TheDOMINATOR's Reviews: Recent "Seen at the Theater" Movies

[TheDOMINATOR]

My Rating System

Everyone's differs slightly when it comes to the system for rating movies. Here's mine:

1/10 - Extremely bad, utterly horrible, not worth watching a full time through.
Example: The Hottie and the Nottie

2/10 - Very bad, almost unbearable but can be viewed in its entirety. There may be some potential hidden under the poor dialogue/character development/camera work, but you have to struggle too hard to see it.
Example: AVP 2 (AKA Aliens Versus Predator: Requiem)

3/10 - Similar to the 2/10 rank, but slightly more watchable. There is more potential more clearly evident here, and there may be genuinely decent scenes/dialogue segments/plot details present, but very, very few.
Example: American Pie: Band Camp

4/10 - A bad disappointment. Evidence of a good movie may be present here, and there may be a few aspects of it that are genuinely "good," but ultimately they fail to do the movie justice in its entirety.
Example: Hatchet

5/10 - Not half-bad, but passable. One maybe to be seen for fans of the genre/type of movie, but not good enough to recommend specifically to anyone.
Example: Dead Silence

6/10 - Slightly below average, decent. Almost definitely deserving to be watched, but probably only once in a very long time (for example, like two years). It could have been much better but it wasn't, or it couldn't have been better but was "okay" for what it was.
Example: Elektra

7/10 - Slightly above average, good. Worthy of being recommended to a friend or family member. Enjoyment/intrigue/interest was found while viewing and/or afterward. Flaws are noticeable, but not enough to ruin the movie in its entirety.
Example: Commando

8/10 - Very good, not to be missed. There are a couple of things that don't work here or that maybe could have been a little better or different, but a vast majority is above and beyond "decent."
Example: I Am Legend

9/10 - Extremely good, worthy of a "favorites" list. Only one or two minor flaws or issues hold it back from a perfect rating. These flaws, if any are present at all, are easily forgivable.
Example: 1408

10/10 - Extraordinary. Nearly perfect in every way. A 10/10-rated movie is a rarity.
Example: Big Fish

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Reviews of Recent "Seen at the Theater" Movies

The Strangers (2008) - 7/10
Not having followed the rumors and plot summaries, etc. having to do with this movie that began to emerge before it hit theaters, I went to go see it sort of on a whim. I decided to do just that after having seen a couple of trailers for it one night on TV that looked pretty decent and that somehow intrugued me. Well, the movie itself was just that--pretty decent, in that it was good.

First off, The Strangers, I felt, was genuinely scary. It delivered several "jump in your seat" scares (which I did literally more than once throughout the duration of the film) and leaves you feeling tense and "at the edge of your seat" throughout. In short, The Strangers has a nervous, scary vibe while you're watching it--nearly from start to finish. While the two main characters are somewhat under-developed and shallow, somewhere throughout the movie I did start to care about them even though I was a little confused as to why they didn't seem to care very much about each other in the movie.

***SPOILERS***

Apparently, they (the guy and the girl) had recently gotten engaged, but are now going through some kind of "problems" at the movie's start. It is never revealed as to what those problems are and/or why they don't seem to want to get married anymore; only vague hints to their complications are given here and there. Just for the confusion factor--especially since it's evident that they're going through some kind of relationship problems right away when we're first being introduced to them--it's a bit of a turn-off.

***END SPOILERS***

The "strangers" themselves I thought were utterly terrifying at times, but bleak and just there at others. Their lack of very much dialogue at all in the movie I thought added to their scariness and made them seem more intimidating. I read somewhere, however, that they don't wear their masks half of the time or something like that, thus revealing their faces for most of the film? That's untrue; one of the "strangers" we see unmasked near the film's beginning, but she is standing in the dark and her face is covered in shadows. We actually *never* get a good look at any of their faces.

Overall, I thought The Strangers was a good, "jump in your seat," genuinely scary movie that packed a good amount of thrills but lacks fully developed characters that can be easily attached to. The lack of any explanation at all as to why the "strangers" did what they did only added to my frustration with the movie; I like there to be mystery left at a movie's conclusion, but we didn't get any answers at all. The ending, itself was moving one moment, and then shocking the next and I liked it, although it could have been better if more answers were provided, even if those answers were in the form of a final paragraph or two appearing on-screen before the credits began rolling.

My final thoughts are that The Strangers was a good and scary horror movie, but nothing ground-breaking and nothing worthy of a favorites list, but definitely at least worthy to be seen, especially by fans of the genre.

The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 8.5/10
This is probably going to sound a little bit cliche considering the film I'm about to review, but this movie was incredible, and I liked it just about as equally as I liked Iron Man. Let me tell you why.

