The Video Game/Movie Review Blog

This movie was definitely more of an enigma to me than the first film. I think the biggest reason is that this film feels like a mishmash of so many styles, with the Batman story as an afterthought that things can get muddled. How does it stack up? Well, let's find out. This second Batman story sees Batman, played once again by Michael Keaton, as he goes up against the deformed Penguin, played disturbingly by Danny Devito, and has a very unique love/hate relationship with Catwoman, played by Michelle Pfeiffer. The movie definitely has a lot of good moments, but this one feels more like a Tim Burton movie than the first, with all the dark weirdness that you'd expect from one of his movies. The acting is probably one of the best parts, with you getting to see just how despicable and disgusting of a character they make the Penguin. This version of the penguin is so detestable that it makes the previous film's Joker look like a kind, loving, and sensitive man. Everything the Pe...

I have to say, as a longtime Batman fan, getting to watch this film again for the purposes of reviewing it was such a joy. It has so many good elements to it that would become essential parts of the Batman mythos, and my personal favorite of the original four Batman films. The story focuses on Batman, played as a dark and mysterious vigilante by Michael Keaton as he tries to protect Gotham City from the insane Joker, played by Jack Nicholson, who is clearly having the time of his life in the role. It's a pretty fun story, and was a good introductory film to the world of Batman, which is a lot darker than the Superman films at the time were. I feel the acting was absolutely phenomenal, mostly from Keaton and Nicholson. I know everyone says it, but Nicholson does indeed steal the show, hamming it up at any chance he can get and being a perfectly offbeat and eccentric villain, which is a perfect balance to Keaton's more serious and straight laced Batman. The thing I enjoyed about ...

You know when there is no reason for a movie to exist? This is one of those times. Like, if I had to end the original Superman film series, I feel it should have ended after Superman II, even if I like Superman III to an extent. This movie was entirely pointless. The plot, I guess, is about Superman ending nuclear war, which Lex Luthor decides to take advantage of and somehow creates a Nuclear Man to combat Superman. It's kind of by the numbers and everything feels like it has been done before, except on a lower budget. I don't really have much more to say about this one other than it just wasn't a memorable movie, so this review is going to be a short one. The idea of Superman confronting an, at the time, real threat was a good concept, and was actually an idea from Christopher Reeve himself, if I remember correctly. At the end of the day, this movie doesn't stand out at all, and feels very derivative of both the first and second Superman films. Watch it if you want bu...

What was this movie? No seriously. What was this movie? I feel like I may have just watched a whole two hours worth of absolutely nothing. What was the plot? Honestly, from what I can gather, it's the most pathetic and sexist plot imaginable. Supergirl goes to Earth because of a MacGuffin or something and there's a witch who casts a love spell on a man but he falls in love with Supergirl instead so now the witch hates Supergirl. This movie is so dumb! The acting was dumb, the writing was dumb, I was constantly questioning my sanity throughout the whole thing. The story makes no sense, and this movie literally has no reason to exist at all. I hate this movie so much. If you want to watch a good story about Supergirl, watch the TV series with Melissa Benoist as Supergirl instead. It's a better told story and it is respectful to the Supergirl character. Don't watch this movie ever. Next time, we journey back to Superman himself, in what is his most dangerous foe yet: Nucle...

This movie, even after not having watched it for a couple of years, is still a guilty pleasure for me all the same. I don't think this is high art by any means, and this film definitely is very flawed, but it definitely has a charm that I can't help but admire. The story is a little confusing, since it more focuses on the character of Gus Gorman, played by comedian Richard Pryor, who ends up being a computer genius, and whose skills end up being used for evil by the Lex Luthor wannabe Ross Webster, played by Robert Vaughn. As far as that goes, it's not a great story, and a lot of the scenes do fall flat, especially when the movie opens with a gigantic slapstick sequence. There are two portions of the movie which I really enjoy, though, and they are really good scenes in my opinion. First off, we have Superman getting corrupted and becoming evil. Everything about that sequence of events is amazing and Christopher Reeve is unrecognizable as the evil Superman, and the way they...

