ashman-8

Clue is similar to a well-written theatre play. The writing is solid, with a lot of subtle jokes packed in.

I'd have liked to see a more single-minded ending. The actors were all great, as were the characters.

Tim Curry's jumpy Wadsworth definitely stole the show although the other characters held their own as well.

The places Clue could have improved on are if there were clear clues to the right ending. The way it was presented, i do not think a viewer could have reasonably guessed what 'truly' happened, though I see why the directors/filmmakers filmed the movie the way they did. The idea was to tie everything together neatly.

Saw this on the flight almost by accident.

However, once I started, it was hard to look away. The students are so great, especially Alvan but all the others too. This doc shows what students today have to go through.

I wish it focused more on Jonathan Chu and Shea, however.

Brave had potential, but oh how it failed to live up to it! Almost all the characters are forgettable (except Merida's dad), and the story does not flow at all.

The message the movie conveys is also done in a very slap-dash manner, and as a result is not convincing. I would skip this one.

Zootopia has some really great characters (specifically the protagonist, the fox, the arctic shrew, the mayor, assistant mayor, the police officers are ALL great) and a great message (against bigotry). However, the way the plot concluded was pretty lame. I prefer movies that allow you to see the conclusion was present all along, whereas Zootopia pretty much pulled a deus ex machina (especially the way the "villain" was surrounded all of a sudden).

Moana is a good film, with some great characters, and a simple but interesting story. The only character that could have been better written is the shiny crab, and maybe the way the ocean was personified.

Moana in particular is a great protagonist, and I hope the voice actor gets more roles.

I wasn't a fan of the message - how one's heritage decides their future.

Coco does a great job with the storytelling. Despite the usage of clichés, Coco blends the story together well for the most part keeping things fresh. The characters are very strong and well-written and the animation is beautiful. In addition, the authentic representation of parts of Mexican culture is great to see!

Encanto is a huge disappointment. The premise is pretty great: A family where everyone has magical powers, except one person (the protagonist, Mirabel).

But, that's the end of the good part. The potential that premise sets up is left completely unfulfilled. Everything is _so weak_ about the writing. To state a few examples:

• the reason why the family got their magic is not explored.

• the reason abuelo is killed is not explained
• who killed abuelo is not revealed

The magical powers itself are really weak too. The family could have had some really cool magical powers (the fantastic 4/incredibles, anyone?), but instead they get... "making flowers"? Rain clouds over Pepa's head? (compare that with Storm in X-Men). Even with good superpowers, for example, the shapeshifter (similar to Mystique in X-men), the power is only used to be goofy. The animal talker & Dolores is the only one with a good superpower that is somewhat well-used. Even the mother's superpower (healing others) is not consequential at all.

Even the set up for conflicts is so weak, and the intra-familial relationships are left woefully unexplored.

The movie had great animation, and great potential but ends up being a complete waste of time due to abysmally poor writing.

It's not often that a movie gets you to empathize with all the characters as well as Wadjda does. There are no "villains", but true to real life, just people in different circumstances. That's what I'll take away from this movie.

The characters are very pleasant and are well portrayed so you can empathize with their issues. This was a pleasant change from having issues presented like an agenda on most media outlets.

My only gripe with the movie is that the characters don't develop too much. Where they are at the end is not far off from what we began with. In that sense it is more like a short story than a novel.

The acting is top-notch and although the story isn't "quick", it definitely doesn't drag. I would love to see a sequel if they decide to make one, it just seems a bit... incomplete.

I'd recommend you watch this if you like movies like Before Sunrise - movies rooted in life and the pace of daily life - over action flicks.

As a computer science student, I went to see The Internship excited to watch a movie about an internship at Google. And it's a comedy too, I thought. Great!

Well, once the movie truly begins (after rushing through introductions for a few characters that are discarded for the rest of the movie), we are met with the Googleplex, Google's office. Google's driver-less car along with the Space Ship One at the entrance makes the movie look more like an ad for Google (the rest of the movie makes you feel that this is not necessarily a bad thing).

But, filled with poor writing it quickly degrades in quality with some very poor characters taking up most of the screen-time. The characters are so gimmicky and caricatured that the movie loses any sense of realism it held. While Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson try hard, there really is not much in the way of funny dialogue or a plot for them to work with. None of the characters have any depth, and the script is pretty shoddy. I would give this a miss.

The Dark Knight Rises follows what was acclaimed as one of the best superhero movies of all time. Christopher Nolan has changed this genre so that, when once it was about people in spandex flying around, it now is a dark, action-packed realistic story.