The action was breath-taking, and some of the most intense, on-the-edge-of-your-seat action found in any superhero movie to date. From the Hulk's first appearance as his not-so-jolly green self in the beginning of the movie to the final fight scene with the Abomination at the movie's climax, the action was truly epic. Each of the Hulk battle scenes were brilliant and loaded with awesome special effects, including the Hulk, himself and his appearance in the movie. This version of the Hulk, himself I truly found more spectacular and all-around "better" than the version of Dr. Banner's greener side in the 2003 Hulk movie. The detail (muscles, veins "popping" out of his skin, etc.) and facial expressions were top-knotch. And the Abomination, despite not sharing an appearance in common with what he looked like in the comics, was a sight to behold. He was one seriously awesome-looking badass of a beast, and his fight scene with the Hulk near the movie's conclusion was spectacular.

That having been said, I did feel that the story/plot was perhaps a little weak and lacking. The entire movie was pretty much just one long chase. That's okay, though, because that's what it was all about--Bruce Banner being chased by his adversary, the General, and then in the end, the Abomination--but seeing a deeper plot aside from the romance with Liv Tyler would have been nice. That plus the what at times seemed to be forced humor is what caused my rating to be what it is. I found a couple of the one-liners funny, but felt that some of them were ultimately unnecessary.

In conclusion, aside from those two minor issues, this movie was excellent and action-packed with some of the best battle scenes of any superhero movie to date, and is on a level with my other all-time favorite superhero movies including Iron Man and even Spider-Man. I truly found The Incredible Hulk to be an awesome comic book superhero movie but with its share of flaws.

[TheDOMINATOR]

Continued...

Wanted (2008) - 8/10
Before viewing Wanted, I had a set opinion of Angelina Jolie that differs from most other people in general (meaning both men AND women :biggrin on the planet. I just didn't find her attractive, really, or if I did, I found her attractiveness very overrated, and I wasn't a huge fan of her acting, either. This movie...has changed my opinion of this newly-found dazzling beauty. While Wanted and her performance within it hasn't converted me to a full-blown fan, you could venture to say that now I finally see the light in Angelina Jolie.

Concerning the movie, itself...what can I say? It was a very enjoyable thrill-ride of Fight Club meets The Matrix meets The Fast and the Furious. Wanted, seemingly a combination of all of those with yet more twists and innovations, starts off a little slow, but I feel this somewhat dragging beginning sets us up for what is to come perfectly, in that the main character is nothing but a normal person and--as we all well know from the start--his life is about to change forever. With that being said, the beginning was decent and even enjoyable, the main character narrating as the movie starts out, telling us about his life and providing a few laughs throughout, though again, still a bit on the slow slide.

As we get into the real "meat" of Wanted, as in when the action first hits us and doesn't let go, is when the movie really gets good. The racing scenes were near-breath-taking with some amazing special effects, and both the hand-to-hand and gun-to-gun (and even knife-to-knife) fight scenes kept me at the edge of my seat. This movie was definitely, as I mentioned earlier, a thrill ride. It seems as though, however, the action actually lets up as we get later into the movie rather than intensify which is the opposite of what I or anyone (I'd think) would expect, but still: cool action filled the big-screen from near-beginning to end.

The movie's conclusion was fantastic. Like Fight Club, the ending brings with it a major twist or two and a couple of huge revelations are made. I liked the ending and thought it fit the basic premise of the movie well, but despite that, I had one issue with it that I can't seem to let go:

***SPOILERS***

I wish there was some work-able way that Angelina Jolie's character didn't do what she did to herself, but it did fit the message of the film and I can understand why it had to happen. I was just upset by it and wish it could have worked out differently with her character.

***END SPOILERS***

In conclusion, Wanted was an excellent, action-packed adrenaline-rush of a movie after overcoming a fairly slow start and then concluding with--what I found to be--a little bit of a disappointment, but still an excellent and fitting ending overall. The movie as a whole was very good, worth watching, and even worth recommending to fans of the genre.

Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008) - 6.5/10
Going into the theater to see this movie my exectations weren't too, too high from the start, but I figured I'd give it a shot since I had some extra cash on hand at the time. But as it turned out, those same expectations weren't met. Due to that, this review won't be as long as most of the others.

Journey to the Center of the Earth was a pretty fun action/adventure experience with awesome special effects and killer 3D visuals, but the actual story, character development, and dialogue were all severely lacking and the movie was much too short. Things felt extremely rushed throughout the entire film, one moment the characters being somewhere in America, and in the very next scene, and without warning, they're sitting in a plane, and moments after that--also without warning--they're suddenly in a car driving down some desolate country road in Iceland. At times during the beginning and early middle of the movie I felt lost and/or confused.

