Informative Post

This weekend I saw the movie Hancock. I’m a Will Smith fan, have seen, and like most of his films. Most of the Hancock movie reviews for the film indicated it was mediocre at best. The Hancock movie reviews didn’t detour me, because I had faith in the cast Will Smith, Charlize Theron and Jason Bateman.

Will Smith is one of the hottest actors, Hollywood has to offer. His films are self-perpetuating at the box office, and the guy with the big ears, he always manages to joke around with a nice dose of wink to combine with seriousness. Hancock brings the man back now as the crashed superhero who turned to alcohol when the evil boys aim to put him behind bars. Directed by Peter Berg (The Kingdom) who has to balance Hancock between a typical Will Smith flick and a really decent story of beat them up fun. And it works great!

The first half of the film from which the majority of the trailer scenes is shown, Will Smith is pimped, cursing, throwing around children and return various insults (“Call Me Asshole One More Time .. .) listen. ” The smells like a bar!” Calls at some point a villain and is right on with it.

This Hancock (Will Smith) is unwashed, uncouth, and generally not a good guy. He’s asleep on a bench on the sidewalk, while on the freeway a wild gunfight in progress. Hancock is not even a good pilot: He collided with a flock of seagulls, rammed a traffic sign and caused so much mischief that his exploits usually end with millions in damages. No wonder such a guy need a PR consultant. Cue co-star Jason Bateman (Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, Juno) who’s life is saved by Hancock and wants to bring out the positive image of Hancock to the public. Bateman shows an excellent combination with the top star Will Smith.

The story actually is only hinted, until the second half of the surprisingly short film (90 minutes) reveal the important details. Hancock then becomes a bit tragic and romantic even if it feel a little unrealistic, and towards the end there is even more tension. So is Hancock in fact, everything a superhero movie should be?

The premise for the film is brilliant, an anti superhero reluctant to use his powers for good. Will Smith is Hancock an alcoholic who spends his days drunk and nights past out on the streets and in between he performs heroic albeit destructive acts. Citizens of the world grow tired of him and despite his powers; they’d rather see him go away.

Hancock’s cost the city thousands of dollars in damages during his acts of “heroics.” A down and out Ray, an image consultant, played by Jason Bateman offers to help Hancock with his image, which is when the movie picks up.

The problem I have with the film is its quick explanation of where Hancock comes from and what he is exactly. There is a twist I won’t divulge, but once it’s revealed in the film you want to know more but unfortunately, more isn’t revealed. Also for a thoroughly enjoyable action-parody fuss is a fantasy, in the cool comments are in short supply.

Academy Award winner Charlize Theron is underused in the film. Her character is one that could have been expanded upon as she end up as a bit part role as a soccer mum.

There are good effects, some funny parts. Will Smith and Jason Bateman are both great comedic actors. I found the movie to be entertaining and Jason Bateman does a great job. In a year of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Batman, it’s a fun creative switch to see a different kind of superhero. I just wish there was more. After the film, I still wanted to know more about Hancock. The film is 92 minutes long; another 10-15 minutes extension could have expanded on Hancock’s real identity.

Conclusion: Hancock is a great film that proves Will Smith can both play the clown scenes, and most serious scenes. The film music (mostly heavy hip-hop) is great and fits perfectly. Charlize Theron looks great whenever she’s on screen. Hancock ‘s much more than just “funny”, it’s also has a interesting and serious second half.

The sequel to Batman Begin is titled “The Dark Knight”, does it live up to the hype surrounding it? Wuh, whuh, wow. This movie is… wow. It’s good. It’s great. It may be the best Batman movie ever. The movie is directed by Christopher Nolan who twists this typical superhero movie into an extravaganza that cannot be described easily. The Dark Knight is dark, creepy, scary, and… it’s good!

First off, the performances of the cast are great. Christian Bale does a great job and the relationship between Batman and the Joker is exactly what it should be. Yes, Heath Ledger deserves an award for his work. He did an amazing job, he was crazy, creepy, scary, demented, nuts. Who’s the best Joker? Nicholson and Ledger are two very different Jokers, one crazy, one just plain sadistic. You can’t fairly compare them. In my opinion, I like the Dark Knight version of the Joker more, but like I said, they’re totally different.

