403 Posts of The Blog On The Wall

A wee bit late I know, but we have hit 400 posts here! Keep coming back for more reviews as the Summer Season begins. I'll have a review for Iron Man 2 on Friday as I'm seeing it Tomorrow Night at Midnight! Cannot wait!!

Thanks for the memories folks.

SYS

Blu-Ray Review: Armored

Heist films. They go all the way back to The Godfather. And this 'un is an interesting film and an exciting one to boot.

In this film, Ty is running low on cash and needs some money to keep his younger brother Jimmy from being take to a foster home. He relunctacly agrees to go on a heist mission to steal money. However, after the murder of a homeless man, Ty has second thoughts and soon things spiral out of control.

A good heist film has to have suspense and this one has some great moments of genuine terror. There's great moments of "Who-Will-Make-It?" making it a thrilling adventure. The cinematography is astounding, really feeling like your in the armored car or running with the thieves. This is a fun and thrilling adventure.

Rating: 7.6 out of 10 or B+

SYS

Dawn of First Class

Breaking Dawn and X-Men: First Class have gotten release dates. First up, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn will (presumably) be one film after all. That film will be directed by Bill (Dreamgirls) Condon and will be relased November 18, 2011, going up against Happy Feet 2. I don't think any film will move because of Twilight entering the frame just because the Twilight films tend to be front loaded (i.e. New Moon dropped 70% in it's second weekend)

X-Men: First Class will be released June 3, 2011, a mere two years following X-Men Origins: Wolverine. At the helm this time will be Matthew (Kick-Butt, Stardust) Vaughn will direct this installement. If you want a fun fact, Mathew was approached to direct X-Men 3 back in late 2004!

SYS

Blu-Ray Review: Astro Boy

Japan. Home of the neon light, panda's and anime. Lots and lots of anime. And the biggest piece of that is Astro Boy. Born in Japan, he's the one of the bigger things that anime has brought to our shores. And this time they do a fair job bringing it to the big screen.

As a scientist's (Nicolas Cage) son dies, he creates a robotic child named..Astro Boy! However, Astro Boy falls to a now deserted Earth, inhabited by a handful of robots and humans. And when one of those robots called Zartog goes on a rampage, only Astro Boy can save the day...

It must be said the animation is unimpressive, but the film has some great emotion and actually good action. Voice acting is top notch, as the always great Nicolas Cage and Nathan Lane show off their stuff. It may be no How To Train Your Dragon, but Astro Boy is fun stuff nonetheless.

Rating: 7.3 out of 10 or B

SYS

Film Review: The Losers

I didn't know a film could be this..confusing. By that I mean this: this is both the best and worst 2010 film so far

In this ensemble film, five members of an elite US Army group are sent on a mission that ends up with them learning it's a mission designed to kill them. However, they suvive and are now out..for revenge!!!

Violence and bad acting. These are the main ingredients of which The Losers is comprised of. These Losers do get a couple of nice bits on the action side, really showing off some great things this film could be doing. On the other hand, the atrotcous acting makes you wonder where all the good things went. Add to that a story that's confusing and maddening, it's easy to see why this film isn't a loser..but it is a fumble.

Rating: 6.7 out of 10 or B-

SYS