Alice in Wonderland

I've always been a really big Tim Burton fan and have been super pumped for this film ever since I heard about it last summer. The story of Alice in Wonderland is already kind of trippy and bizarre to start with, so I figured that Burton would take it to a whole new level when he got his hands on it. Well, I think I might have had too high of expectations for this flick because it was just "pretty good."
For some reason I thought it was going to be the best movie ever, but Burton seemed to of tuned down his style, probably because he had Disney over his shoulder the whole time. BUT, Alice in Wonderland was still a good movie and I definitely want to see it again. Visually it was very entertaining (especially in 3D), the acting was pretty good, and the legendary Danny Elfman delivered a great score.
All of the Underworld characters were great, the Cheshire Cat probably being my favorite. Visual effects were great as well, and this reinvented Underland is exciting, beautiful, and dark all at the same time. I guess the only real downfall in this movie was the story. The plot seemed pretty bland in general and I felt like there could have been more time with character development.

4 out of 5
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Shutter Island

This review is going to be short (and will have no link to a trailer) for a reason. I can see why people would really like this movie, but if you have heard anything at all about it prior to viewing it, it might ruin the experience for you. Unfortunately I heard some things about the movie that changed the way I viewed the film. Seeing this movie having no idea what it's really about and having no expectations is definitely the best way to see it.

So yeah, it was pretty good and Leonardo Dicaprio did a great job (like usual), but it definitely would have been better if I didn't hear anything about it before I saw it.

Wolfman

I'm not sure if this is a film for everyone, but I was excited to go see this movie when I heard it came out because werewolf movies have always fascinated/scared me (probably started when I got chased by some werewolf type things when I was little in the middle of the night). Although it was fairly entertaining, I was expecting it to be better and walked away slightly disappointed.

With the cast that this flick had, the movie has great expectations that just weren't met. The story could have been spiced up a little more and the acting could have been better. However, I was way into the new wolfman look that is way better than the 1941 original. Take a look as the difference between the two. OLD NEW

I like the different approach to the werewolf look that resembles more of a man than a wolf like the Underworld movies do (a great trilogy). The first half of the movie is intense as you don't get a good look at the creature for quite some time. They build it up a lot but then I think they possibly ruin the image somewhat by showing it too much in the end of the movie. I also couldn't help but thinking that it resembled an evil version of Beast from the third X-men movie.

Mentionable Cast

Benicio Del Toro

Anthony Hopkins

Emily Blunt

Hugo Weaving

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District-9

I didn't get around to seeing this in theaters but rented it the other day and loved it! It was SO unique and really surprised me. A few reasons why I enjoyed it so much:

• It isn't your typical alien movie when the supernatural come to earth for a purpose, to try and dominate or something. In this scenario, the aliens coexist with the humans and have done so for the last 20 years (it takes place during current times). They accidentally landed here and aren't really that smart; allowing the humans to control them. This was a nice break since I have never seen a plot quite like this.
• The style in which it was filmed was also very unique. The movie has a very documentary feel to it (that is extremely convincing) with a lot of hand-held and surveillance type footage, BUT they also incorporate high quality cinematic shots. They blend the two types together so seamlessly that you don't even realize where the transitions come in. I was very impressed.
• The aliens looked pretty bad ass and the special effects were really neat.
  
• And last but not least, the main actor in the movie did an extraordinary job. I've never seen him in films before but he is really talented.

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Twelve

Although there have been some reviews so far that this film is terrible, I think it deserves an upgrade to "OK". However, if you girls out there love Chase Crawford and/or Gossip Girl, this will be a fantastic film. Even though the story comes from a novel, it seems very similar to the GG series (but way more intense). Similarities:
Chase Crawford
Upper East Side Manhattan
Drugs
Troubled rich teenagers
Sex
Narration

Hate to admit it, but somehow I got dragged into watching Gossip Girl. So although this flick didn't seem original to me, I liked it because it was a very dressed up and more suspense building version of a GG episode with very good production quality.
I saw this movie at Sundance so I don't know if it is available to watch anywhere at the moment, but I'm sure somewhere down the road it will pop up somewhere.

Buried

Oh man!

Was this flick intense or what. The entire movie uses one actor and one location. Ryan Reynolds took the lead (and only) role for this unique film. He gets buried alive and is left with a cell phone, lighter, and pocket knife. Reynolds was fantastic in this role. He displays more human emotion in 90 minutes than most humans go through in a lifetime. Out of the four Sundance movies I saw this year, this was my favorite. There's no way I could write a script that would keep the audience entertained and full of suspense with only using one location and actor, but they pulled off this feat somehow. It was a great experience as the movie's power instantly made me feel claustrophobic and short of air from the start and left me sitting on the edge of my seat by the end.
I've heard that this movie has now been picked up by a major company and will make into theaters sometime this year. Go see it.

Teenage Paparazzo

Since Sundance Film Festival is only here once a year, I thought it would be appropriate to bring in some independent films from the great Utah based tradition. Teenage Paparazzo is a film written and produced by Adrian Grenier (Curly haired guy who plays Vincent on Entourage). As you can guess, the film revolves around the life of a teenager who has somehow fell into the paparazzi lifestyle. Adrian first picked up the idea of this story when he got sprayed with flashes from the young thirteen year old. Shocked anyway by how obsessed the media is with celebrities, this little kid made Adrian want to get to know the youngster and why he does what he does. The film carries on with the relationship between the newly famous Entourage star and this adolescent who stays up all hours throughout the night, chasing down celebrities (on his bike or skateboard) with other paparazzi just for a chance to get a good shot of the stars. Adrian attempts to get behind the lens (literally) to try and understand the lifestyle of the paparazzi, only to find out that many of them wish they were themselves famous. The thirteen year old eventually starts to get famous himself as Adrian followed him around for a couple years with a camera crew. At the end of the film, they show Austin (kid) actually viewing the first cut of the complied movie which leads him to see things in a greater perspective, causing some changes to take place in the kid for the better.
The film is entertaining but also rich with serious issues that relate to how grossly this nation is saturated and dependent on media. There is a lot of humor in it as well and also many sit down interviews with current Hollywood stars about the expanding paparazzi. Adrian Grenier was there to introduce his film which also made the experience better. I wouldn't be surprised if this film gets well circulated after Sundance.