Anonymous

Surprising, that Roland Emmrich can actually pull of a beautiful looking film, with great acting, and nothing blowing up. Also there is no ridiculous running from temperature scene, or a Macintosh computer sending a virus to alien computer system. Although the idea is far fetched here too, I forget that halfway through the story. The film stars the wonderful Rhys Ifans, the lovely Vanessa Redgrave, Joely Richardson, and David Thewlis. 

The film is about Edward the Earle of Oxford trying to use plays to destroy the Cecils. However a person like Edward does not write plays he needs someone else's name to be on the scripts. So William Shakespeare eventually becomes the play-write. Who is also an illiterate actor. The film features betrayal, incest, violence, more like a Greek tragedy and less like a Shakespeare play. 

Now I have enjoyed only one Emmrich film, which was The Patriot. Like that film it has good acting and looked wonderful. Also like that film it completely rapes history. However, you will completely get rapped up in the melodrama. 

The film did great job to recreate London in the early 1600s. The costume and sets are great to look at. Possible academy award nominations for best art-direction and costume design. The actors are all great, there is no weak link here. Rhys Ifans I have always been a fan of, and really shines here. So above all I reccomend this film even with its flaws. 

rating - 79%

10 Greatest Superhero Films

10. Captain America: The First Avenger

Directed by: Joe Johnston

Starring: Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving, Tommy Lee Jones, and Stanley Tucci
My Rating - 81%

9. Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Directed by: Guillermo Del Toro

Starring: Ron Perlman, Doug Jones, Selma Blair, Seth MacFarlane, and Luke Goss
My rating - 83%

8. Superman II

Directed by: Richard Lester
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, and Ned Beatty
My rating - 84%

7. The Crow

Directed by: Alex Proyas

Starring: Brandon Lee, Ernie Hudson, Michael Wincott, Bai Ling, and David Patrick Kelly
My rating - 85%

6. Superman: The Movie
Directed by: Richard Donner
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder, Marlon Brando and Ned Beatty
My rating - 87%

5. X2: X-Men United
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, and Famke Janssen
My rating - 91%

4. Darkman
Directed by: Sam Raimi
Starring: Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand, Larry Drake, and Colin Friels
My rating - 92%

3. X-Men First Class
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, and Kevin Bacon
My rating - 93%

2. Batman Begins
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman and Michael Caine
My Rating - 97%

1. The Dark Knight
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Gary Oldman, and Michael Caine
My Rating - 98%

Honrable Mentions
The Incrdibles
Iron Man
X - Men
Blade II
Thor

Drive

Drive is one cool film, with it starring one of the coolest actors in all of Hollywood.  After watching this movie I might have little bit of a man crush on Ryan Gosling.  Not only is this film sexy and cool, it is very disturbing in the way it shows violence.  However that is expected, since this is directed by Nicolas Winding Refn.  The film also features Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Ron Perlman, Christina Hendricks, and Albert Brooks.

Drive is about a stunt car driver with no name, who also moonlights as a getaway driver.  The driver begins to come interested in his neighbor girl and her son.  He ends trying to take a job after the family is threaten by gangsters.  Generally in caper films the job always makes a turn for the worst, which happens here.  The film then turns toward the ultra-violence and becomes one of the most disturbing films I have ever seen.

Now drive is not meant for everyone and it is not that mainstream action film that they have been trying to market as.  However the film had me going throughout the hole thing.  There are shots here that are so surreal still playing in my head.  The film opens up with one of the greatest car chases I have ever seen.  Probably the best one since The French Connection.  I loved the 80ish synthesize soundtrack.  Albert Brooks is also amazing in this.  He plays one charming, but then turns to a real disgusting gangster.  This is probably the best film of the year so far, and I definitely reccomend this to any film lover.

Rating = 95%

Warrior

Warrior a cliched, but well acted film is the first decent thing MMA has given society today.  MMA sounds good when someone talks about it.  However when watching a fight, its shirtless guys grabbing each other on the floor.  Not enough punching or kicking,  the way two real men fight.  The film is directed by Gavin O'Conner (miracle).  It stars Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, and Nick Nolte.

The film is about two bothers who had rough childhood with their abusive alcoholic father.  Grown up Tommy after leaving the military wants to get into MMA and has is father be his trainer.  The other brother, Brendan, his family has fallen on hard times.  He has do MMA on the side which gets him in trouble with his school which he is teaching at.  The two brothers enter a tournament to get five million dollars.  Tommy feels that his older brother and his mom for his father and for a woman.  Tommy hatred for him makes it even more epic when the two bothers have to fight each other at the end of the tournament.

