that kind of movie. It has a sense of direction and it is not just "flowing around" like other movies. Acting is pretty decent. Although I thought Kristen Stewart was an awful actress, Robert Pattinson (Ed Cullen) and Cam Gigandet (James, the villain vampire) excel in their roles. Although the story is not one of the most original ones, it does not bore people and if you have nothing to do, I would recommend seeing "Twilight".

Oh, and by the way, for all the girls who adore "Twilight", I guess I get them. After all, Ed Cullen is good-looking, super-strong, super-fast, sensitive, who wouldn't like him?
Cheap Twilight DVD

Saturday, January 29, 2011

Cheap Twilight Saga: Eclipse DVD

About Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Bella once again finds herself surrounded by danger as Seattle is ravaged by a string of mysterious killings and a malicious vampire continues her quest for revenge. In the midst of it all, she is forced to choose between her love for Edward and her friendship with Jacob -- knowing that her decision has the potential to ignite the struggle between vampire and werewolf. With her graduation quickly approaching, Bella is confronted with the most important decision of her life.

Twilight Saga: EclipseEclipse Movie

Twilight Saga: Eclipse

Look, I watched the first 20 minutes of the first movie and took it out of my DVD player and smashed it. After deciding to read the books, I have come conclusions that the Author really got men screwed up. According to the author, a masculine man is pale, wears lip balm, glitters during the day, nail polish, crappy hair, weak looking, scrawny and looks like a junkie. A while a gay man is someone strong, muscular, tanned, toned, tall and runs around in a pack and works as a team. As someone who works in a team everyday for the Army, I find this offensive. I boycott these movies and books all the time I recommend others to join.

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Friday, January 28, 2011

Cheap Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole DVD

About Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole
Soren, a young barn owl, is kidnapped by owls of St. Aggie's, ostensibly an orphanage, where owlets are brainwashed into becoming soldiers. He and his new friends escape to the island of Ga'Hoole, to assist its noble, wise owls who fight the army being created by the wicked rulers of St. Aggie's. The film is based on the first three books in the series.

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hooleThe Owls of Ga'hoole DVD

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole

This was absolutely fantastic.

The storyline, although portraying a certain adventure-y theme that we've seen in countless anims, is utterly fantastic. The awesome animations added with digital 3d only enhance the experience, with the slo-mo scenes and native music within those scenes furthering the experience.The amazing attention to detail just makes it better. You can see every droplet of rain, every particle of dust. Especially in the slo mo moments, it is just fantastic. I, myself, was utterly engrossed in the storyline. Although there was more violence than what i would have expected in a G rated movie (what can you expect from the guy that directed 300 xD) it still is a great movie, and i absolutely cant wait for the sequel(s?) that the movie hinted at towards the end. In my list of best animated movies of all time, this rockets up past avatar (thats like semi-animated) to my number one favorite movie of all time...

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