The Dark Knight Rises is set in a different Gotham compared to the last two movies. This time, Gotham's safe - the bad guys are all in jail - until Bane shows up. Aspiring to portray a more realistic and relatable story than comics often allow, Nolan has perfectly positioned Bane as a terrorist figure, allowing for a believable plot to follow. This time around, the story is not built around Batman so much as it is around the need for a Batman. In typical Nolan fashion, the end elevates the film to a higher level.

Most of the film is solid with Selina Kyle's (Catwoman) absence from the screen for long periods the only flaw. Definitely worth a watch, but with only one watch you may feel you have not absorbed it in its entirety.

Amazing! Spectacular! IMDb no. 1! These words constitute only a part of most movie-related conversations over the past 3 weeks. The Dark Knight has beaten all expectations, broken all box-office records, earned critical acclaim and most importantly, has brought a huge smile to Batman fans everywhere. But, under all the hype, stripped off all the media attention and the huge spotlight placed on it by Heath Ledger's sad demise, how good IS The Dark Knight?

The darkest version of Batman yet starts off with Joker robbing a bank. At the end of the scene, the Joker is probably established as THE person to watch through the movie. The 'new' Joker is definitely refreshing to see, as unlike past versions, Nolan's Joker doesn't play any campy, cheesy pranks. Neither does he waste his time with silly props. The Joker in The Dark Knight is as much a villain as Jack the Ripper was a serial killer. The story then slows down a bit, with action packed sequences popping in just at the right moments to make sure you don't get too lost just listening to the Mob drab on. Scarecrow is quickly (and quite rudely) pushed aside and within the hour, Harvey Dent is introduced as Rachel's new hubby (Beats Spideman 3 where Venom was introduced minutes before he died). Morgan Freeman gets a larger and much more prominent role as Lucius Fox and as is the case with Morgan Freeman, when he shoots a scene, the attention is going to be on him! That is, Lucius Fox ends up stealing Bruce Wayne's thunder quite a few times.

The 'real' story starts when Joker decides to dedicate himself towards one mission - Batman's death. Like an alarm bell to wake those who managed to fall asleep during the slow bits, a corpse thuds onto the screen. Thus, begins the 'new' Joker's "jokes". Heath has brought a "REAL" element to the Joker that was missing in previous editions. Amazingly, Heath and Nolan have catapulted The Joker into Top 10 Villain lists while leaving The Joker as vague as possible. The various emotions he went through - smiling one second, anger the next, lust for pain and then expressionless - left most of the audience not knowing what to make of the Joker. The joker's mysteriousness, coupled with his insane (also meaning awesome) methods of 'serial-killing' left most of the audience on the edge of their seats. Oscar worthy? Win? Probably not, but a role that breathes life into a fading character should stand a good chance. Nomination? Definitely.

However, for me, the real star of the movie was Aaron Eckhart. His portrayal of Harvey Dent was so real, picturing him as anything but a District Attorney seems almost impossible. He seemed to add something real to each scene he was in, whether he was battling Wayne, or supporting Batman, or just being your friendly neighbourhood DA, Harvey Dent seemed to be much more than a 'supporting' actor. However, his turn as Two Face towards the end of the movie slightly 'Dented' his performance. He seemed a little 'awkward' as Two Face, unsure whether to play him full of emotion or leave him as a stoic character. The coin toss though added yet another element to an already wonderful film.

The rest of the cast - Bale played a good Batman, but was clearly outshone by his supporting cast (Dent & Joker). Rachel Dawes - Oh my God! Her topsy-turvy love life left possibly the only blemish on an otherwise perfect film. Excellent acting, horrible storyline for poor Rachel. Lucius Fox - Would definitely prefer him in a smaller role, as he kinds of takes 'away' spotlight from the others, even when he doesn't need it. Michael Caine played an impeccable Alfred! The Mob also played their roles well with the exception of a few and didn't take anything away from the film.

Nolan's genius, last but definitely not least, has to be appreciated most of all. To take a movie franchise that had been beaten into oblivion by probably the most awfully made movie (Batman & Robin), with horrible direction and even worse costumes, Nolan has managed to turn Batman back into a real 'superhero'. Starting with Batman Begins, Nolan has perfected every scene till it couldn't be perfected anymore. And the absence of CGI, not only provides a 'real' look to the film, but makes it tons more amazing.

So for me the cast would be rated: Nolan (Director)>Dent>Joker>Batman/Bruce Wayne>Alfred>Fox>Dawes

Lastly, lots of people believe undue credit may have gone Batman's way thanks to Ledger's death. Sure, it may have exaggerated some views, but The Dark Knight altogether is really not that bad a movie at all. Really, not bad at all! All in all, an amazing film, definitely one of the top 20 I have ever seen and possibly the only one to leave ALL the characters engraved in the viewer's mind. Kudos to Nolan and crew!