The Host

The Host

Director: Andrew Niccol

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger and William Hurt

A huge improvement on the last films made from Stephanie Meyer’s books, The Host is better than it seems at first glance.

Based on The Host written by Meyer, this film is set in Earth’s future when an otherworldly species has taken over mankind, wiping the memories and using the bodies as their own. Those few humans left have been forced into hiding, including Melanie (Ronan) and her friends and family. When she’s captured, an alien consciousness is inserted in her to retrieve the location of some of the remaining humans from her mind. She would do anything to keep those she loves safe, but the Seeker (Kruger) would do anything to find and harm them.

The trailers make it look like a love story, and that’s what it is, no use denying it. There’s a scant amount of violence and blood for a movie about aliens trying to take over the world, and the moral of the story is that “love conquers all.” Specifically, the type of love that has teenagers kissing and then slapping each other across the face for complicated reasons. So don’t go expecting a major plot twist where it isn’t about romance, because there isn’t one. However, that doesn’t make it a bad movie, and that isn’t all there is to it.

Ronan is stellar as Melanie and Wanderer. She manages to keep the two characters distinctly separate despite being trapped in the same body, and it’s clear which one she’s portraying in the way she acts and speaks.

The two lead male roles, Jared (Irons) and Ian (Abel), are living in one of the hidden groups of humans run by Melanie’s uncle (Hurt). They butt heads on more than one occasion over Melanie, though not quite as expected. Despite being given roughly the same amount of attention and screen time, Ian’s personality feels more multi-dimensional than Jared’s. Jared may be the more main character, introduced earlier and clearly shown as Melanie’s love interest, but his development is a little choppy. Another hurdle in the way of this love story is Melanie and Jared’s questionable relationship. Perhaps, facing the end of the world, standards for couples drop from having great chemistry together to simply both being alive and single.

Addressing the other actors, Kruger is surprisingly good as the Seeker. While at first the Seeker seems straightforward, there is more to her part in the story than originally let on, and Kruger captures each aspect of her character well. Hurt, as Melanie’s uncle Jeb, is good in an acceptable but not exceptional way.

Much better than expected upon entering the theater, The Host is an entertaining two hours deserving of 3 ½ stars.

Oz the Great and Powerful

Oz The Great and Powerful

Director: Sam Raimi

Starring: James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams

This prequel to The Wizard of Oz fails to meet the high expectations it set for itself.

Before Dorothy’s quest for the Wizard of Oz, even before her house landed on a witch, there was a traveling circus magician who went by the name of Oz (Franco). When Oz ends up in a mysterious land also called Oz, he is thought to be the wizard prophesized to save the people of Oz from the wicked witch. However, there are three witches—Theodora (Kunis), Evanora (Weisz) and Glinda (Williams). While at first it seems clear which he is expected to defeat, the situation may not be as obvious as the wizard Oz had hoped.

The idea of a film about the origins of the Wizard of Oz is a great one, but the execution of Oz the Great and Powerful was poor. The plot is unoriginal to the point of being boring, and the writing needs improvement.

One of the movie’s biggest problems is Oz himself. While there have been heroes of stories who start out pompous and womanizing but turn out to be good, it’s too difficult to like Oz. Although he is tolerable sometimes, it isn’t enough to make the audience root for him. He’s just too one-dimensional a character, especially to be the main focus of an entire film. Oz the Great and Powerful hinges, unsurprisingly, entirely on the wizard Oz. It’s extremely difficult for a movie solely focused on its main character to succeed, and Oz just doesn’t cut it.

The three witches, a talking china doll, and Oz’s flying-monkey sidekick, Finley, are not strong enough characters to talk about. Actually, one of these is developed enough, but to discuss it would be to give away spoilers. The other side characters are too minor to garner anything further than passing interest or mild appreciation.

The film’s special effects are visually attractive, but they aren’t amazing and certainly not good enough to redeem it. Perhaps some audiences are spoiled because of the extremely good graphics seen in other films or even on television recently. The same goes for the writing and acting; after witnessing the high-quality acting and writing elsewhere, mediocre movies look even worse than they are.

