Movie Review: "War Horse"

How does war affect individuals? Civilians caught in the midst of infantry, soldiers embroiled in battle, and the horses that lead the Calvary? War Horse is the story of a horse named Joey, sold into the British Army at the start of World War I. What director Steven Spielberg does is weave a tapestry of war from Joey's point-of-view.

Throughout the flick, Joey changes masters multiple times due to the horrors and atrocities of war, the only constant in all of these scenes is Joey, and Spielberg manages to convey what Joey is thinking or feeling through the camera movement and juxtaposition of shots. Through breathtaking scope, solid acting from the rounded cast of character actors, and the exquisitely realized, highly kinetic action sequences that is Spielberg's forte, War Horse gallops across the screen with verve.

Where the flick works best is the vignette's of each person that Joey deals with across his journey: from the British boy who raised him, to the British Calvary, to the German Army, all the way to a French farm girl and her grandfather. War Horse is an examination of war and how compassion survives within toughest times. The compassion that the individuals who meet Joey show for the horse, often saving his life, to the compassion between the individuals that Joey meets and how they feel for one another. Ultimately, war is ugly business that those involved are not fighting for their country's victory, but to keep themselves alive as well as those that they love, shown by two German brothers who desert the German Army to ensure that they stay together.

Simply put, War Horse is compassion. Throughout all of mankind, one of the most overwhelming bonds that exists is the love of a pet, a dog, a cat, or even a horse. People remember them, love them, treat them as if they're human, and will fight to ensure their safety. Even years later, they hold those animals in their hearts, and are united with others due to compassion that all share for the animals that they once loved or still love.

I give War Horse an A+!

Movie Review: "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol"

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol is a whiz-bang, breezy fourth installment to a storied franchise that has never been quite as good as James Bond, but has always managed to deliver entertainment, and this fourth installment does just that, but little else.

Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt, whose IMF team is now having to do the true impossible, when they are believed to be behind a bombing at the Kremlin in Russia. The biggest difference from the other three films in the franchise is that director Brad Bird treated Hunt and his team, just as that, a team, working together to prove their innocence. From Simon Pegg to Paula Patton to Jeremy Renner, Bird made sure that Cruise would not be stealing the spotlight from the rest of his team (even if he is still given the best action bits).

There are plenty of laughs throughout the story, and the plot unfurls at a nice click, constantly keeping the viewer on their toes. However, there is not much emotional depth to the movie, with a subplot involving Ethan and his wife only hinted at in a handful of scenes until the end, and when we are supposed to have an emotional payoff, I was left cold. But seriously, this is Mission Impossible, not Shakespeare, you watch it for the impossible action and adventure, right?

So what if the villain is an underdeveloped psychopath who only gets like two lines of dialogue (and I am not joking, we see his face and are told he's evil, but we never see or hear him do anything evil). When you get right down to it, the action is well directed, Pegg is on top form here, Michael Giacchino reworks Lalo Schifrin's theme into a score that is clearly his own whilst paying homage, and Cruise still proves that he isn't too old to hang off the tallest building in the world. If these things do not allow one to switch off their brain for two hours of simple fun, then you shouldn't accept this mission.

I give Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol a B!

Movie Review: "The Adventures of Tintin"

Like a Saturday morning cartoon, The Adventures of Tintin is brisk entertainment that is easily digestible, with plenty of excitement and laughs. Director Steven Spielberg crafts a children's film about a young intrepid reporter, named Tintin, and his uber-smart dog, Snowy, working to unravel a mystery involving sunken treasure. Simple enough concept, and Spielberg rarely strays from it to delve deeper into the emotions of the characters and add anything beyond standard stock characters -- in particular Tintin and the villain, Sakharine. However, The Adventures of Tintin flies by at a nice pace, with just enough missing pieces to the mystery -- and some highly imaginative action sequences every few minutes -- to keep the audience from zonking out. Spielberg deserves huge props on the masterful staging of a sequence where two construction cranes battle, smashing into one another. They cross in midair like large sword blades, one piloted by Sakharine, and the other by Captain Haddock, Tintin's sidekick. The imagination on display here and the near flawless animation and motion capture work from WETA, make The Adventures of Tintin an enjoyable thrill ride. Even if there is a lack of suspense cause we are never given enough time to delve deeper into characters and develop any real emotional connection, The Adventures of Tintin is a theme park ride. Short and enjoyable, but the thrills will most likely be forgotten a short while later.

