"Gravity" Blu-Ray + Movie Reviews

        

           

            Gravity has now been released on Blu-Ray today so everyone who raved about the film back in October can now pick it up and watch it again, and those of us who did not quite get why it had such a buzz can try it again and find out why it was raved about so much… If you have not guessed by the last sentence, I did not love the movie the first time I saw it. Yes, I did think it was a very well done movie, but in the story aspect, I did not get it as much. Though, I got it this time. I will talk about the movie last. First I will talk about the Blu-Ray.

PICTURE QUALITY

            For a movie with cinematography this fantastic and visual effects this excellent, the Blu-Ray will have to be extremely good to show how good these two aspects really are. Though, this is a great Blu-Ray. The visuals here are very immersive to the point where it almost seemed like it was in the theater. And the special effects were carried over extremely well, too. It looked like what it feels like it is supposed to look like and all of these visuals look awesome. The visuals really look like they did in the theater and the colors are handled well.

AUDIO QUALITY

          The audio quality here is also great, but I have a minor flaw I am going to start out with. When mixing the audio tracks together, the volume tracks got too loud, so the speakers are very easily overpowered. Though, that is my only flaw. The audio itself sounds great. You really get the full track and can feel everything working in it. Also, the use of placing sounds in different places really worked. By the editors making it sound like sounds were coming from different directions, it really felt like I was there.

BRIEF THOUGHTS ON SPECIAL FEATURES

          As advertised, this Blu-Ray has over three hours of bonus features about the making of the film, and these special features are fantastic. While I have watched less than half of them, I already know many things about how the film was made. The special features really go deep into detail and there are many of them.

FILM

          As I already said, the first time I saw this movie, I did not like it nearly as much as I did this time. I thought it was a really good movie, but I thought that it was very overrated and I had flaws with it. Though, upon this viewing I realized that some of the flaws I had were there to explore the underlying themes. For example, when Matt (George Clooney) talks to Ryan (Sandra Bullock) while she is at 2% Oxygen, the dialogue seemed forced and I did not think it was wise to talk to someone who is at 2% Oxygen. Though, upon this viewing I realized that Mat was actually calming Ryan down. She had stopped gulping in air so fast. Also, here, we learn more about the characters and see their roles in the themes, because these characters are how the themes get across. I will not state the underlying themes of the movie, though. They are very much up to everyone’s own interpretation and this is not as analysis of Gravity.

            The directing of this film is for sure the best directing of the year and the camerawork in this film is some of the best camerawork in many years. With the way the camera slowly moves, it gives us the idea of just floating in space and helps suck us into this environment. And the directing of other elements in the scene is excellent, too. The direction of these actors really helps get the themes across, as does the moving around of the actors. Also, the cinematography here is excellent. Down to every detail, the cinematography seems to get everything correct in the design of the interior and exterior of these satellites and space stations.

            The acting here is also excellent. While Sandra Bullock being on a green screen by herself for the majority of the film, she does a fantastic job. George Clooney also does an excellent job mastering and becoming his character. I did not see George Clooney in this movie, I saw Matt Kowalski. And also, despite its tiny little things, this film is very, very realistic. I believe this is what it would be like to be in space.

            The script here is actually excellent. Some of the dialogue here seems like dialogue real people would say. I related to these characters some of the time just because I heard what they said. Also, the dialogue going inside of the characters worked very well. It all fit together perfectly to make this movie.

            I could have said obvious things about this movie such as how intense it is and how much the audience pulls for Bullock’s character, and how awe-inspiring the visual effects are, but that would just be stating things everyone already knows. Yes, these are some of the best special effects of all time, and yes, this film is extremely intense. Though, those are not the only factors that make this movie excellent. There is also the directing, acting, writing, cinematography, and the score that really held this movie. The score here really captures everything the silence misses. It is loud when it needs to be and quiet when it needs to be. Anyway, this is, for sure, an excellent movie that has a reason for being loved by the critics.

