The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

By Michael Apted

I enjoyed this movie much more than I enjoyed Prince Caspian, but it did not quite live up to my expectations. I have read this book many times and it is my favorite in the series, so I have a high standard for the moviemakers to perform up to.

The technical parts of the movie (the acting, costumes, effects, design, etc.) were all astounding and beautiful. I loved the Dawn Treader and how it looked as I had imagined it to be. The acting was quite well done; I already knew that Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, and Skandar Keynes would perform well, and was quite impressed with Will Poulter's portrayal of Eustace.

My one problem with the movie is with the plot and the storyline. The writers decided to add an element into the story in an effort to unify the plot. However, I found that it merely cheapened it and made it more of a flimsy usual story. My favorite part of the book had been that the adventures were there just to be just adventures - they had a point (to find the seven lords) but it was not a life-and-death, urgent driving force. I liked that Edmund and Lucy had been called into Narnia merely for fun and not to complete a mission, as in the other books. However, the movie does away with this element. I think that without the green mist (a people-eating evil mist) Fox would have made a good movie.

Besides the mist, there are only little glitches with characters that I have a problem with. First, Edmund seems to be a little jealous that Peter left Caspian in charge, in essence making the same mistake that Peter did in Prince Caspian. But it's not a major part of the movie and Edmund fixes his attitude well enough. My second character trouble (which is really just a matter of preference) is that Eustace becomes nice much too quickly. In the book, he's a positive nuisance without one nice bit at all until the island where he turns into a dragon. But in the movie, they show that he does want to be nice, he just doesn't show it (which is perhaps more realistic and makes him more likeable of a character).

Overall, this is a good movie and though it does not follow the book to all the islands, it gets a good deal of adventures in and you get to see the great lion himself. One of the best lines of the book was included in the movie, too: "In your world I am called by another name. You must learn to call me by that name," talking about how Aslan is Jesus in our world.

This was much better than Prince Caspian and I look forward to see how Michael Apted does his next Narnia adventure: The Magician's Nephew.

Review by Beckyelsie

Ocean's Thirteen(2007)

Directed by Steven Soderbergh

First of all, this movie is all about thievery. Not the best subject but the movie is still intriguing.
It is the third installment of the Ocean series and I think it is the best.

It is about about eleven men all master thieves, teaming up to take down someone who hurt on of there friends(one of the eleven).
Since this is the third movie you already know the characters of Danny Ocean, Rusty, Linus, Reuben and the rest of the gang.

Well it has been a while since the gang has done a gig together. And everyone is doing small things on there own. Reuben made a deal with Willy Bank. A very rich man planning on making the granddaddy of all casinos. Reuben put everything he had into it, but Willy Bank's betrayed Reuben. That sends Reuben into a stroke. And all the other Oceans decide to have pay back.

This movie was the first I saw of the Ocean series and to me it is the best. There are some inappropriate scenes. And some cussing(I am not a big critic on the cussing but some may say that it is unbearable but it isn't that much. You would have to be very uptight) and then the whole thievery thing is the main plot.
This movie does have good acting which is surprising for me to say seeing as George Clooney is in it, and I absolutely hate his acting. I guess Brad Pitt and Matt Damon's acting is good enough to not have me focusing on George Clooney's.
I wouldn't suggest it to those who cannot not watch movies with cussing or some little inappropriate scenes. But to those who like puzzles you will probably like this movie.

Review by Sweetie Pie

Star Trek(2009)

Directed by J.J. Abrams

Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise.
This movie is a prelude to the popular TV show of the 70's Star Trek.
I never really enjoyed the original Star Trek's with William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, and Leonard Nimoy as Spock. Mainly because I did not like William Shatner's acting skills.
But in this movie its all new people playing a lot younger characters from the original Star Trek. Chris Pine plays James Kirk and does a great job. Zachary Quinto is Spock, Zoe Saldana as Uhura, Anton Yelchin as Chekov, Karl Urban as Bones, John Chu as Sulu, and my personal favorite character, Scotty is played by Simon Pegg.

The movie starts at the birth of Kirk and jumps to when he is around 10-12 years old, It also shows Spock at this age too. Then it jumps to when both of them apply to Starfleet, in completely different ways.
Three years later it jumps to when Kirk is about to take a test that is supposed to be unbeatable. The test itself was designed by Spock, a well-thought-of Starfleet Officer. Kirk cheats on the test, and while being judged a distress message comes from Vulcan. Starfleet immediately sends of many cadets in the greatest ships Starfleet has, including the recently built Enterprise.
 The movie then  follows Kirk and Spock during a rocky road of betrayal and death. Which ultimately ends in the formation of one of the greatest Starfleet teams.

