Pacific Rim Defines Epic

RATED- PG-13
RUN TIME- 132 MINS
WRITER(S)- TRAVIS BEACHAM AND GUILLERMO DEL TORO
STARRING- CHARLIE HUNNAM, IDRIS ELBA AND RINKO KIKUCHI
DIRECTOR- GUILLERMO DEL TORO



Synopsis taken from IMDb
As a war between humankind and monstrous sea creatures wages on, a former pilot and a trainee are paired up to drive a seemingly obsolete special weapon in a desperate effort to save the world from the apocalypse.  




In a world where the apocalypse has been done what seems like a billion times over, leave it to none other than Guillermo Del Toro to fascinate us with not only something completely original, but truly epic. Earlier this year when the trailer hit, I was extremely excited for this film to land. And now that it has, I'm even more pumped because it was even better than my expectations built it up to be.

Truthfully speaking, this film is just completely amazing. I can't believe how good it is! It's one of those rare films where after you walk out of the theater, the first conversation piece is when you're seeing it again. This is one of those movies that I think everyone on the planet should see at least once in their lives, it should make everyone's bucket list. There wasn't a boring part in the entire film, the whole duration is thrilling and gripping, and it's damned near impossible to take your eyes off of the screen.

If you follow Del Toro as closely and loyally as I do, than you know his creative side, and that his creatures in every film are always unique and different. This film is no different. Despite the amount of Kaiju's shown in the film, they're all brilliantly designed and different. Nothing else considered, just looking at the intricate monsters is enjoyment enough. Not to mention the Jaeger's, which are fantastic as well.

The action scenes are unlike anything you've seen before, they're totally new and mesmerizing. I can't recall another film that's had action sequences of this proportion before, and I know the term gets thrown around a lot, but "Pacific Rim" is absolutely 100% epic. It's consumes and enthralls you from the opening scene until the end. There is nothing that isn't spectacular about this film! And the 3D is gorgeous! This is probably the best film in 3D I've ever seen.

One of the most important things that I have to say about this film, is that they did a very good job of keeping a lot of the film out of the trailers. You may think you know about this film from what commercials you've seen, but it's a whole other motion picture than what you'd expect! I love that. Even though I did like the "Evil Dead" remake, I have to admit that the best parts of that film were spoiled in the trailers. That is not the case with this masterpiece. This may just be Guillermo Del Toro's greatest film to date, it's definitely the most enjoyable.

I also have to mention Charlie Hunnam's performance. Although he can tend to be a little stiff sometimes, he really came out of his shell in this film as Raleigh Becket. I'm truly glad, because I feel that sometimes he can get overlooked as an actor. So it's really satisfying to see him showing off a different side of himself and playing someone completely new! Great job all around on the cast. And Idris Elba is phenomenal as Stacker Pentecost, and he rivals Hunnam.

There is only two small flaws that I found with this film. One of them being a spoiler, so I'm not spilling the beans, though it has nothing to do with a twist or the end of the film. And the other being that I don't feel that the fact that it was the end of the world was stressed enough. It's mentioned a few times, but due to the fact that you don't see any civilians living their lives, and how the Kaiju invasion has impacted them, you don't get a real connection that it's the apocalypse. Nonetheless, this is truly a near-perfect film. It's very, very close, and I haven't given a film this high of a rating in years. 

It may be clichè, but the best word to describe this film is breathtaking. I reckon I'll see this film at least 5 more times when it comes out on Blu-Ray. This is the movie the world needs right now. This is what summer blockbusters are supposed to be. 

Mama (2013)

*** S  P  O  I  L  E  R  S ***

""A MOTHER'S LOVE IS FOREVER"

RATED- PG-13

RUN TIME- 100 MINS

WRITER(S)- NEIL CROSS, ANDRES MUSHIETTI AND BARBARA MUSHIETTI

STARRING- JESSICA CHASTAIN, NIKOLAJ COSTER-WALDAU AND MEGAN CARPENTIER

DIRECTOR- ANDRES MUSHIETTI

 Synopsis taken from IMDb

Annabel and Lucas are faced with the challenge of raising his young nieces that were left alone in the forest for 5 years...but how alone were they? 

