Cowboys and Aliens (2011)

Now the title alone screams watch me!
So I had to, I thought the concept of this was
very interesting and different and I wanted to
see how this all worked out.

Now I have said to people many times that
I'm not a big fan of westerns probably because
they were pretty much before my time. Now I have
watched plenty of westerns but they just never clicked
with me, I'm a child of Star Wars and like my
"space stories" as the older generation calls them.
I'm more Buzz Lightyear then Sheriff Woody.
Now I seen some interesting movies
similar to this so it is not a totally new idea but still
as I said interesting and different.

As for the movie itself I thought it was pretty good, I felt it became
better as it moved along and you had the chance to learn more about
the characters and the situation. I felt that it focused on
pretty much i would say classic character archetypes.
but that is not a bad thing.

Also at the first of the movie I felt the dialog and acting was very
stiff and what what staticey but the movie looses this as it progresses.
There was some slight "action movie" humor that gave me a chuckle.

Overall I thought the acting was pretty good I thought it was a
bit funny watching Harrison Ford as a villain around the first of the film.
he seemed to really play it up, but I did like alot of the moments he shared
with Daniel Craig. I also like the performance by Olivia Wilde (Quorra from
Tron: Legacy) she is somewhat mysterious and you don't find out her true
purpose until the middle of the movie.

Like I said there was some nice humor, one of the best jokes is when the
characters find out what the aliens want and Ford's Characters reaction
to it is very funny. Speaking of aliens I did like the creature designs
in this I thought it was very cool and liked the look of the creatures
I would have to say I was impressed by them they had a nice design
and I did thing the "chest arms" that they had were a very cool idea.

I also liked the designs of the little ships or "scout ships"
that would snatch up the people I thought those had a very unique look.
The visual effects, the stunts and the action were all nicely done.
Even the music was very good.

I have to say I enjoyed the film and if your looking for something
fun, entertaining with a little different concept then give this a try.

Conan the Barbarian 2011

By Crom its Conan!

Yes I went to see the new Conan movie
Now Conan has had quite a history in the
entertainment industry much like the history
of Tarzan and Sherlock Homes
Now I'm not going to delve into that history
being that it would take probably to long and
involve plenty of copy and pasting here
Also we are not talking about "the literary History"
of the character but this post is on this movie itself if
you wish to know all there is
to know about Conan you can read it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conan_the_Barbarian

Now on ward to this movie.. I have enjoyed the original films
which started Arnold they were exciting and fun and at times
really funny and featured such scenes as Arnold as Conan punching
out a Camel (LOL) and they were great for being PG-13

Now with this new Conan comes the brutality of the heavy R-rating
and I do think that benefits this movie alot were you can have the
brutality of the extra violence and yes this film is especially violent..
probably a bit more then I think I thought it would be.

Now I know alot of people have been throwing alot of negativity at
this film and I can't say I share that view. I personally
rather enjoyed it.. Now true I am not the biggest Conan
fan I never read any of the original stories or the comics or
anything really.. My main and only exposure to the character
was through the original Arnold movies.

Now with that in mind and sure this was not "King Conan"
the film that was repeatedly promised for many years but
I thought this was a pretty good movie. True it wasn't the greatest
movie of the summer by far but it was a very enjoyable film.

I felt in away it it fleshed out
the younger character more. More of his childhood
Also the opening sequence was good and the narration by
Morgan Freeman didn't hurt. but like I said I though
it put alot of effort into the character's younger years
and somewhat drove home the idea that this boy born of war
was special and would go on to become a king.

I thought the times he spent with his father
(played by Ron Perlman who was great in this)
were very important and the scene around the first
where young Conan takes on and takes out the group
of "Wild Men" set the movie up for what he will become.

I felt the loss of his people especially his father
gave him a greater sense of purpose and made him a
more powerful character.

As for the person play Conan Jason Momoa (of Stargate: Atlantis
fame) did a really good job as this character I enjoyed
him as Conan he seemed to fit this part very well
and was comfortable in this role and did not seem
awkward or out of place.
I felt he had a great comradely with the other
male characters and could feel that chemistry between him
and Rachel Nichols (Tamara)

Also I though Stephen Lang who played the main villain
Khalar Zym did a excellent job of that as well he
played a good some what arrogant villain confident in
his own skills and ability which would lead to his
own down fall I also have to say I liked the
double bladed sword he had that could be detached
and do various combinations with.
Also there was a point in the film where it seems
to be allude that he may or may not have been having
a incestuous relationship with his daughter Marique
(played by Rose McGowan) who had a very interesting look.

Speaking of interesting looks there were of course
plenty of beautiful women in this as well and some
very nice T&A I might add (LOL)

as for the rest of the film I thought the music
was fitting and the action as I mentioned before
was sometimes graphic and intense there were times
where I would have to say "Ugh.." or "Oh, that doesn't
look good.." when a henchmen/warrior was dispatched.
but the action was very good some nice stunts and
and sword fighting and brawls.

The visual effects were pretty good also I liked
the "finger in the noise" scene that was some what cool
and I did like the effect for the I guess you would call
them "Sand Zombies" they were an interesting character
but the one thing I was kind of disappointed about
I thought for some reason there was a Dragon in this?
but there wasn't, I wonder where I gotten that Idea?

There was also a few humorous parts in the film
such as the scene with the catapult and the interactions
with Conan and Tamara they played off well with each other.

But in the end it had great production design and
some nice scenery shots which were very good
it was a pretty classic and fun action/adventure movie
and if people try to look beyond that to see something
with a greater deeper meaning then they are going to be
disappointed this is not Shakespeare, Its not going to
win the Oscar for best screen play or best picture
this Is Conan: The Barbarian.
and I would have to say I did enjoy it.

Colombiana 2011

I had a More detailed review of Colombiana but
sadly I can't seem to find the Text Document that it was
typed up in... but anyway I hope this is good enough:

I would have to say I really enjoyed this film I seen
the few trailers that were shown and I thought
that it might be a good movie and I wasn't wrong.
The story basically follows the character of
Cataleya (played by Zoe Saldana who played Neytiri
from Avatar) it starts out as she is a little
girl and her father is working undercover for the
US government, and he is found out and
he and his wife are killed but Cataleya escapes and makes her way to the US embassy
and from there to the US to live with her Uncle who is actually a high level Hitman.

With revenge in her heart and mind, re reluctantly trains her to become an
assassin for hire known as "Colombiana", when she is older she starts picking off
various people in hopes that the people who killed her family surface, which they
eventually do and she begins to take them out one by one until she gets up to the
head boss.

Like I said this was a really good movie, I enjoy and support the female
action heroes. I find they at times can be just as good if not better
then a movie staring a Male lead. I liked the various scenes
where you can see her struggling to lead a "normal"
while at the same time persuading this job of killing
people for money. It was very interesting to see the conflict
between her having a day to day life and her job.

I also thought that the acting was very well done as well
as alot of the action and stunt work, was pretty impressive
especially the whole sequence in the police station.
I thought that was pretty cool.

In the end I thought this was a very good action movie
and also a really good revenge story as well it was some what
classic in a way but it didn't feel like it was, it felt like a whole
new concept.

If I were to sum this movie up and relate it to something
I would say it was similar to The Punisher (2004)
being that it had almost the similar themes.
but like i said I thought it was really well done and was a very good watch.