Oz the Great and Powerful is not the only prequel to the story of The Wizard of Oz. The musical Wicked, based on the book by Gregory Maguire, also tells the origins of the wizard. However, Wicked is mainly focused on the roots of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch. Without giving any spoilers for Oz the Great and Powerful, all that can be said is that the beginning of the Wicked Witch of the West is also part of the film, but it’s poorly done. In the battle of The Wizard of Oz prequels, the musical Wicked is much more entertaining and worth the money.

Without sparking much enjoyment, Oz the Great and Powerful only gets 1.5 stars.

Beautiful Creatures and Warm Bodies

Recently, two young-adult books have been made into movies: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. After seeing both of the film adaptations, new hope for movies aimed at teens has risen.

Beautiful Creatures

Director: Richard LaGravenese

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Alice Englert, Jeremy Irons and Emma Thompson

Too much flash covers up the sincerely decent story in Beautiful Creatures.

Ethan Whate (Ehrenreich) wants nothing more than to go to college and get as far away from his small Southern town as possible. Lena Duchannes (Englert) transfers to Ethan’s high school after moving in with the town’s owner, Macon Ravenwood (Irons), who is also her uncle. Despite the many rumors about her family among the town’s residents, Ethan is determined to get to know her better, and they soon become friends and more. However, evil forces are stirring, and it only gets darker as Ethan and Lena delve into the past of their families and the town itself.

The plot is founded on magic, as Lena and her family are Castors, and the typical struggle between good and evil ensues. But while the visual effects of the movie are wonderful to watch, it’s the story the audience should remember most.

Lena is a real heroine, the likes of which are hard to come by in popular young-adult fiction these days. She’s strong, but more importantly she’s intelligent. In order to not ruin the ending, all that can be said is there should be more strong teen girls like her in books and movies.

Ethan, on the other hand, is more of a stereotype than he would like to believe. He’s a likeable guy, without a doubt, but can go over the amount of cliché lines and actions acceptable to consider him a truly original male character.

The side characters provide the best acting in this movie. Lena’s aloof-but-protective uncle is a standard idea, yet Irons manages to work with the rather short amount of screen time he has to make you care about him. Emma Thompson gives the best performance of the film as the villain, Sarafine, about whom not a lot can be said without giving away spoilers.

Overall, Beautiful Creatures could have done better with less use of special effects, but the story pulls it through and gains it three and a half stars.

Warm Bodies

Director: Jonathan Levine

Starring: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Rob Corddry and John Malkovich

Witty and funny, Warm Bodies is a surprisingly charming film.

“R” (Hoult) is an unusually insightful zombie shuffling around this post-apocalyptic Earth. When he saves Julie (Palmer) from being devoured by others of his kind, he is strangely attracted to her and finds himself slowly becoming more human. The couple are threatened on both sides by the “Boney” zombies that are too far gone to reason with, and the city of survivors led by Julie’s father (Malkovich) who are nearly as bad. R and Julie, a clever play on Romeo and Juliet, have the potential to change the world, as they know it.

Hoult is brilliant as the movie’s zombie narrator, and R draws many laughs from the audience. R and his best friend “M” (Corddry) get some of the best lines of dialogue, which is surprising considering they’re dead.

The writing is clever, and the effects weren’t overdone. The movie doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously, which definitely helps to make such an absurd-sounding plotline work as well as it does. Don’t rely on the trailers to decide whether or not to see this film, because they don’t do it the justice it deserves. Also, refrain from comparing it to certain other stories of romance between the living and the dead. The differences are clear enough, and this one is far more worthwhile.

Earning four and a half stars, seeing Warm Bodies will make viewers want to read the book, if they haven’t already.

Les Misérables and Skyfall

(This one was printed in February of this year.)

The Academy Awards are coming up soon, everyone hoping for their favorites to win. Two of the films with the most nominations are Les Misérable and Skyfall.

Les Misérables is nominated for Best Picture, Actor, Supporting Actress, Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, Production Design, Original Song and Sound Mixing.

Skyfall is nominated for Best Cinematography, Original Score, Original Song, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.

Les Misérables

Director: Tom Hooper

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway and Amanda Seyfried

Based on the musical adaptation of the novel by Victor Hugo, Les Misérables is set in 19^th-Century France and follows Jean Valjean (Jackman) as he breaks parole and is forced on the run from Inspector Javert (Crowe). Under a new name, Valjean tries to make a life for himself, agreeing to take care of Cosette (Seyfried), the daughter of factory worker Fantine (Hathaway). But he can’t seem to escape his past.