The Dark Knight spends a nearly equal amount of time with Batman and the Joker, so neither one is favored; though I have to admit, Ledger steals the show with his performance and took some of the spotlight away from the Batman. The confrontation between the two main characters are always intense and gripping.

Also, the Joker lives up to his name. In the movie, he sets up traps, but always ends them with an unexpected surprise. It’s great to watch the schemes of the Joker unfolding in the Dark Knight as Batman tries to counter them. Speaking of the Caped Crusader, The Batman as always has a lot of new gadgets including a Bat motorcycle that comes out of the Batmobile. Pretty cool huh?

The Dark Knight stays true to Batman origins in the fact that it’s trying to do the Star Wars thing, work your way up to where the first story began. Most of it matches up, but Harvey Dent, who’s supposed to become Two Face when dropped in a pool of acid, burns his face with fire instead.

The Dark Knight movie is very long, over two and a half hours. Some of the scenes seem like they could’ve been shortened, but the movie is interesting throughout, and doesn’t get boring at any moment. The ending doesn’t make too much sense, but that’s up to you to decide. (I honestly think one last scene was supposed to be filmed, but Ledger was unable to film it before he passed. Then again, it could just be that I only saw this movie once, and maybe was too caught up in the movie.)

In conclusion, I loved watching this movie. In my opinion, it’s the best Batman in decades, maybe ever. It’s a memorable sequel of the rebooted Batman movie series. The Dark Knight is that type of movie that will be either loved or hated by critics.

Personally I go for the first opinion and I’ll give The Dark Knight a 9 out of 10 if you are watching it in the cinema. It’s that type of movie which you have to enjoy at the big screen. The movie really bring back the larger than life feel that movies used to bring to audiences. The Dark Knight is highly recommended for comic books fans and non fans alike.

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• the dark knight movie

Many horror movie buffs rush out to the theater any time that a hot new movie comes out with baited breath. Truth is, not many horror movies end up being all that great. For every great horror movie, there are ten stinkers.

Given the current state of the horror movie industry, as well as the ridiculous ticket prices, people are learning to wait for the DVD to hit the stores. This trend is starting to take root in the movie theaters across the United States, and it could ultimately kill the horror industry.

Horror movie buffs are some of the most dedicated viewers in the movie industry. If the horror genre is to survive, then the quality must improve. No horror movie fan expects every movie be a hit, but they certainly have a right to expect a reasonably decent horror movie.

Here are some immediate band aids that the horror movie industry can utilize to improve their horror movies overnight.

1. Realize that the latest popular horror movie is not open for interpretation. When Saw hit the theaters and became hugely popular, virtually every unknown horror production company put out a movie with the same general premise. This spawned several horror movies that people wasted their money on at an overpriced movie theater. This is not good at eighteen dollars a pop for a ticket.

2. Make horror sequels a stand alone movie. Horror sequels can be great, but they need to be totally different from the original. Carry the story lines along, but do not just rehash the same old plot line again. This is what hurt the Halloween and Friday the 13th franchises. They began to just put out sequels that did nothing but change the victims around.

3. Do not make horror movies based exclusively on gore. This type of movie does have a fan base, but it is very small in relation to the horror movie fan base as a whole. Blood, guts, and entrails alone does not make a movie.

4. Bring back the horror movie genre of old. Remakes can be fantastic when they are modernized and the actors and actresses are established. A modern remake of some of the horror classics could be huge hits with the awesome special effects of today.

5. Spend the money for decent acting. If we see terrible acting on the screen, then you know that the producers notice. They do this for a living. If you know you have crappy acting, do not trick movie goers into paying you overinflated prices with a fancy poster and a great trailer. You will lose your viewers fast.

These are some basic ideas for the horror movie industry to improve upon the lackluster efforts of the last several years. More ideas are there for the taking, but these could at least put the industry back to the glory days when a great horror movie was always on at the movie theater.

Those days are sorely missed by horror fans everywhere.

Related tags:

• saving the horror movie industry
• how to save a horror movie
• movie industry
• state of the horror industry