Now, I was definitely surprised with this one, since I tend to compare it unfavorably to Man of Steel, which is my favorite of the Superman films. All I can say on that is that people give Man of Steel crap for stuff that Superman II did at first, and people just seemed to ignore that fact. Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about this movie. The story is about the continued adventures of Superman, played once again by Christopher Reeve, as he begins to develop a romance with Lois Lane, played by Margot Kidder, and goes up against a group of three evil Kryptonians, led by General Zod, played by Terence Stamp. The story was a lot better, and I felt it balanced Superman's motivations with Zod's motivations to where the plot felt more...fleshed out. It made Zod into a real threat that actually gives Superman some trouble. I do wish there was more interaction between Superman and Zod, and Zod felt a little cartoony at times, but for what it was, it worked. I will sa...

This movie is definitely an enigma to me. I know, considering this is considered to be the movie that put superheroes in the public eye. I'd say it was a good start, but it was far from a perfect film. The story is about the origins of Superman, played with perfection by Christopher Reeve, and, to an extent, showing his rivalry with Lex Luthor, played by Gene Hackman. The plot has a lot going on, and yet, at the same time, nothing going on. It's mostly an origin story with vignettes of Superman saving people for the rest of the film. While that may have been good for the audiences of the late 70s, and don't get me wrong, some of those sequences are great, especially Superman quipping throughout the whole thing, I couldn't help but feel I wanted more substance to the story. Like Lex Luthor and his plan felt like an afterthought more than anything, which took away from any emotional impact the film may have been trying to give. Overall, it does its job of establishing Sup...

Going into this movie, I remembered it had a fair amount to do with silent films and the early days of film in general. What I didn't realize is how much respect Scorsese shows to the genre, and I feel it is a perfect homage to the subject. The story is about a young boy named Hugo Cabret, played by Asa Butterfield, who, in looking for parts to fix an automaton for his late father, ends up getting to know a girl named Isabel, portrayed by Chloe Grace Moretz, and her godfather, Papa Georges, played by Ben Kingsley. I loved the detail they gave to the world and the characters around Hugo, and it really made everything feel so much more alive. The actors did phenomenal in the story, even the supporting actors, like Sacha Baron Cohen, Emily Mortimer, and Christopher Lee didn't feel useless, and they all contributed in some way. The cinematography was a lot softer, similar to what you'd find in a family film, which is what this was supposed to be. And, just like the characters h...

This was one wild ride. It started out one way and ended on quite another. In a way, I feel it perfectly describes almost a descent into madness and one of Scorsese's finest films to date. The story was about the multi-talented Howard Hughes, played to perfection by Leonardo DiCaprio, and his journey from aspiring filmmaker and aircraft engineer to an obsessive recluse. There was a lot to unpack, and while the other performances were great, everything was revolving around Hughes at the end of the day, which I thought was perfect. This film perfects the 'show and don't tell' formula with how they depict Howard's mannerisms, with it showing him having obsessive compulsive tendencies, but never actually saying it outright. The film knows the audience is smart enough to figure it out, and it was nice to not have to be spoonfed every detail, and instead, Scorsese allows the story to flow naturally. Some of DiCaprio's best acting is when Hughes is at his lowest point,...

Going into this movie, I only know about the controversy this had with China. I understand why now I have seen it, but my first thoughts on this film were that it was really dark. The film is about the life story of the 14th Dalai Lama and his eventual escape from Tibet after China takes over. I thought the story was well told, and I think it was really gutsy of Martin Scorsese to want to tell this story knowing, to some extent, the backlash this movie would recieve. The acting was well done, especially for people who were not actors, but I'd say the cinematography and the score are the ones that need the most praise, with Phillip Glass providing an epic score that conveyed lots of different emotions throughout and the visuals appropriately sweeping. So, would I say this is a good film? Yes, yes I would. I liked the way it went about telling the story and I could feel the emotions of the characters well as I went through it. This movie was intense, and it got dark in the back half ...