While not necessarily award winning, Jackman and Hathaway both give performances beyond what would be expected of such big names. However, Crowe’s singing isn’t top-notch. True, he does well as Javert, but his singing isn’t as good as his acting. He doesn’t have a horrible voice, just not a good one either. Cosette is most often the typical love-struck, ignorant but kind-hearted young woman, and Syefried’s portrayal of her is no different. Samantha Banks gives the best performance in the film as the underestimated, invisible Éponine, and with good reason as she’s had experience playing the character on stage.

The settings are a bit of an issue, the town where the characters live is sometimes too large and empty. A sparse set works well in on stage much better than on the big screen. While the close-ups may make the characters more real to the audience, and are a nice change from the wide view of the play, there must be a happy medium between the two that could have made the movie less overbearing.

In the months leading to its release, the film was over commercialized and it didn’t live up to expectations. With the suggestion that the music is more worth the money than the movie itself, I give it two and a half stars.

Skyfall

Director: Sam Mendes

Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem and Judi Dench

In this newest Bond film, a mission goes horribly wrong, risking the safety of MI6 agents everywhere. With MI6 under attack, Bond (Craig) seems to be the only one M (Dench) can trust anymore. But his loyalties are tested as M’s past comes back to haunt her in the form of a new enemy (Bardem).

It seems there is an endless supply of storylines for James Bond movies, though it’s only as endless as the audience’s interest in seeing them. While the plot isn’t anything groundbreaking, that doesn’t mean it’s boring to watch. It grabs and keeps the audience’s attention, making almost two and a half hours speed by like a car chase.

There is plenty of action, which is no surprise in an action movie. The special effects are numerous but aren’t overdone if the giant underground tube crashing through the wall can be ignored. Still, it isn’t enough to become annoying, and most of the special effects are smartly used.

Craig is nothing special as Bond, not doing anything remarkably bad or good. Dench is sharp as always, and easily convincing as the head of the agency. The best performance is Bardem’s, as the villain. Without giving away anything, Bardem certainly manages to express his character’s intelligence and emotions.

Enjoying it more than I expected, I give Skyfall three and a half stars!

Rise of the Guardians

I apologize profusely for being so slack in posting my reviews here. I’ll be taking on more articles than just my reviews this summer, though, so I’ll pay more attention to this blog. Promise.

Prepare for a slew of new posts, because I am really behind. First up, Rise of the Guardians!

Rise of the Guardians

Director: Peter Ramsey

Starring: Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Hugh Jackman and Jude Law

Thought the Boogeyman only existed in nightmares? Think again. This evil spirit, called Pitch Black (voiced by Law) for good reason, attacks the Earth, targeting its children. Luckily he’s not the only legend that’s real, and the Guardians are ready to do battle to protect kids all over the globe. A team made up of Santa Claus (Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Jackman), the mute Sandman and the Tooth Fairy (Fisher), the Guardians must welcome their newest member, Jack Frost (Pine). Though no one, including Frost, really knows why Jack was chosen, they’re going to need all the help they can get if they’re to defeat Pitch and save the children of the world.

While the general story is pretty straightforward, there are multiple smaller parts to it that make the movie better than your average “save-the-world” type. Without giving away spoilers, these subplots expand the main tale without overcomplicating it.

Instead of a complicated plot dominating it, Rise of the Guardians lets its characters carry it, which is a good call. While Jack Frost is a typical free spirit, there is a humanizing touch to him that’s necessary in all troublemakers if the audience is expected to like them.

Animated films have gone through many phases and trends, sometimes bordering on annoyingly fake or trying too hard to be real. Luckily this movie seems to have found a middle ground, playing on the skills of computer animation without throwing it in the audience’s face. After a while of watching, some will even forget it’s animated at all. Not that it looks like it could be live action, but it isn’t the most important thing about the film.

It’s a smart choice to get the holiday spirits up, the adventure is great fun, and there’s a theme that everyone can relate too: the desire to be believed in.

Christmas DVDs

This latest article was printed in the beginning of December.

Christmas is approaching fast, and shopping can be a struggle. A movie can be a great gift, enjoyable by all family members. Here are some DVDs from this year to add to family movie night.