The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 11 "Claimed" Review

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE

            Another episode of The Walking Dead came on last night, and it is my job to review it, so here we go. Some might call this episode a filler episode, and I am fine with that, even though I did like this episode.

            Because I liked this episode, I am going to start off with the problems I had with this episode, instead of the things I liked about the episode. First off, while this is an episode that I enjoyed, there is some enjoyment lost due to lack of character furthering when there is no action. Therefore, when there was just dialogue, all we have is dialogue and nothing else. So, there is nothing the episode can do to give us more than a slight interest in what may happen next.

            Another flaw I have with this episode is the cheesiness of the relationship between Carl in Michonne. Their back-and-forth dialogue is almost over-the-top. I do not know how dialogue gets over-the-top, but it gets that way here. For the tone of The Walking Dead, this does not work. It makes the tone in this episode very inconsistent. And the dialogue in general is not great. It is mostly the same dialogue we have heard when the dialogue is not fantastic. It feels like the writers have chosen the same types of lines for these characters, so it does not seem new.

            Now that I have all of my flaws out of the way I can get to the things in the episode that I liked. First off, in this episode there is a very big plot furtherer that could be foreshadowing the ending of the series. While thinking about that is a bit sad for me, at least the plot is finally being furthered big time. Also, I liked the storyline with these new characters. One reason for that is that I really like the big characters. I like the big guy because he is not The Governor 2.0. He is an actual character and I like this character. I also think the scientist character is interesting and the other character has my curiosity. One other good thing relating to the story is that I like the ending to Rick, Michonne, and Carl’s story. It is cool that they are now finding the sanctuary.

            This episode has some suspense elements in it. For example, when Michonne searches throughout the rooms to try to find out if someone was currently alive in the house was one of the moments, even though the main one was when Rick was trying to hide from the people that invaded the house. Both of these had good suspense. That was because of how well-directed they were.

             It finally happened. Michonne tells Carl that she had a son. One of our characters finally learns about Michonne’s past. I like that we have some more character development with her. We could start to learn more and more about her as we see more and more of her. Maybe she will eventually tell Rick about her son and maybe a husband. I like where this plot point could be going.

            Another thing I liked about the plot element of this episode with Rick hiding in the house is that it was something The Walking Dead has never really tried before. I did not expect Rick’s small storyline in this episode to go in that direction. I like that this show is trying new things, like with the layout of the last episode.

            Although it was not as good as the last two in my opinion, this was a good episode of The Walking Dead that I enjoyed. It did have its flaws, but it also had many good things and I like how the episode ended.

"Cloud Atlas" Blu-Ray Collection Movie Review

        

            

            Now it is time for my fifth Blu-Ray Collection Movie Review, and for this one I have decided to do the film Cloud Atlas. This was a very polarizing film when it came out (only two years ago in 2012). Basically, the audience was split into the ones that loved it and the ones that hated it. I was obviously one of those who loved it.

BRIEF COMMENTS ON FILM

          I believe that this is a great movie. The six-story setup with pulled off masterfully. Though, this is not just six different stories, there are some very good underlying themes that run through all of these stories, which are what really connect them. Our biggest underlying themes are good and evil, or not knowing one from another, but there are others, too. There is imprisonment and freedom and helping others or torturing others. And even behind the underlying themes this is a great movie. It is great-looking. All of these sets are fantastic. It is greatly directed. This whole entire execution was done very well and both the action scenes and the directing of the actors were done extremely well. These six storylines are also all fascinating in their different ways. There was not one storyline that I was not excited to see. The screenplay writers and the directors did a great job at evening out every story. And there are excellent links between the stories, too. They are hard to find, but it seems brilliant to me when I find them. There is a huge amount of small connections between these stories in the movie. Lastly, this film has top-notch performances. This huge cast pulls off all of their roles very well.