This film, I wasn't sure how I would feel about it when I started it. By the end, I definitely found it quite interesting, but the theme seemed very similar to a previous film by Scorsese. It takes place at New York in the 1870s, with Daniel Day-Lewis playing the role of Newland Archer, a man engaged to May Welland, played by Winona Ryder, who ends up helping Countess Ellen Oleska, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, out of an unhappy marriage. Things get a little complicated as Archer begins to have feelings for Countess Oleska, and he has to choose what is right for him. The acting was pretty solid, if understated, which I feel is pretty accurate to the feel of late 19th century New York. The visuals were definitely amazing, with this being the most visually stunning film I have seen by Scorsese yet. The ending portions felt very similar to New York, New York, though, so if you've seen that film, then you kind of know how it ends. I thought, overall, that while the movie had good ac...

I was very much anticipating this film a lot, and, I have to say, it did not disappoint. This is definitely one of Martin Scorsese's underrated classics, and a surprisingly good commentary on celebrity fandom. The story is about an aspiring comedian named Rupert Pupkin, played by Robert De Niro, who is obsessed with late night talk show host Jerry Langford, played by Jerry Lewis, and wishes to appear on his show. While initially appearing to be your average starstruck fan, as the show goes on, he is shown to be a lot more than just that. The acting was absolutely amazing, with both De Niro and Lewis turning in great performances. I love the more serious role that Jerry Lewis got to play for the film, as a celebrity who is being overwhelmed by so many crazy fans and just wants to live as close to a normal life as he can. On the flipside, Robert De Niro shows himself to have an absolutely unhealthy obsession with Jerry Lewis' character, to the point where he just gets more and mo...

I swear, Mr. Scorsese really loves to play with my expectations. This film looked like it was going to go one way, and then, by the end, it went a completely different way. Surprisingly, I was impressed by this and how it went about telling the story. The story is about an aspiring saxophone player named Jimmy Doyle, portrayed by Robert De Niro and an aspiring singer named Francine Evans, played by Liza Minnelli, who end up falling in love and perform together. But as time goes on, things start to change between them, and their relationship also changes considerably, especially by the end. I have to say that the way it ended was fantastic, and the Happy Endings portion of the film was really well done, I felt, and quite symbolic of how Jimmy and Francine's relationship played out. The performances were amazing with Robert De Niro turning in a great performance and really showing the various sides of his character, and you can see the motivations in just how he moves or looks around...

Okay, this is the beginning of what I have dubbed 'The week of Scorsese", where every day, for the next week, I will be watching a film by acclaimed filmmaker Martin Scorsese. Now, people have said this wasn't a typical Scorsese film, but for what it was, I really liked it a lot. The story follows Alice, played by Ellen Burstyn, who, after the death of her abusive husband, leaves her home with her young son and tries to make ends meet, and along the way, may encounter some new romance as well. I have to say that this film felt very much like a slice of life sort of film, kind of getting to see the life of a newly single mother and how she learns to make decisions for herself where before she was beholden to her husband. The acting was great, with the best performance clearly going to Burstyn for her genuinely human performance, showing many different sides to Alice's character, and it made me really connect with her a lot. I'd say the other performances that really...

This movie was...not quite what I expected in terms of how everything went down, but at the end of the day, this film was actually pretty fun, even if it was a little lacking at some parts. The story is about a team of soldiers, led by Milla Jovovich, who are teleported into an alternate universe where monsters reign supreme and they have to try to return home. Now, this is nothing like the games, but for what it was, it still worked pretty well. The acting was fine, but this was a film devoted to showing you all the crazy CGI monsters, and, as far as that went, it definitely delivered. They were appropriately massive and scary, feeling like they just stepped out of the game. My favorite monster fights were the ones against the Diablos and the Rathalos. Both were intense, and I loved how it felt like the odds were stacked against the hunters, yet they still manage to win out in the end. Overall, this was a super fun movie, even if character development took a backseat to giant monster ...