The Dark Knight Rises
Eight years ago, Batman took the blame for Harvey Dent’s crimes and allowed himself to be chased out of Gotham City. Now he’s back, faced with a new enemy threatening Gotham and its people.
The Dark Knight was a tough act to follow, but don’t let fear of disappointment stop you from seeing this. Its storyline is better than the average action flick, and the nice thing about the newer Batman movies is that they aren’t afraid of the dark.
DVD release date: December 4, 2012

Brave
Merida, the princess of a kingdom in the Scottish Highlands, defies one of the old customs of the land. This stirs up trouble among the land’s people, and in an attempt to fix things she inadvertently makes them worse.
Disney has been redefining its princess tales, and this is among the more original of them. Merida is the troublemaker of her own tale. Not to say she doesn’t have plenty of help, but when it boils down to it she’s the main figure of blame and therefore she’s the only one who can fix the situation. This is a story of fixing the communication errors that are far too common between parents and children, and makes a great addition to Disney’s tales of royalty.
DVD release date: November 13, 2012

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
Based on the novel by Paul Torday, fisheries expert Dr. Alfred Jones is forced into a project to fulfill a Sheikh’s dream of bringing salmon and fly-fishing to the desert. Though at first he disagrees with the idea, he eventually starts to see the vision.
Despite the odd title and almost stranger description, this is a truly sweet and sometimes heart-wrenching story with characters as great as the actors that bring them to life, like Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt. A more detailed review of the film was published in the Arcadia News in April and can be found online.
DVD release date: July 17, 2012

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
A group of British seniors move to India to retire in the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, for “the elderly and beautiful.” Though things don’t go at all the way they planned, they quickly learn that isn’t necessarily bad, as they start to get to know their new surroundings as well as each other.
Certainly one of the best movies this year, it can easily charm just about anyone who stops to give it the chance. If that isn’t enough, it also stocks up on talent with its dynamite cast including Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith, Penelope Wilton and Tom Wilkinson.
DVD release date: September 18, 2012

Moonrise Kingdom
This is a love story of two twelve-year old kids who communicate in secret and run away together. With the authorities on their tails, they head for the wilderness.
Quirky is the definition of this film, describing everything about it from the filming to the story and its characters. Along with the smart use of a few well-known actors such as Bill Murray, Bruce Willis and Ed Norton, “quirky” is what makes the movie so fun to watch.
DVD release date: October 16, 2012

Frankenweenie and Hotel Transylvania

Just out in November’s edition of Arcadia News, my review included two movies:

With the arrival of a popular holiday often comes the expectation of a themed movie. This year, Frankenweenie and Hotel Transylvania are two animated films with Halloween spirit.

Frankenweenie

Director: Tim Burton

Starring: Charlie Tahan, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Short

Based on a short film by the same director, Frankenweenie is not the best but fun.

Tim Burton’s latest film follows young Victor Frankenstein (voiced by Tahan), whose dog, Sparky, is his best and only friend. When Sparky is hit by a car and taken from him, Victor’s only wish is to get his friend back. And putting his scientific brain to use, he manages to do just that. But with the school science fair approaching, there are a few kids willing to go to extreme measure to get their hands on something as big as the ability to resurrect the dead. So Victor has to keep Sparky a secret from his parents (O’Hara and Short) who might not understand, as well as his classmates who could use the method for sinister purposes, but it’s a challenge.

With a record like Tim Burton’s, it’s difficult to meet fans’ expectations. Unfortunately this newest one fell a little short. It isn’t bad, but it doesn’t quite live up to his past creations. However it is a great introduction to his work for the younger generation, and the kids who like this will be asking for more.

One of the best parts of the movie is the black-and-white effect. It fits with the story so well that it’s difficult to imagine it in color. Just as well, the details of the setting that are tailored for the time it’s set in are a treat.

Frankenweenie gets 3 stars, and I advise viewers to watch the original short film.

Hotel Transylvania

Director: Genndy Tartakovsky

Starring: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg and Selena Gomez

If you’re in need of a little vacation from life, Hotel Transylvania is the way to go.

Founded by Count Dracula (voiced by Sandler) himself, Hotel Transylvania is where monsters can find safe refuge from the dangers of humans. Many of them are gathering for the 118^th birthday party of his daughter, Mavis (Gomez), who’s more excited about her new-found freedom to see the world and meet humans than her party and it’s guests. Until a human (Samberg) accidentally stumbles into the hotel, putting everything at risk. Now Dracula has to keep the young man under the radar of all his guests until he can get rid of him. However, the human’s motive to leave starts dissipating as he and Mavis fall for each other.