SOUND QUALITY

          The sound here is great. It was masterfully edited into this Blu-Ray and, itself, was immersive. With the way these sounds were edited into the Blu-Ray, it seemed that I was where the actors were. It felt like I was right into the movie. The other thing about the sound is that it did not seem to overpower the speakers at all. It stayed steady the whole time. Also, there was a wide range of volume that the sounds seemed to go up and down throughout the movie. When edited into the movie, the editors would make sure that they were quiet when they needed to be and loud when they needed to be.

PICTURE QUALITY

          This is one of best Blu-Rays I own for the picture quality. This movie looks excellent on Blu-Ray. In each different story, the place had a different look to it. This was fantastically translated to the Blu-Ray. It is very easy to tell how different all these places look. One thing that would have been hard to convert into the Blu-Ray was how bright some of the scenes are, because this is a visual movie. But there is no worry for that here, because the visual elements of the film look excellent on Blu-Ray. Another thing about the quality is that I was sucked into all of these environments. The converters did an excellent job of catching all of the viewers’ attention with the look of this film. One last incredible thing about this Blu-Ray, which is probably the best thing about this Blu-Ray, is what the people look like. In most movies, the actors all look like they are in a movie. With all of the lighting, they do not look like they would if you saw them in real life. That aspect usually makes it to the Blu-Ray, too. Though, here, the people do not seem like they are in a movie. They all seem like this could be what they would look like in real life.

            This is a great Blu-Ray and a great movie. Every time I see this movie I notice one or two things about it that I did not see before. I am immersed into this movie through the sound and look.

"Pompeii" Movie Review

        

            Director Paul W. S. Anderson gets a lot of hate. Pompeii is definitely one of the reasons why. I will go ahead and say that this movie is awful. Going into this movie I had slightly low expectations, and this film was much worse than I expected it to be. It stars Kit Harrington, Emily Browning, Kiefer. Sutherland, Carrie Anne-Moss, and Jessica Lucas.

            Because there are only two things in this entire movie that I liked, I will say them first. In one of the action sequences, I saw glimpses of a well-directed sequence. In the end, there were some shots of really cool and good-looking special effects. Those two things are the only things I liked about the movie.

            I will start off with probably the worst aspect of the film – its terrible, terrible script. This script gave a terrible story with terrible characters to with this movie. Also, the entire thing is filled to the rim with every cliché it could have with this story and just about every single line of dialogue is terrible.

            I will start off with the characters. These characters are the same characters we have already seen a hundred times. They are also dumb characters. They do incredibly stupid and laughable things. Their relationships are instant and they share no chemistry with each other. I could not connect to them and I did not care of them. The main villain is cheesy, poorly portrayed, and plain dumb. It was also completely unnecessary for there to be a villain in the first place. All the villain did was take away from the movie. I was bored with the villain’s storyline and he did not seem menacing me. He was also the usual, clichéd villain.

            The story here is extremely derivative of Titanic and Gladiator. It seems to mix the two together and they were not a good match. The two stories combine to make a very dumb and clichéd story. I am guessing you have read the word “cliché” too many times already by now. Anyway, the story is also dumb. It is very hard to believe and it is told through terrible dialogue.

            The finale of this film is the most hard-to-believe thing in the movie, too long, bloated, poorly-directed, dumb, and just too much. It mixes in an unreasonable action scene with what is already happening and it does not work. With the poor characters we have, there is no intensity felt. With the way it is directed, it is not exhilarating.

            I have said “dumb” many times and I have never really explained what I mean by it. When I say that something is dumb, it usually has to do with the way it is written and crafted. With every line of dialogue being horrible in these scenes, they come off dumb.

            Those are all of my flaws in the script, so it is not time to get to my flaws outside of the script. First off, the only times the effects are good are during the few shots I talked about at the beginning. All of the other effects looked bad. There are many, many times in this movie where I could really tell that the actors were on a green screen. And during many of the action sequences near the end, it really looked like this was on a stage.

            You would think that this is a terrible movie that could be enjoyed, right? Well, you are wrong if you do. This is an uninteresting, boring film. After about the first thirty minutes, I was bored and counting down the minutes until the film ended. I did not enjoy this movie.