Once again, this film has a unique history with me. When they debuted the first trailer for it, I, like so many others, was horrified by what they did to Sonic's design. Then there was the whole thing about the movie getting delayed a year because of all the craziness surrounding his design. Once the new design was debuted, well, it seemed like the film could be better, and, well, it definitely was. The plot is basically about an alien hedgehog named Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, and a police officer named Tom, played by James Marsden, who are on the run from the evil Dr. Robotnik, played by Jim Carrey, who wants to capture and dissect Sonic. It's a fairly simple plot, but the film offers a lot of fun plot points, especially with Robotnik, so I had a blast with it. Ben Schwartz does a surprisingly good job as Sonic and feels like a good fit for the role, especially with his cockiness and his sense of humor. James Marsden also did pretty good, and he was clearly enjoying himsel...

Well, this movie definitely did not live up to the hype I had seen the reviews paint for it. Now, that's not to say that this movie was bad, in fact, far from it, but to say this one was better than the first one? I just...I can't see why. The plot basically involves the pigs and the birds teaming up against Zeta, an eagle who lives on a third island, called Eagle Island, and want to turn Bird Island and Piggy Island into her own private resorts. I didn't mind the plot overall, but my biggest gripe with the movie was they had a secondary subplot about three baby birds who lose three eggs and go on an adventure to save them. It was clearly there to appeal to the kids instead of moving the story forward and I was always annoyed when I had to see the baby birds yet again. The acting was fine, although I didn't pay much attention to it this time, since I feel like the movie didn't care about it as much. This movie was trying to be better than the first one, but, along t...

This film is the one that, when I first saw it in theaters, felt like definitive proof that there were good video game movies out there. Rewatching it for what seems like the millionth time just reinforces that belief for me. I just legitimately love this movie a lot. The plot is a little complicated at times, but it basically involves a young man, played by Justice Smith, who teams up with a talking Pikachu, voiced by Ryan Reynolds, to find out what happened to his missing father. The plot is still quite fun despite the fact it's a fairly typical detective plot, and the Pokémon spin on things really gives it a unique feel all the same. As far as the acting goes, this is actually one of the better acted films as well, with Justice Smith and Ryan Reynolds turning in funny, entertaining, and surprisingly earnest performances. I'd also give props to Bill Nighy for his supporting role as the mayor, Howard Clifford, and he's a seriously underrated actor who always is a joy to wa...

I'm honestly pretty mixed on this one. I expected this to be a big CGI action movie starring Dwayne Johnson, and in a sense, it was, but at the same time, it wasn't quite what I was expecting all the same. The story is about giant CGI mutant animals, something to do with a shady genetic research corporation, and Dwayne Johnson. If those things don't say mindless action movie, I don't know what does. Looking at it, the plot is kind of a mess, but I don't think this movie was meant to have any sort of coherent plot. The acting is alright, with Dwayne Johnson, Naomie Harris, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan playing as our leads and Malin Akerman playing as the villain, more or less. The big draw of this film, though, is all the crazy action and destruction. We've got a giant CGI gorilla, wolf, and alligator all at each other's throats in Chicago for some reason. Is is ridiculous? Yes. Is it fun? Also yes. It reminds me of a less polished version of the Monsterverse movi...

As a fan of the original Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider films, I wasn't sure what I was going to think of this darker and more realistic take on the Tomb Raider story. Well, I'm happy to report that this was probably favorite adaptation of the Tomb Raider concept yet. The film's plot is your standard adventure story involving a dangerous ancient artifact that the villains want and the heroes are trying to keep out of their hands. The way they played it out was very fun and entertaining and feels like a more down to earth version of Indiana Jones, and I'm always down for a good adventure. The action was pretty fun most of the time, and the cool locations they visit on the main island, which I can't remember the name of, kept me on the edge of my seat for what was going to happen next. Alicia Vikander, underrated actress that she is, plays the lead role of Lara Croft, and she does a fantastic job at bringing her charisma and her refusal to give up to the role. Dominic Wes...