The movie manages to grab and hold your attention the entire time, despite a couple of immature jokes it would have been just as good without. The main characters are extremely likeable, particularly Dracula and the human, Jonathan.

The love story between Mavis and Jonathan isn’t overwhelming, but actually quite sweet. As a nice change, it doesn’t move too fast, rather waits to flesh out the characters more.

A fun film with a cute story to it, Hotel Transylvania is a 3 ½-star place to stay. It even has a pool!

Interview with Stephen Chbosky

This interview article was included in this month’s Arcadia News along with my review:

I was lucky enough to sit in at a roundtable interview with the director of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky. In the comfort of a conference room with a view of the Hotel Valley Ho below, he discussed the inspiration behind the story, the making of the film and what he has planned next.

The book and the movie adaptation, both written by Chbosky, follow Charlie (played by Logan Lerman) as he starts his freshman year of high school. He meets seniors Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller), and they accept him into their group of friends.

The story and its characters were personal to Chbosky. Writing the novel helped him through a rough patch in life when he was younger. “I was a little messed up,” he said. “And at that time I needed to find something that was going to give me hope in my life. And Charlie was my hope in the form of a character.”

The movie, on the other hand, helped him to let go. “Even after I wrote the book, a lot of the images that you saw, including some of the tougher ones, have been in my head and my heart for a long time,” he said. “What the movie let me do is get it out of my head and onto film.”

Even the setting in Pittsburgh holds personal meaning because it’s Chbosky’s hometown. The movie was shot in some of the same places he frequented during his life there. For instance, the King’s Family Restaurant, where Charlie, Sam and Patrick talk for the first time in the movie, was a frequent hang out for Chbosky after little league games.

The theater where the film’s characters watch “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” is the same building where Chbosky first saw the cult flick. When he was asked what it was like to be filming on the streets where he grew up, he said, “When I wrote the novel, that’s what I saw in my head. So it was just about making that, through a different kind of technology, a reality.”

Chbosky was determined a film would be made, but only on his terms, saying either he directed the Perks movie or there wouldn’t be one. He did get a little boost from Emma Watson when it came to actually getting it made. “Her insisting that this happened is the reason why, ultimately, we found the funding and why we got to make the movie that we made. I owe her a lot.”

As for cinematic inspiration, he included on the list such classics as “Rebel Without a Cause,” “The Graduate,” “The Breakfast Club” and “Stand By Me.” “I was just crossing my fingers that I could make a movie that even belonged as number 10 on that list,” he said. “Hopefully people find it honest, because I know it’s honest. And hopefully people will find it inspiring and fun as well as dealing with tougher subjects.”

As for the future, this author and director is already two-thirds of the way done with his next novel, which he also plans on making into a film. But, he said, this one’s a little different. “It’s my tribute to Stephen King, who’s my favorite writer,” he said. “I’ve loved making movies based on books that I wrote and I know I’ll love doing it with my next book.”

While waiting in anticipation for the next creation by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower can be found in select theaters across the country, including our own neck of the woods.

Perks of Being a Wallflower (review)

October’s edition of the Arcadia News is out! And it includes both a review and an interview. Here is the review, see the next post for my interview with the director of this particular film.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Director: Stephen Chbosky

Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a fun and entertaining movie, while still holding on to a bit of the dark elements that make a good movie worth seeing.

Based on the novel of the same name, also written by director and screenplay writer Stephen Chbosky, the film features Charlie (Lerman) as he adjusts to his first year of high school while dealing with a huge burden. He befriends seniors and step-siblings Sam (Watson) and Patrick (Miller) and joins their small group of outcasts. Though it seems like he’s just learning about the issues of the world, he also has some knowledge and experience none of his new friends expected from him. This is a film about surviving high school, life and all the drama found in both.

While it may not be the most original idea for a movie, it also doesn’t try to be. Rather than claiming to be the first of its kind, Perks is a salute to the many like it that have come before. Also, the story does have it’s details and twists that make it more serious than a lot of others, with the characters encountering everything from abuse and sex to drugs and alcohol.