            One last flaw I have with this movie is its predictability. Because this film is so clichéd, because we have seen all of this before, I predicted most of this movie. For just about every plot point, I was right, too. My entertainment watching this movie was predicting was going to happen next, but that also got boring, because I was right every time.

            Pompeii is for sure a terrible movie that I strongly urge you not to check out.
            With an awful script and awful direction, Pompeii is a dull and uninteresting, awful film that is filled to rim with clichés and has a terrible, terrible ending.

The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 10 "Inmates" Review

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS  

SPOILERS  FOR THIS EPISODE

       

            As another week begins, another episode of The Walking Dead comes on. After the mid-season opener, I was really pumped for this episode, because I loved that episode. Read my review of that here. Of course I did not like this episode nearly as much as I did the last, but that was one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. I cannot expect this one to be better. Though, this is still a very good episode… and also a very different episode. The Walking Dead has never really done this before.

            Because most of what I will mention are things that I like, I will mention my few flaws with the episode first. My first is that some enjoyment factors of the episode is lost due to the sudden changes in pace in tone between all of these points of view between the four stories. The transitions could have been a bit smoother. Another is that there are still times with walker attacks that if the walkers would not have done something so dumb, the people would have been dead. The rules with the walkers have seemed to change, and I am not okay with that. My last flaw is that sometimes I started to like the characters less because of their actions and dialogue that are there so that there could be drama. I think that we should like all of these characters, because they are our protagonists. It is okay for them to have arguments and fights, but we have to be able to take both sides. Sometimes that was not the case.

            Those are my only three flaws with the episodes. None of them are too big, but there are flaws to address with this episode. Now I can get into why I really liked this episode. I will first mention that this was a great way to bring Carol back. Not only was it a great time for her to appear and fix the situation when we really did not expect it, but it was fantastic to bring her into Tyreese’s storyline. Because of the fact that she murdered his girlfriend, it would be hard for her to keep living and speaking to him.

            Now I will get into how separating this episode into four stories with four different sets of characters really works. For one, there are some really good connections between the story of Tyreese and the girls (at the beginning) and Daryl and Beth. We see that would Daryl was tracking was what Tyreese and the little girls were doing. Also, the four different storylines just work. We see the struggles of all of the different groups of people, so the plot can move along further. Also, the way that they were directed worked very well. Whoever directed this episode did a good job of wrapping up and starting each new episode with well good transitions. Another good thing is that although this episode was not too entertaining, I never got full-on bored by it.

            The flaw I had with the fact that some of the walkers should have killed their victims only applied to two walker attacks. In the rest of them, the walkers seem to have their some of their strength back. Like with the ones on the bus, they were fast moving and they seemed menacing. At one point, Glen hits a walker in the head with a gun and it falls over. Seconds later, it gets back up. Another small pro with the episode is that we have good insight on Beth and we see that she had a diary and she was hopeful with the prison for a long time. We also see that now, Daryl is pessimistic. Therefore, the two clash and we get some good drama. We also get some insight on the psycho little girl.

            My last pro is that a lot of room is left for future episodes. Beth and Daryl are where Carol, Tyreese, and the two little girls were. The two little girls, Carol, and Daryl are about to find another society. Right after Maggie killed one of the walkers on the bus, she stared at who it was then cried. And, biggest of all, we see that there is another big society. It may be the one that Carol, Tyreese, and the two little girls heard about from that guy and read from that sign. There have been hints of another society throughout the season. In one episode, there is a voice on the radio for a few seconds. In another, another group cleans out a camp that The Governor and two other people had just passed. This could be an excellent new storyline.

            Despite its few flaws, this was a really good episode. It was a very inventive episode for The Walking Dead and a new thing that they had never really done before.