I enjoyed this movie immensely. I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation, so to see the beginning of the Enterprise is a really treat. It is probably even more of a treat for those who enjoyed the original.

Review By Sweetie Pie

P.S.
Hello Viewers
July was a off month as you probably noticed. I had an acting camp I was going to everyday, so I didn't have much time to post reviews but now I am back and reviews will be coming quite swiftly.
~Sweetie Pie(Senior Admin)

X-Men, First Class (2011)

Directed by: Matthew Vaughn

X Men; First Class is a captivating and action packed movie. It has excellent special effects and yet still manages to maintain that special hallmark X- Men feel.

If you have seen the other installments in the X- Men franchise you will not be disappointed. However, if you have not seen any other X-Men movies this is an excellent place to start. Even though this is a prequel to the other four X-Men films it is definitely a stand alone.
This new installment is set after World War 2 and features intermittent images of Charles Xavier/Professor X, Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto, and Raven/Mystique's childhoods.

X- Men; First Class is full of spectacular displays of special effects. However, this movie isn't just tricks and lights. It is riddled with heart, raw emotion, and captivating acting performances. James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Jennifer Lawrence really deliver. Each of these actors bring a lot of new meaning to Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique. New actors supply a lot of comedic relief with their strong supporting roles.

However, be aware that there are some adult themes in this movie, such as some drinking and violence, as well as the pervading theme of evolution that is ever present.
Overall, this is a worthwhile watch that I would recommend.

A Review By: Christie S.

Rango(2011)

Directed by Gore Verbinski

Rango is a lizard who has lived in captivity his whole life. His only friends are a wind-up-fish, a head-and-leg-less-barbie, and other little plastic toys.
But one day when his owners are on a road trip, Rango(Johnny Depp) is thrown out of the car.
He is in the middle of a desert that doesn't quite agree with him. The desert has no water. There he meets a friendly armadillo with some wacko advice. He tells Rango to keep walking until he hits Dirt. Rango keeps walking until he meets Beans, a lizard with a panic disorder, Beans then takes him to her home town of Dirt.
Rango then becomes sheriff, and must save the town of dying from thirst.

This movie was cute, but not great. It is just a little wacko, I'm not sure that kids as young as four would be able to follow this movie that well. I wouldn't recommend buying the movie until after you seen it.

Review by Sweetie Pie

Inception (2010)

By Christopher Nolan

It’s very intense, but good. It plays around psychologically and gets faster and more intense as you progress into the movie. It is one of those movies that you have to watch multiple times in order to catch everything. The movie follows the life of Dom Cobb, a man accused of murdering his wife and who must therefore do illegal brain extraction (extracting secrets from a person’s mind via dreams). Saito hires Cobb and his team to perform inception-to plant an idea in someone’s mind without the subject realizing that the idea is being planted. The mission can be easily compromised by Cobb and the secret he holds. Will they complete their mission and get out safely? And will Cobb finally face his secret and get back to his family?
This movie had a lot of death and some issues with language. Life does not appear to be valued in this film, as can be seen by the fact that the only way to get out of a dream is to kill yourself. Predictably, there is a lot of dying in this film that is not seen as a problem.

Review by Beckyelsie

Phantom of the Opera(2004)

directed by Joel Schumacher

The Phantom of the Opera is there, inside my mind.
So I had been wanting to see this movie for a very long time, and was so excited when I got it from netflix (netflix is amazing). And well I was entranced during the whole movie.
It is a story of a young Dancer for Opera Populaire, Christine Daae (pronounced Die-ee), who has been learning to sing by her 'angel of music'. When Opera Populaire changes ownership, and one of the people invovled is her child-hood-sweetheart, Christine (played by Emmy Rossum) is suddenly haunted by The Phantom of the Opera(played by Gerald Butler).
Christine is forced to chose between the man behind the mask(literally) and her love from long ago.

This movie is excellent as long as your older than 13, it is definitely not a kids movie. There are quite a few murders committed by the title character. And there is a lot of touching of the skin and kissing(not exactly going together). If you have a problem with kissing and touching then this probably isn't a movie for you.

But the Pros for me way out weigh the cons. First of all, the music. I had never heard Andrew Lloyd Weber's music before this and was captivated. it was not like what I thought of an opera. In fact it isn't much of an opera as a very extravagant musical. Everyone singing is superb. And the music is just fantastic. And the whole story is very intriguing, exciting and amazing. And the acting(acting police here) was phenomenal , and I don't usually say that, but seeing as all the actors sang their own song, and were completely in character.
This movie is a must see for any one who loves very extravagant musicals.

Review by Sweetie Pie