I give The Adventures of Tintin a C!

Movie Review: "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"

There are three things that make for a good sequel: more, more, and more, and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows does just that. Is there more action this time about? Yes. Is there more character and relational development? Yes. Is it more faithful to its literary counterpart? Yes.

Robert Downey, Jr. returns with charisma as the sleuth, with Jude Law not far behind as Dr. Watson, the straight man of the duo. Watson is getting married this go-around, which does not sit very well with Holmes, conveyed well by Downey, Jr without ever coming across as unnecessarily jealous. However, Watson's whole Honeymoon runs amok when him and Holmes must embark upon one final case to prevent Professor James Moriarty from manipulating the world powers -- via acts of terrorism -- into starting a World War.

Moriarty is every bit Holmes's equal, and Jared Harris manages to be as cool and collected as Downey, Jr. is as Holmes. However, what makes both portrayals work, is the emotions flashing behind their eyes that are masked by their demeanor and the way they deliver their lines, resulting in a lot of sophisticated set pieces that are more Hitchcock than what one tends to associate with the films of director Guy Ritchie.

The flick has fewer plot holes than its predecessor, though it lacks much of the crackling pace and energy of the first installment, often moving a touch slow for such an action heavy piece. Same as the first installment, there are a few scenes that just felt unnecessary and bogged down the flow of the story, such as the scene with Holmes's brother, Mycroft, in the nude.

Even through all of the slow moments, Ritchie manages to keep the audience in the story through the verbal sparring that is always enjoyable between Holmes and Watson, and taking us into Holmes's mind by not just hearing Holmes's thought as to how he is deducing his environment, but by also visually representing these things through camera movement and reactionary point-of-view shots.

The action as a whole develops organically throughout the story, with the story dictating the action rather than the action dictating what the story is about, and this is where A Game of Shadows is a step above so many other action films. The action is cleverly woven to where Ritchie can do a breathtaking chase sequence through the woods entirely in slo-mo, detailing every minor graze of a bullet and explosion, and then dial back to have a chess match between Holmes and Moriarty as the climax in a Hitchockian fashion. It is in moments like these that A Game of Shadows is the most successful, and it is why it builds upon the framework of its predecessor and surpasses it.

I give Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows an A-!

Top 10: Spielberg Moments

A, "Spielberg Moment," is not quite a, "Kodak Moment," but is rather a moment from a Steven Spielberg film that touches the viewer on an emotional level. Whether that emotion be hope, wonderment, excitement, sadness, fear, or even a combination of all of these things. Spielberg has been creating some of the finest moments in cinema since the '70s, and no other director in movie history has directed quite as many moving and memorable sequences as Spielberg has. For this, he gets his own list. The Top 10, "Spielberg Moments," has been culled from my personal experiences I have with all of his films, funny thing is, so many of these moments have affected others in similar ways all across the world, and rather than my yakking and wasting so much time, I've decided to just let these individual moments speak for themselves. So reminisce with me as I count down:

10. UFO Duet from Close Encounters of the Third Kind



9. The Indianapolis Speech from Jaws



8. E.T. Comes Back to Life from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial



7. T-Rex Attack from Jurassic Park



6. E.T. Abandoned from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial

Due to stupid copyright issues and whatever, I couldn't find this clip online. This scene is the opening of E.T. E.T. goes venturing off from the spaceship and is chased by government agents. Then the spaceship takes off, stranding E.T. on earth... Now, scared and alone.

5. The Desert Chase from Raiders of the Lost Ark



4. Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial from Saving Private Ryan



3. Saving the Slave Children from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

The only other clip I couldn't obtain. This is the scene where Short Round has just saved Indiana Jones and has just given Indy his hat back. Then Indy hugs Willie and she says that they should get out of there. Indy goes, "Right. All of us." Cut to the kids in the mines, and Indy standing in the mines entrance, blocking the mine cart track, with a face saying, "I'm gonna beat the crap out of you bad guys."

2. "It's a Dinosaur!" from Jurassic Park



1. Saying Goodbye from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial