Land of the Lost

I was excited for this film. I went in thinking it was gonna be a little bit funnier than it was. I'm sure I missed some of the jokes since I never watched the TV series. I would NOT recommend this for children, it was a little bit more on the adult humor side. Some of it was really funny, but well, just not as funny as I hoped. 

Will Ferrell did an alright job. It's not in my top five favorite movies he has done. It was just fine though-- nothing that will throw his career away. Again, if you watched the series it'll probably be a lot funnier to you than for people like me who haven't. 

Danny McBride, Anna Friel and Jorma Taccone played the supporting actors. They had the same amount of screentime as Ferrell did. They all three did a first-rate job. I have to give Jorma Taccone props since through the movie his makeup was a full monkey suit. Danny McBride was funny. I'm not gonna go see a movie just because he's in it though. Anna Friel did a good job as well. She was funny. I don't have any complaints or raves about her. 

I would say that if you wanna go see it you should. It wouldn't be the first thing I would pick to see, but wouldn't be the last. I don't think I would take kids to it. If you watched the series I think you will like it more than those who haven't.

Epic Meter. 2.5 

Adventureland

This movie is fun--it's not the best movie of the year and not the worst. I thought they did a good job with the plot. It didn't drag on but it was predictable...however, it's hard to find a movie that isn't anymore. 

Kristen Stewart who played Em Lewin did a good job sometimes. She acted a little dead on screen.  She was either inactive or not paying attention. She could have done a little better but it didn't ruin the movie or anything.

Jesse Eisenberg did a wonderful job as James Brennan. He gave a kind of Michael Cera feeling to his character. 

The colors and cinematography were good. It's a "bright" film in the sense of bright colors and a fun attitude. Overall it was a good comedy. It doesn't really  matter when or where you see it--whether on dvd or in theaters. It should give the same kind of effect.

Adventureland's not like a action or epic movie, but I do think you should see it if you like Indie kind of comedies. 

Epic Meter: 3.5

Star Trek

Most great movie sequels or in this case, prequels, just aren't as great as their predecessors. Not in this case! This is the 12th Star Trek movie, and it was fantastic. From the beginning to the end it was non-stop action and familiar faces and places that brought back the old magic and adventure from the original television show. The sets and new modern color choices they made were great from the costumes to the interior of the ship. As always I was blown away with the power and creative precision that JJ Abrams brought to the screen, from watching Lost I can tell he is an amazingly talented director. Chris Pine was great as he performed as James T. Kirk, and he acted the part perfectly. Zachary Quinto played Spock. I have always loved him as the mysterious evil villain "Sylar" in the T.V. series Heroes. He shows a great amount of character range that he can play and he really fit the part of Spock. I think the casting directors made fantastic choices. Eric Bana, who played Captain Niro, really had to jump into this role with all he could. He played a convincing angry alien as the leader of the last Romulans seeking out his revenge. The supporting cast did an excellent job at maintaining the characteristics of the beloved Star Trek characters, which was extremely important for this movies success. This movie overall was stunning. I do have to add that I have seen all the Star Trek movies, and loved them all. So I advise that most "Trekkies", will love this film... No wait, everyone will.

Epic Meter: 4.5

Terminator

Unlike Quantum of Solace, this film had just the right amount of action AND plot. Some of the machines looked a little "Transformish", but that's alright, you can't be all that mad about that. Christian Bale performed as John Connor. I think Christian Bale only knows how to act as Batman. Through the whole show he acted as if he were Bruce Wayne and even used his big, bad "scary" Batman voice. He just overdid it a little and was a tad too overwrought. Sam Worthington played Marcus Wright. What stuck out about his performance is he could never stick to an accent. One minute he was American, then Australian, then British. Please, just pick an accent and stick to it. He just didn't seem to really know the character, as in, I just don't feel he chose the right way to react to things at times.  Anton Yelchin played Kyle Reese, and did a fantastic job! This actor has become one of my favorites after seeing him in Star Trek and now Terminator. I would recommend you go and see this despite what some of the other critics have said, I thought it was very fun. It's worth the seven dollars and is one of those movies that is just better to see on a big screen, so you can get the full effect. 

Epic Meter: 4

Yes Man

Danny Wallace wrote the book "Yes Man" based on what he went through while experimenting with his own life by saying "yes" to everything. The movie, of course like any other novel-to-movie, didn't cover everything that happened, but it didn't seem to effect this fun-filled film. Jim Carrey did a remarkable job as the role of Carl Allen. Allen takes the challenge of only saying "yes" to everything. Jim Carrey is a great comedian. He does whatever it takes to make the movie good, it seems like. Throughout the movie he kept it interesting. It is partly how the writers wrote it, but still you don't have a good script unless you have someone to preform it well. His acting does not distract from the film. Zooey Deschanel was Allison, the free and "wild" girl that Carl runs into while taking the "Yes Man" challenge. She did a superb job. This actress is really becoming someone I look forward to seeing because she gives genuine performances. This movie isn't in theaters anymore, well not that I know of at least, but I do recommend you go rent it. It's worth seeing.

Epic Meter: 3.5

17 Again

This is so very much a "chick flick." It wasn't that bad. I was expecting it to be a lot worse than it was. 

Zac Efron played the 17-year-old version of Mike O'Donnell (Matthew Perry played the adult character). He did a nice job. I walked in there thinking, "Man, Zac Efron! This movie can't be that great." But, he turned out to be a better actor than "High School Musical" led me to think he was. I would even go out on a limb and say he did a fantastic job! He really seemed to understand what emotions to use in every situation for his character. 

Thomas Lennon played Mike O'Donnell's best friend, Ned Gold, who grew up to be a millionaire by designing software. When Mike turns back into his 17-year-old self, he goes to live with Ned. Thomas Lennon does a nice job in this supporting role. He fit into the character nicely. 

The directing was good and the writing was surprisingly well thought out.  I would say if you feel like going to see a movie and "17 Again" is what's playing, go see it.  I wouldn't pick it over Star Trek or Terminator, but it's worth seeing. It would be equally as good if you watched it on a smaller screen though.

 

Epic Meter: 3

The Fast And The Furious 4

I didn't feel like this movie achieved all that it promised. I was expecting a lot more action. Well, at least plenty of good car chase action. There were only about two good chase scenes. This is one of those movies I think that you go mostly to see the action-- not so much for the plot. Of course you want a good plot as well, but this particular plot didn't make the cut. Vin Diesel was Dominic Toretto and was seeking revenge. I know I say people over-act a lot, but man-oh-man did he really over-act! It was almost painful to watch. Paul Walker played Brian O'Conner, I thought he did an alright job, but won't really remember much about this movie in a year. I most likely won't even think about it again after I finish writing this. More car scenes and less acting would've improved this a lot. If you still want to see it, I would see it in theaters. It will at least make the few chase scenes a little bit better.  I do not think it's worth buying at all. 

Epic Meter: 2.5