zarajasmin1586

I honestly don't understand why everyone's raving about this movie. For me, the biggest drawback and constant grater on my nerves are the absolutely annoying characters, beginning with the titular character himself to the most unmemorable villain.

Let's start with Ralph. I get that he's being treated like garbage and he wants to get more out of his existence despite everyone around him telling him he should stick to the status quo. That's nothing new (and nowhere even close to the ballpark of original). But did he have to be such a selfish, self-serving jerk about it? He stormed into Hero's Duty, almost revealed the big secret (that video game characters have lives outside of the arcade's opening hours), stole the medal, released the evil little bug thingies, destroyed property.... the list goes on. And all without even a hint of regret or contrition, an ounce of self-awareness, and the slightest regard that he was jeopardising every other characters' livelihoods (and lives) JUST so he can serve his own selfish, deluded desire to get a medal. That's like saying, "Hey kids, it's okay to cause trouble to everyone because you're just trying to get what you want and there's nothing wrong with that."

It's just so...American.

And Vanellope! She's spoiled, selfish, and annoying as well. It's like they all have tunnel vision or something. It's all about 'me, me, me. It's what I want and it's what I'm going to get'. Case in point, she totally took that medal even though Ralph begged for it and practically sobbed out how much it meant to him. And she threw it into a freaking cauldron, fully knowing that it would disintegrate (doesn't matter that the medal's going to reappear IF she wins the race). I just...

It's like every action the characters do cause stress to me. Felix is a spineless fool. Calhoun was promising in the beginning but her backstory was more like a parody than something that was supposed to give her dimensions. King Candy was like that raisin-filled chocolate that nobody likes but is somehow always in the box. He's uncanny and out of place (even though we all discover the reason for that later).

The graphics were great, though. The inclusion of all the game characters was interesting. It gets a little off-putting with all the obvious product placements but it gives the viewers a nice opportunity to relate to some of the things shown.

But the clichéd plot and the characters that absolutely grated on your nerves are the dealbreakers. I couldn't even sit through until the end. Left the theatre an hour into the movie. And I thought Brave was bad.

The movie was really solid in the first half but continues to try my patience the closer it gets to concluding. The plot is not entirely original but well-executed. The concept was interesting and as the story progresses, you start to care about what happens to the characters as much as what the answer to the question is.

I don't know if it's because the genre is psychological thriller which made me pay more attention to the nuances or if they've failed in being subtle but I figured out the answer (and what the question is) almost immediately. Still, I did hope that the ending would prove me wrong because it couldn't really be THAT simple (but I was right). So for me, the core of the movie (what is the question?) failed to intrigue. Indeed, it only served to disappoint so that's a mark against it for me.

How about the ending itself? The revelation of the magic pill was a little too scifi-y for my tastes. Also, I feel dissatisfied with how the person won since 1)the CEO cheated by messing with the timer and 2) the winner was mostly passive and in the end seem to win through sheer luck.

What I do like about it are the characters and the pacing. I like the fact that you get to see layers of the characters being peeled off and revealed as the story progresses. They start off as being stereotyped (quite literally, in fact) but as the saying goes, there is more than meets the eye and you realise that as soon as you think you've got one character pegged, s/he surprises you again. The pacing was good too, since it keeps your attention even though everything happens on one location only.

Overall, it was a good movie but sort of crashed and burned at the end.

I was so looking forward to this movie and was so sad that I was disappointed it wasn't quite up to expectations. I did not read the book but I saw the trailer for this a few months back and Beauty and the Beast had always been my favourite Disney movie. A modern retelling, good-looking leads, gorgeous cinematography and Neil Patrick Harris? Perfect ingredient for a good old romance movie, I'd say.

But I was wrong. The movie even started on the wrong foot, with Alex Pettyfer's dismal acting. Maybe he's been doing so many action movies that putting on the skin of a romantic lead was a little hard. His portrayal of the vain, selfish and mean lead was unconvincing at best. Now, the best part of Beast's transformation was the coming-of-age of the spoiled 'prince' into a rage-filled beast and finally into a selfless man transformed by love. None of that were evident in Kyle Kingson. He was a brat, then a whiny stalker, and finally an emo dude.

Vanessa Hudgens also gave a cringe-worthy performance. She was so flat and void of personality that it was painful to watch. Beside the bad acting, the plot was also a little draggy, lacking in climax and real emotion. You don't feel drawn to the characters, you don't feel convinced by the emotions and you will cringe at the incredibly cheesy lines. In fact, my sister and I kept mumbling 'Don't say it! Don't say it!" throughout the movie because a clichéd one-liner is always around the corner.

The one saving grace was Neil Patrick Harris, but that's only because he brought his 'Barney Stinson' persona into the movie. Though I absolutely adore Barney, it would be nice to see NPH bring something different to the plate.

All in all, I'd say watch this movie if you're looking for style, but don't go looking for substance. There's not much to be had.

I'll be honest here. I Am Number Four is a yawn. And when I'm not counting minutes till it's over, I'm snickering at the amazingly cheesy lines. Seriously, I haven't watched a movie with lamer lines since the Twilight series.

Which was a shame, really, since I was so anticipating this movie because a) Alex Pettyfer was so cute in Stormbreaker and I'd like to see more of him, b) I love Diana Agron, and c) I love a good teen drama/superpower movie. But IANF was such a disappointment in the way that there's nothing believable about the movie AT ALL.

So the Mogadorians want to kill the 9 surviving Lorien kids with superpowers (called Legacies). Why? It's not really clear. Ethnic cleansing perhaps? One of the characters explained how the 'Mogs' don't colonize, but decimate instead. So why go to all the trouble of searching for the 9 scattered in all corners of the world? Why not wipe out Earth and be done with it anyway since they live to destroy anyway, right? It didn't help that right when Number Four's number is up (pun intended), he decides he wants to be 'normal' and 'go to school'. And the overprotective guardian said yes. Sure, what's a murderous predator compared to listening to your teenage ward's whining 24/7 right? And what's with Number Four's propensity to constantly ignore (sound, life-saving) advice anyway? Is he trying to get killed? Or is it that it's more interesting to have a character that breaks all the rules since the main character never dies, anyway right?

All in all, I'd say the movie's a flop. The characters are either annoying, unmemorable or carbon cutouts of every other movie. The appearance of Number Six makes it slightly more interesting but in the end she's just a blonde version of Megan Fox. The script was painfully shallow and the story's just...meh.

Unexpectedly beautiful.

That was my first thought right as the end credits started rolling. I had to admit, I was just expecting a generic boy-meets-girl drama when I read the description and began watching. To be honest, I was just looking for a light watch. I didn't expect to get so into the movie.

Keith is, by far, one of the best movies I've seen. Not that the story hasn't been used to death. But what sets it apart is the storytelling. The characters touch your heart and there's just something very magic about the relationship between Natalie and Keith.

I love that there's a perfect balance of lightness and seriousness in the movie so you don't feel bogged down by the heavy emotions but at the same time feel so deeply for the characters.

The performance by Jesse McCartney blew me away. I had no idea he can act so well. He brings his character to life and like Natalie, you can't help but fall in love with him.

Excellent rating for me.