Once the movie really got going, though--as in, when the trio of main characters enter "the Center of the Earth"--things pick up and get better, but the feeling of rushing-ness still remains, however to a lesser extent. That being said, again: the visuals were fantastic, but this "neat-o" eye-candy didn't save the film from falling far short of what it could have been had the story and the characters been more developed and the movie itself a little longer. If we actually got to see more of "the Center of the Earth" and had more sub-adventures taken place there in the movie, it would have been much better, but as it is, it's not worthy of a recommendation to see in a pricey IMAX theater.

The Dark Knight (2008) - 9.5/10
I had originally not intended to see The Dark Knight in theaters, but after hearing (and reading) so many excellent reviews from both critics and friends alike, I ultimately decided to go. I'm glad I did; my expectations were exceeded, and I now have a new favorite "superhero" movie of all time.

The acting, the storyline, the dialogue, and the action especially--everything was fantastic. Christian Bale and Heath Ledger delivered powerful performances as Batman and The Joker respectively, and there were several goosebump-invoking quotes delivered in the film throughout. What towers above all else in excellence in The Dark Knight, however, despite how good everything else was, is the action. The film was almost non-stop action from start to finish, and the action still wasn't overdone considering this. The opening sequence left me blown away.

***SPOILERS***

How each member of the gang of clown-faced robbers killed each other off in the beginning until only The Joker was left standing, just how it was done, was amazing. Rarely do movies start off with that much of a boom. And the "Why so serious?" scene? Forget about it.

***END SPOILERS***

I'm trying to think of specific negative things to say about this movie, but every time I try to, I fail. Still, though, I just can't seem to give it that perfect 10/10 rating. A second (and third...and fourth, and so on) viewing is definitely in order. Until then, my rating stands as a 9.5/10.

Overall, The Dark Knight was an excellent film and is perhaps the best superhero movie ever made as it promised it would be. If you were like me and questioned whether or not to see it in the theater, I'm telling you now: do it. And this is coming from someone who isn't even a huge Batman fan. While the film in its entirety didn't blow me away, certain scenes throughout did, and that's more than I can say about oh-so-many movies.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) - 7/10
First off, I'll start with the good: the effects were spectacular, the creatures all looked really cool (especially the Forest Elemental), and the fight scenes were very enjoyable to watch. I liked Abe better in this installment of Hellboy more than I did in the original, and I thought Krauss was an *excellent* addition to the movie; he was perhaps my favorite character in the film. He provided quite a few funny one-liners and was just a pleasure to watch.

However (and now we're getting into the bad, here), I felt the plot was considerably weak--not nearly as intense and original as that in the first Hellboy--and the climax was a let-down. I was expecting much more from the Golden Army but was left feeling a bit disappointed after witnessing the climactic battle. Also, some segments of dialogue throughout the movie bothered me a little and the actor who played "Young Hellboy" was atrocious.

Overall, I enjoyed Hellboy 2 but it has too many flaws and I have too many issues with it to think of it as "great." Therefore, it gets the fairly standard 7/10 rating, only proving to be "above the average film" due to its mesmorizing special effects and brilliant creature designs.

[TheDOMINATOR]

Continued...

Quarantine (2008) - 7.5/10
I went into the theater to see Quarantine with the thought that it could potentially be one of the most genuinely scary films ever and a new personal favorite among horror movies. It didn't live up to those expectations, but was still a good horror movie viewing experience which delivered some very scary moments.

First, the bad. The plot never really gained much substance even after the "quarantine" began, and the character development was lacking at best; I never connected with any of the characters other than Jennifer Carpenter's. Performances were strictly sub-par and--in places--noticeably not-so-great, but again, Jennifer Carpenter is an exception who delivered a solid, very surreal and very believable performance throughout. There was some pretty decent humor mixed in the beginning of the movie which I found enjoyable, but it was nothing worthy of a "laugh-out-loud."

That being said, the final twenty minutes or so of the film was a breathtaking thrill-ride. Quarantine's final act was perhaps the most intense minutes in film I've ever experienced; I was shaky the entire drive home, which was about ten o'clock at night at the time. Everything leading up to this point in the movie was somewhat lacking in almost every regard, but it was all worth it to see this terrifying conclusion.

That being said, not even the conclusion was flawless. Elements of mystery--of "not knowing"--in horror films is a very good thing, but in Quarantine too much was left unexplained. Only vague clues were made evident in the film's final minutes as to the "hows" and the "whys" in the film, but these clues only left me with more questions.

Overall, I enjoyed Quarantine and think it to be a decent horror movie, but it didn't live up to personal expectations. That being said, my personal expectations were very, very high.

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I intend update this thread with new reviews whenever I can, so check back in for updates every now and again.