Monday, January 27, 2014

I, Frankenstein review

I, FRANKENSTEIN:
IMPRESSIVE VISUAL EFFECTS AND 3D CANNOT OVERSHADOW ITS UNORIGINAL PLOT!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: ** out of 4
LIONSGATE
Aaron Eckhart in a war between gargoyles and demons in I, Frankenstein

            The creators of the popular Underworld franchise have attempted to bring the graphic novel, I, Frankenstein to life in the film adaptation of the same name. And while the film looks good in the visual department, it’s not very good of a movie on its own.
            What I mean by that is the concept is fantastic; Frankenstein in a futuristic human world, but its actual premise is too identical to Underworld. Like the two-hundred-year war between gargoyles and demons, it’s very similar to the vampire and Lycan war from the Underworld movies.
            Many years ago, scientist, Victor Frankenstein has created his greatest creation ever, a monster known as Adam (Aaron Eckhart-The Dark Knight, Thank You For Smoking), but suddenly rejects it, so in an act of revenge the creature murders Victor’s wife and flees. Adam continues to live in a present human world where vigilant gargoyles and menacing demons battle each other for ultimate power.
            Soon he finds himself caught in the middle of the war as both groups race to find the secret to Adam’s immortality in a montage of action sequences and special effects, I thought I paid to see a 3D movie, not a light show.
            Overall I praise the film’s visuals, 3D scenes, set designs, and concept, and honestly while the acting is mediocre and often bland, I don’t find Aaron Eckhart to be that bad. You can tell he’s trying his best and even though it didn’t pay off in the end, I have to give him credit for his attempt to bring Frankenstein to life.
            If they were to throw out the Underworld-like plot and did something fresh and new with the story, it probably would have been considered a decent action fantasy flick. It’s a shame because I saw aspects of a good movie in here, I wouldn’t mind seeing a movie about Frankenstein trying to live a life in the modern or future human world, but they had to throw in a war between gargoyles and demons, which doesn’t have much to do with the Frankenstein legend.
            The 3D is passable, though I wouldn’t say it was as impressive as the 3D used in Avatar, Gravity, or The Avengers, but it didn’t seem like a cheap conversion. I could tell the 3D was present during the film.
            If you were watching the movie on its own without the 3D, you’re probably not going to get much out of it. However you may get some enjoyment out of a 3D showing of the film, not enough to consider it much of an improvement.
            The writing is still laughable, the acting is poor, and the story lacks in originality, the 3D, special effects, and the concept are the only elements that stand out in this movie.

            So if you’re curious and want to see some impressive 3D action, maybe give it a watch, but I think it would be wiser if you just watched the original Frankenstein or at least Frankenweenie.

Friday, January 17, 2014

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit review

JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT:
LOUD, COMPLEX, AND EXCITING FROM START TO FINISH!
By Nico Beland
Movie Review: *** out of 4
PARAMOUNT PICTURES
Chris Pine in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit

            From director Kenneth Branagh (Thor) and starring Chris Pine (Star Trek, Unstoppable, Rise of the Guardians) comes the latest film adaption based on the late Tom Clancy’s (author of Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, The Sum of All Fears, and The Hunt for Red October) chilling novels, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. While it’s not the best film adaptation of Clancy’s books, it’s still very entertaining thanks to Branagh’s always epic direction.
            The movie follows CIA agent, Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) in his years as a Marine during 9/11 through a duty tour in Afghanistan. Suddenly the helicopter he was riding it is blasted down by a missile, nearly killing him, and is scarred by it forever.
            As time passes, Jack becomes an analyst in the Financial Intelligence Unit of the modern CIA, under the guardianship of his handler named Harper (Kevin Costner-Field of Dreams, Waterworld, Man of Steel). During his time as an analyst, he uncovers a Russian financial terrorist plot to collapse the United States economy.
            Jack must go from analyst to badass spy and fight for his life, and for the lives of countless others. In fact he must do this while protecting the most important person in his life, his fiancĂ©e, Cathy (Keira Knightley-Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, Anna Karenina).
            Overall Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is a fun dumb action flick, lots of gunfire, car chases, fistfights, and explosions galore. It’s not as great as the previous Tom Clancy films, but it’s a decent reboot of the popular action franchise.
            Besides the dumb action, the film cleverly throws in some intelligent suspense,
Ryan and the CIA are gathering information on the Russian terrorists and going undercover to find out everything they plan to do, leading up to a thrilling climax involving a bomb. Trust me, your eyes will be glued to the screen during the climax, big action and powerful sound quality (Yeah, I saw it on IMAX).
            Hopefully this will lead to more Tom Clancy films in the future because every movie adaptation of his books were intelligently entertaining and charged with dumb over the top action. Pine makes a good Jack Ryan, not sure how he is compared to Harrison Ford or Alec Baldwin, but all three of them are enjoyable to watch, sorry Affleck, nothing personal.

            So, not the best Clancy film, not the worst, but it’s fun, loud, and should keep fans of the previous films or books entertained enough.