The cast is great, the actors fitting into their parts perfectly no matter how big their names are, Miller and Watson in particular. It must also be said that the rest of the cast, while not having as much screen time, are just as important and do a wonderful job supporting the story as back-up characters. Mae Whitman deserves mention, her role as the Goth-Buddhist, Mary Elizabeth, being a balance between an obstacle in Charlie’s way of going out with Sam and an oddly likeable person. And Paul Rudd’s presence, while adding another popular name to give the film notice, is surprisingly not overbearing as Charlie’s English teacher.

The rating was originally R for its “teen drug and alcohol use, and some sexual references,” but managed to appeal for a change to PG-13. Though there are things in the movie that I wouldn’t want my 13-year old being subjected to, the more mature themes aren’t the point of it. The audience shouldn’t see it to watch teens get drunk and do stupid things, because even though it does happen, that isn’t what the movie’s about.  Instead, the movie is more focused on the repercussions of those actions and dealing with the trauma of being subjected to those events.

So while The Perks of Being a Wallflower isn’t groundbreaking or revolutionarily new, it is a great example of a film that aims to reach out to its viewers on a more personal level. It also manages to capture your attention for its entire duration, and so gets 3 ½ stars from me.

DVDs to Look Forward To

This month isn’t one review, but four! One of which was actually left out of the printed edition, though I left it in this version as a treat for you all. And that covers them all thus far, tune in next month for October’s review.

School’s back in! That means homework and not nearly as much time to go to the movies. So instead, here are four movies coming out on DVD soon that might interest you.

The Hunger Games (Available August 18)

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth

Based on the book of the same title by Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Hutcherson) have to compete in the annual Hunger Games of a post-apocalyptic North America. The Games feature two tributes from each of the 12 Districts, who fight to the death on live television until there’s only one champion.

This is possibly the first movie in a while where the fans of the original material are tied for liking or disliking it. A roughly even amount of readers say the movie was great versus the ones who are disappointed.

Setting aside the books, it’s an entertaining action film but doesn’t let the audience get as close and attached to the characters as it should. The actors are adequate, nothing to compliment or complain.

I’ll give Hunger Games 3 stars, preferring the books but interested to see the rest of the movies.

Pirates! Band of Misfits (Available August 28)

Starring: Hugh Grant, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton and David Tennant

This animated film is based on the children’s book, The Pirates! The Swashbuckling Adventure Story by Gideon Defoe. With a title the same as his name, Pirate Captain (voiced by Grant) is determined to win the Pirate of the Year Award despite the many years of past failure. He follows the misguided instruction of the scientist, Charles Darwin (Tennant), despite the advice of his first mate (Freeman).

From the creators of Chicken Run, it’s an entertaining and humorous adventure story for any age. The entire cast of voices is brilliant, including Staunton as the voice of the pirate-hating Queen Victoria.

Loads of fun, Pirates! Band of Misfits gets all 5 stars, definitely on my list to own.

Snow White and the Huntsman (Available September 11)

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron

In this remake of the classic fairy tale, the Huntsman (Hemsworth) who was hired to kill Snow White (Stewart) decides to join forces with her to take down the Evil Queen (Theron) who took the throne that was rightfully Snow White’s.

The graphics in the movie were smartly used, and surprisingly not over-the-top. Also the story, while staying true to the original, had a few twists to make it more interesting. These things weren’t excellent, though, and not nearly enough to save the film. It doesn’t rise to the potential portrayed by the trailer, but it doesn’t fail completely.

With only 2 ½ stars, it might not be one of my favorites, but it could easily find an audience to entertain.

The Avengers (Available September 25)

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg and Samuel L. Jackson

Nick Fury (Jackson) recruits Iron Man (Downey Jr.), Captain America (Evans), The Hulk (Ruffalo), and Thor (Hemsworth) to join his own agents Hawkeye (Renner) and Black Widow (Johansson) to form the Avengers. Together they have to learn to work as a team and save the earth from Thor’s brother, Loki (Hiddleston), who’s formed an army and plans to take over.

The synopsis may sound cheesy, but it’s actually one of the best action films to come out in a while. The writing is clever and not overdone, and the same goes for the graphics. The characters may not get along all the time, but the actors have great chemistry and help carry the movie further than it would’ve gone with a lesser cast. It also stands alone well, but is only improved when put with the individual movies about each hero.

Surpassing the expectations of even the more optimistic predictions for it, The Avengers (alternatively Marvel’s Avengers Assemble) earns 4 ½ stars.