STORY: Whenever Guillermo Del Toro's name is on something I'm always up for giving it a shot. However, with him being a producer, we all know that just means they wanted his name on it. How much he did or didn't partake in the making of this film I don't know, but it's still worth a viewing. Mama is the story of two young girls Victoria (Megan Carpentier) and Lilly (Isabelle Nelisse), who after a tragedy are left without parents and on their own in an estranged cabin in the woods. They end up becoming ferel children, animalistic and anti-social with other humans due to their being cut off from the world and left to fend for themselves at such a young age. They aren't alone though, an entity they call Mama has been watching and taking care of them.

Victoria and Lilly are found by some men that their uncle Jeffrey (Nikolaj Coster) hired to find them, Jeffrey has been searching for them the whole five years they were gone. When the girls are brought back into society they need a lot of therapy and aren't willing to trust anyone, they're completely wild. Once uncle Jeffrey gets injured his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica Chastain) has to take over taking care of the girls until he gets better. Even though Annabel isn't very excited about taking care Victoria and Lilly, it ends up being a good thing because the girls are able to warm up to her. Annabel begins to gain their trust slowly but surely and she begins to get used to them and like them.

Victoria and Lilly are talking to the walls and playing with something when Annabel isn't around. Someone they call "Mama", this same entity that took care of them in the cabin for five years. Annabel starts picking up on their weird behavior and even hears a grown woman's voice humming a lullaby coming from the girls room. Whenever she goes to confront the girls and ask them about their actions, they won't say a word because they say they don't want her to get hurt. And they also tell her not to go in the closet...

One thing that I was caught off guard by and didn't expect was that "Mama" wasn't Victoria and Lilly's actual Mom. Mama is the ghost of a woman named Edith, a mental patient in an asylum back in the 19th century. Edith killed a nun and stole her baby back from the church that separated them and is then given chase by the townsfolk. After seeing no alternative, Edith jumped off a cliff while holding her child so they'd die together. Only her baby got snagged on a tree and died from impact as Edith fell to her watery grave below. Since she died without her child, Edith's spirit can not move on and she's reliving that cycle over and over again.

Only now "Mama" has new children to look after...

Jeffrey, Annabel, Victoria and Lilly are all confronted by "Mama"

ACTING: The acting in this movie was pretty well done! There isn't Oscar winning performances but there isn't any really bad ones either. I like the cast chose for this movie. The little girls did an exceptional job for their age and for this being a horror movie. Jessica Chastain did a very good, grounded performance and she looked great.

SCARES/FX: This movie is a "less is more" type of horror film where they don't show you everything. A lot of the scares are in the general creepy feel the movie and there's some solid suspense. They rely a lot on these factors to scare you as much as what you do see and I tip my hat to this movie. Because if done right, you don't have to show everything, if you build enough suspense and give us characters we can relate to it'll take care of itself. Now, I'm not saying I don't like movies that show us everything, I'm simply saying it's stupid to judge a movie on how much isn't shown. You can show as much or little as you want and still get it done right. And Mama was pretty creepy looking if I must say so and I liked when they went into her backstory.

OVERALL: This movie starts off very strong and keeps that integrity until the end of the movie. However, the last 10-15 minutes of the movie become less horror and more drama. I think they spent too much time showing Mama at the very end, even though I can see how it was necessary with the story climax. This film is about isolation and the fear of loneliness and abandonment. And how now matter how good or how bad someone can be, as long as they're willing to ease our minds and our fears, we'll be loyal to that person. It's also about how not having parental figures can damage us.

THIS FILM GETS 3 1/2 REAPER SKULLS OUT OF 5

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark (2010)

Saw this movie last night after some anticipation due to the screenplay being written by Guillermo del Toro, who I'm a huge fan of. But I have to admit that I was extremely disapointed in this film. I truly didn't find it scary at all, there were a few cheap jumps and that's it.

I overall wasn't impressed. I didn't care for the story, the creatures and the ending. I'm not saying I hated the movie but I definitely am not a fan. It could have been alot better. Since this movie is still in theatres I'll save any spoilers and not give anything away.

This film also had a great cast with Guy Pierce and Katie Holmes, I truly expected more. I just didn't live up to what I had envisioned.

Synopsis taken from IMDb
A young girl is sent to live with her estranged father and his girlfriend at their new home. The father, Alex has plans to spruce up the home with the help of his interior decorator girlfriend, Kim. The previous owner of the home was a famous painter who mysteriously disappeared. Alex's daughter, Sally, soon discovers the cause of the painter's disappearance.

I'd give this movie 2 stars. View the trailer below.