Review - The Cabin in the Woods, The Hunger Games

This is my first time blogging. I enjoy watching movies. I also enjoy giving my opinions on movies and hearing other persons opinions. Purely entertainment to pass my time in this cruel cruel world. Just sharing with you my reviews on some of the movies I've seen so far in the Year of Our Lord 2012. Some are good while some should be banned from the public eyes but here goes:

The Hunger Games (2012)

 Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth.

A film about teenagers or "tributes" sent from districts to compete in what is called The Hunger Games. The Games are a twisted punishment  from the evil Capitol Nation for past uprisings and an ongoing government intimidation tactic on these districts. The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which "Tributes" must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) volunteers to be a tribute in place of her sister. 
Katnis delivers a solid performance in this film. She and Peeta (Hutcherson) bonds and fights for survival against the other tributes. Their on screen chemistry was a beauty. If you havent read the books, its no biggie, the storyline is easy to follow. Solid performances, visual effects and makeup/costume design was good in this movie but that was just about it. The movie was anti-climatic. The last fight scene and ending was pretty dry.Yeah Yeah Yeah we know its gonna be a trilogy but cmon, thats no excuse. Overall it wasnt a bad movie nor was it great. I would watch again if I'm bored. 

Rating: 7/10 

Cabin In The Woods (2012)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Connolly and Fran Hanz.

This film stars five friends who go to a cabin in the LONELY woods for relaxation and frolic, not knowing what awaits them. I thought this would have been your typical cliched horror flick , you know, where people get attacked by some demon caused by a haunting or some psycho in the woods kills everybody and only one survives. Yeah Yeah Yeah But NO, Cabin in the Woods had something else in store. From the get go, I established that this wasn't gonna be your typical cliched Friday the 13th kinda flick. Why? Creativity blossomed. If you've seen the Hunger Games and The Truman Show, The Cabin in the Woods actually captured aspects of their storyline. This movie keeps you guessing and just when you think you know whats going on...POW! something else happens. Oh and if you liked the movie "Thirteen Ghosts", the CITW offers much more. All I can tell you is that this movie was able to successfully use ideas from other movies and transformed it into their own with humor, twists, gore, suspense, horror and entertainment.
 Loved it. 

Rating: 9/10

Act Of Valor (2012)

Starring Roselyn Sanchez, Alex Veadov and Nestor Serrano.

This movie uses original filmmaking  and stars Navy Seal officers who set out to rescue a CIA agent and eventually uncover and stop a terrorism plot. The gritty action is what made this film okay for me. If you're a big fan of the Call of Duty video game, you might find this movie a tad interesting. It's not filmed like your average movie. The camera angles were good and the action scenes were tense and made up for the somewhat predictable storyline. I doubt many people will like Act of Valor but the action is what made it watchable for me.

Rating: 6.5/10

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2012)

Starring Nicolas Cage, Idris Elba and Ciaran Hinds.

Sequel to the already crappy Ghost Rider movie released in 2007. I thought, could this be any worse than the previous film? I gave it a chance. Nicolas Cage reprises his role as Johnny Blaze, the idiot who sold his soul to the devil. He teams up with Idris Alba to save a boy from the devil and also hopes to end his curse blah blah blah. Very dull, boring film and the artistic efforts in this sequel didnt do much for it either. The acting sucked and the movie sucked. I gave it 1 out of 10 because I only like the fiery head effects of the Ghost Rider.

Rating: 1/10

Tyler Perry: Good Deeds (2012)

Starring Tyler Perry, Thandie Newton and Gabrielle Union.

This film is about a wealthy businessman who is living a life he obviously doesn't want but does so to please his family, friends blah blah blah. He stumbles across Lindsey (Newton), a homeless woman struggling with her daughter. He helps them to get back on their feet and Lindsey quickly becomes his new love interest. He breaks up with his fiance (Union) and finally lives the life he wanted.  The End. Yawn.
 I had some problems with this movie. Firstly, the acting was atrocious; lots of over-acting. Secondly, this movie was predictable from the minute it began. Lastly, it was boring and dull. There was nothing to make up for the very predictable ,cliched and sappy storyline. Note to Tyler Perry - stop scooping up black actors and actresses just to make these incredibly cheesy movies. Be creative.

Rating: 2/10

Gone (2012)

Starring Amanda Seyfried, Jennifer Carpenter and Daniel Sunjata. 

This film stars Seyfried as a girl who was kidnapped by an unknown man. She escaped but no one believes she was really kidnapped and they think she's crazy. Now she comes home one night and realizes her sister is missing fearing that the kidnapper took her and of course, no one, not even the police believes her.
 By the time this movie ended, I am still there wondering what the hell was going on, who the hell was the kidnapper and why the hell did this girl drive all the way into the deep dark woods talking to a man on the phone whom she ASSUMES is the kidnapper. This movie was on all levels ridiculous and stupid and has one of the worst climatic scenes in life. Stupid plot made worse by these lifeless actors. Avoid at all cost.

Ratings: 0/10

Project X (2012)

Starring Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper and Jonathon Brown.

 Filmed in the found-footage style, this movie is about a nerd whose parents went away on some vacation and his nerd friends decided to throw him an awesome birthday party to gain popularity at school. 
Let me say this, the party was good for most parts, the atmosphere was crazy but the awesomeness started to deteriorate as the movie went along. The jokes became unfunny and that scene when the police/army came to intervene seemed too messy for my liking. Yeah the party got so uncontrollable that the police had to treat it like it was some sort of civil war which is kind of a cool idea BUT everything looked TOO jumbled and confusing. Not to mention the ending of the movie was so dry after such an "awesome" party. Overall I think the found footage method suited this movie but with better actors and direction  this movie would have been EPIC. I was very disappointed with the ending.

Rating: 4/10

Man On A Ledge (2012)

Starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks and Anthony Mackie.

Movie stars Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) as a fugitive and ex-cop who spends majority of this film dangling over some ledge on a tall building threatening to jump while the police try to persuade him not to. Unknowingly, he has his cronies aka his brotherJoey (Jamie Bell) and brother's girlfriend Lydia (Elizabeth Banks) in a building nearby trying to steal an item to prove Worthington's innocence. 
What I liked about this movie was its creativity. The diversion created by the lead actor was smart. At the start of the film, you may not even realize this. Even though the acting wasn't really great, I was kept engaged and the heist scenes were enjoyable. If you're a fan of heist films, you may enjoy this one.

Rating: 7/10

Winter's Bone (2010)

Starring Jennifer Lawrence,  John Hawkes and Dale Dickie.

 Movie stars Ree (Jennifer Lawrence) as a 17 year old girl who cares for her two younger siblings and her sick mother. Her father who was arrested for being a meth dealer skips his bail and disappears. Her father used the family home as collateral for bail so now Ree has to embark on a quest in the town to find her dad before the house is repossessed and she and her family become homeless. 
Jennifer Lawrence delivers a solid performance in Winter's Bone but the story for most parts was a bit bland and I found myself getting pretty bored. I really tried to like it but why lie to myself?  I was pretty much just impressed by Jennifer Lawrence performance. Winter's Bone has good cinematography and a decent cast but the story wasn't as interesting as I wanted it to be.

Rating: 6.5/10