Battle Ground

The side plot of the wife ad fiancée seemed necessary for the sole reason that without the movie would be too boring and short.

There was not enough action or dialogue to move the movie forward efficiently.

The animation of the cannons was not good.

The individual acting of the main cast was congratulatory.

I was thankful for the Germans speaking German, and the minimal talking and subtitles was pleasing.

The ability for the movie to turn the viewers dislike of the entire enemy into a single human manifestation was surprising and brilliant.

The set was incredibly life-like, and the costumes were accurate.

The movie is true to history, and can educate viewers about the time period of World War 1, with the gas, abortion, etc.

The Legend of Hercules

It had all the makes of a truly amazing epic.

Many of the historical Herculean myths were present, although some were out of place.

Many parts of Hercules’s life were incorrect, such as his birth, but I believe this movie was not supposed to be about the Hercules, but used him as inspiration.

The special effects were well used, the only exception being in the early scene with Hercules playfully chasing after Hebe, where she turned around to look at him; it appeared as a 60s background screen.

The moments that were meant for 3D viewing were not pleasant, and it was annoying how it slowed down every time.

The naming of Hebe is confusing, for Hebe is the goddess of youth. Perhaps her parents wanted the goddess’s favor, or the screenwriter hasn’t read his mythology. 

Her

The story was not well written and the plot was undeveloped.

There was not any exceptional acting to point out.

Many of scenes felt as if they were there to fill a space and make the movie longer, but they were not good quality and failed to make the story smooth and uniform.

The setting was well chosen; the few futuristic parts the movie contained helped give the sense that this might happen tomorrow.

If the mysteries at the ending were intentional, they should not have been. Some cliff hangers help the viewer to remember or take something away from the movie, but this was terrible.

If the writer was trying to show the overall fruitlessness of love, he succeeded.

Frozen

Disney’s idea of having two princess ideas was original, but many of the other details are overused and cliché.

Ana falling for Christoff was predictable, but the betrayal of Hans was surprising.

The music was appropriate and pleasing for its beautiful compositions and arrangements.

It did feel a little rushed, and more character development would be appreciated.

The beginning sequence was not liked. There could have been a better way to introduce Christoff.

Like most Disney movies, it had a good mixture of the original story (The Snow Queen) and new creativity and imagination.

As with all Disney movies, the princesses are too skinny. 

Catching Fire

If you didn’t read the book before hand, it doesn’t make as much sense. The transition between scenes is very choppy and abrupt.

Peeta and Katniss aren’t very good at expressing emotions, especially when they’re not talking (filling the space, or sub textually).

The special effects aren’t over done, and the sets are well constructed.

In making a movie out of a long book with a lot of information, it’s important to spend the time wisely; but the moments that should have been longer weren’t, and the moments that should have been shorter weren’t.

A main part of the plot, Katniss being pregnant, was utterly absent from the film, except for the small mention of it by Peeta. It was so pointless, that it probably would have been better if they didn’t mention it at all.

It has a documentary feel to it. (Blah blah blah, ooo! Something interesting! Blah blah blah)

Carrie

Chloe Grace Moretz as Carrie White:

            Before I watched the new version, many people had told me it was going to be extremely difficult or impossible for Chloe to perform a better Carrie than Sissy Spacek (1976). I, having seen the original, also believed these biased remarks, though not to the extent as the others. So yes, going into the movie I already was thinking that she wasn’t going to be very good. I’m glad I did, or else I wouldn’t have been nearly as blown away as I was.

            Chloe was fantastic; the way she showed us how shy and timid her character was good, the growing realization and awareness of her powers was great, the happiness of the dance radiated out of her, and how she cradled her dead mother really pulled at the heartstrings. The fights between her and her mother weren’t as realistic as the original, but that was the only flaw in an otherwise fantastic performance.

Julianne Moore as Margaret White:

            The disturbing yet welcome difference between Julianne and Piper Laurie (1976), is the difference between being an unwell (or close to insane) religious fanatic, and seeming as if you’ve been possessed by a demon. In the new Carrie, the mother appears to be more frightening, mad, and everything a villain should be in a horror movie. The self inflicted cuts on her arm, the intentional stabbing of her own leg, and the scene with the birth of Carrie all show the madness in this woman’s twisted mind. I think the biggest mystery is how she can see the evil in everyone but herself.

Judy Greer as Miss Desjardin:

            There wasn’t as big a difference between Judy and Betty Buckley (1976), except they used the gym teacher’s real name (Miss Desjardin) compared to the 1976 film (Miss Collins). One interesting fact is that in the new movie, Carrie doesn’t kill Miss Desjardin as she does in the original. Both of these changes are make the movie closer to the book.

Portia Doubleday as Chris Hargensen:

            Portia does just a good a job as Nancy Allen (1976), but the new film shows her progression of hatred for Carrie better than the old, particularly when she’s asked to slit the pig’s throat, she does it with such conviction and malice, laughing all the while.

Gabriella Wilde as Sue Snell:

            The new film gives Gabriella more screen time than Amy Irving (1976), which is spent wisely; Gabriella is able to portray the remorse for bullying Carrie much better than Amy, but the ending was twisted. In some ways the new film is more like the book, and in some ways it isn’t; Sue being near Carrie when she dies is accurate, but Carrie is supposed to die of blood loss, not a house collapsing. Also, Sue was supposed to be pregnant, but the implication that Carrie causes her to have a miscarriage isn’t there. Overall, it was a good performance.

Ansel Elgort as Tommy Ross:

            Ansel was better at showing how much he cared for Carrie than William Katt (1976), but not by much. Maybe it’s because I wasn’t a teen in the 70s, but I don’t think William was as smooth and charming as Ansel.

Alex Russell as Billy Nolan:

            The greatest benefit of this movie that I appreciated most was the boring and almost pointless scenes with John Travolta (1976) were given new life, meaning, and greater suspense, such as the bedroom scene and the pig scene.

The writers and directors did a phenomenal job of incorporating the 21^st century into a timeless horror classic, but with the good there also comes the bad. The addition of new electronics was a big plus one. The addition of the computer and Carrie’s lack of knowledge on how to use it was genius, and the phone taking the video of the bathroom scene was of course not in the book, but if Stephen King had written Carrie in this day and age, I believe he would have most certainly done the same.

On the flip side, a negative addition to the movie was, of course, special effects. A good horror movie shouldn’t need too many special effects, and luckily the movie didn’t use too many. The only real upgrade in effects was the killing at the dance, and the wrecking of the car. The dance can be overlooked; in fact, the effects were almost needed compared to the original film, but the worst scene in the entire movie was Chris and Billy trying to escape Carrie in their car. What should have taken 45 seconds took a good 4 minutes. It was plainly obvious that the over doing of special effects for that scene was intended to be just that; over done.

Overall, I think the new movie was a smashing success. It’s sure to attract this generation of teens, as well as the previous generation, despite their narrow minded thinking that the original will be better; you have to watch it and decide.