The film has problems, the cliches stand in the way.  Then there is the war hero angle that takes up to much time and makes the film to long.  It feels shoved in and has nothing to do with the family conflict.  It was also hard to figure out some of the things going, because they put the camera to close in. There also are some annoying MMA sub-culture thing thrown in here two.

The performances are good though.  Tom Hardy embodies a young Marlon Brando from the 50s.  Joel Edgerton who continues impress with this also for his role in the film Animal Kingdom.  Nick Nolte gives his best performance since the The Thin Red Line.  I expect either Nolte or Hardy will get nominated for this film.  Above all I recommend this if you are fans of these actors or if you like MMA then you will like this.

rating = 64%

The Debt

The Debt is a good competent spy film directed by John Madden.  No not that annoying football announcer with all of those football video games.  (God if that guy actually directed this it would be the craziest movie, it would of been Brett Farve killing Nazis.)  No this is the John Madden who gave us such classics like Shakespeare in Love and umm..... nothing else.  The film stars Jessica Chastain, Helen Mirren, Sam Worthington, Tom Wilkinson, Jesper Christensen, Ciaran Hinds, and Marton Csokas.

The Debt is about three Mossad agents in 1966 said they completed a mission in capturing and killing a Nazi doctor.  Come to the 1997 there is something wrong with what they are saying and is tearing them apart.   The daughter of two of the agents has written a book about their account of what happen on their mission.  She is very proud of here parents patriotism.  This comes back to affect some set of choice they have to make about there situation.

First the complaints with the film is when its switching back in forth to the 60s to the 90s it has a problem with pacing.  Which is sad because a film like this depends on suspense, and to make good suspense there needs to be good pacing.  Some people have said the younger versions do not look like the older versions.  I never had a problem with it, because the performances all around were great each two actors playing the character were both similar in how they emoted so that was not a problem for me.

The performance are all great.  Jessica Chastain is continuing to have an incredible break-out year.  Sam Worthington was someone who always came off kind of wooden in all of his films, but here he did a top notch job showing some emotional presence.  Jesper Christensen as the Nazi doctor did a great job at being just a pure evil asshole.  Helen Mirren, Ciaran Hinds, and Tom Wilkinson all do a great job like always.  Madden's direction is good in a lot of scenes to create tension, but mainly this is an actors film.  So above all I reccomend this film.

Rating = 82%

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Ah yeah, the chimps will rise. I have to say wow going into this didn't expect much, especially after Tim Burton's last edition to this franchise. Rise of the Planet of the Apes is best film in this franchise since the original 1968 film with Charlton Heston. Its maybe the best film of the year.
The movie is about scientist played by James Franco who is trying to find the cure for Alzheimer's, because his dad (John Lithgow) is suffering from it. By doing this he has to test on apes. Caesar(who is incredibly intelligent because of the testing) a baby chimp of one of the ape subjects is born into this lab and Franco takes him in. His character and Caesar form a an emotional like a father and son. However Caesar screws up and gets locked into to a chimp shelter. Only this is no haven. Caesar sees the cruelty of how people treat animals, and says no more. Now the monkey revolution is on now.
The CGI motion capture performance by Andy Serkis as Caesar is incredible. For those who say it is not acting let me say ya'll are idiots. Those emotions come straight from him. I still think Andy Serkis should be nominated for an Oscar for Gollum and I think he should be nomiated here. He is that incredible. Not only Andy Serkis is great the people doing the CGI should get nominated too.
Most of the performance are good James Franco, John Lithgow, and Freida Pinto do a good job. Some of the side supporting human characters are kind one dimensional, but since that is all they are meant to do is advance the plot I'm okay with that because the film is not about them. Rupert Wyatt, who I never heard of till now does a good job with the action, and has a good since of pace with the editing, cinematography, sound, and music. I strongly recommend this movie.  Rating = 94%

Best CGI Motion Capture Performances

5. Bill Nighy - Davy Jones (Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest)

4. Billy Crudup - Dr. Manhattan (Watchmen)

3. Zoe Saldana - Neytiri (Avatar)

2. Andy Serkis - Gollum (The Lords of the Rings Trilogy)

1. Andy Serkis - Caesar  (Rise of the Planet of the Apes)