The Walking Dead Season 4 Episode 9 "After" Review

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE

            After the big, epic mid-season finale of The Walking Dead, we get the mid-season premiere. After an episode like the mid-season finale, there needs to be a slower, quieter episode, and that is exactly what this episode is. Though, many things happened in this episode. Still, it was able to be a character–driven episode. And this episode is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. I detected no flaws with this episode. I loved all of it. This is a fantastic, amazing episode.

            The main reason this episode is so great is because of the script. This is a perfect script right here, and I am going to get into why. One fantastic thing about the script is that we learned more about Michonne, but in a very unconventional way. It is a dream sequence, but it is not a memory from the past. Dialogue is spoken from Michonne’s husband and brother (I’m guessing) that seems like it would be from some other people that she had been around lately. Then, the two guys are both shown with no arms, letting us know that those were her two walkers she started out with on the chains. It is very smart to just let us figure it out ourselves what is happening and not spoon-feed the information into our mouths. And during this episode Michonne’s plan is a really smart plan which takes us a while to figure out.

            We have a new, different Rick in this episode. He is torn down because of what The Governor did to him and he is now at odds with Carl. He is different and he thinks that he still needs to be the adult, even though Carl can almost function like one himself. For a while I was debating with myself whether or not he was right. It is excellent when a screenplay can make the viewer think about something that small.

           

            The way Carl learns a new lesson is also excellent. In the past few seasons, he will think that he can do everything, then go out, almost get bitten, and that is where he learns his lesson. Here, learning his lesson is approached differently. At one point he is in the middle of three walkers, but survives it. He then thinks, “Does it matter? I got out and I survived.” Another time, he gets attacked by another, very strong walker. Though, he survives it and thinks the same thing. Although he is getting trapped in these situations, he is able to get out. Then, he thinks that he could live without Rick. He learns his lesson in the scene of which he thinks that Rick is a walker, and is about to shoot him. Though, he is not able to do it. That is when he realizes that he needs Rick alive, because he could not even handle Rick’s death.

           

            The most perfect and most excellent thing about this episode is Rick and Carl’s chemistry. They are at odds and constantly arguing, but it was hard for me to take a side. Yes, Carl is just a kid, but yes, Rick is barely able to move. I believe that when a screenplay really makes you think of which side of an argument to on, it is excellent. And this chemistry drives this episode. The dialogue between them was so good that I could not wait for them to start speaking and arguing again. I was anticipating dialogue to start happening throughout the episode.

            When I think about it, not one line of dialogue in this episode is bad. Every line helps further the plot and characters and every line seems real. Not one time in this episode did I think that this was a script. All the dialogue seemed like real, human conversations that humans were saying in this zombie world.

            This is a perfect follow-up to the mid-season finale. The only characters we follow the plot of are our main characters and the character that highly impacts our main characters’ storyline. It did not get lost in other characters’ storylines that took place fifty miles away. It was only inside these two storylines that eventually meet. We also see the obvious impact the battle had on our main characters. We see the mood they are in following the battle.

            This episode featured masterful acting. Dania Gurira is now really grasping the character of Michonne. She has made that character hers. Andrew Lincoln gives an excellent performance as a changed Rick and his American accent seems to be only getting better and better. Chandler Ridges is improving by the second as Carl. He is becoming an excellent actor. The performances in this episode are top-notch.

            The directing and cinematography in this episode are amazing. The look of this episode is flawless. It looks like the real world, but it does not look like the world today. It looks like the world after the apocalypse. The lighting makes the scenes look so real that it is almost perfect. And the framing in this episode is fantastic. All of these shots mean something and they are all perfectly on-center with everything.

            This episode has some intensity, although not that much happens. For about half of the episode, Rick is unconscious, and we are unsure of what might happen to him. Carl also has his run-ins with the walkers that are pretty intense. I just wanted to say that while this is a quiet episode, it also has intense parts.

            The ending to this episode is perfect. Michonne comes to the door, and Rick tells Carl, “It’s for you.” There is none of that “We’re saved! We’re free!” nonsense. We can save that for another episode. For this episode, all that needed to happen at the end is that Michonne’s and Rick and Carl’s storylines cross to show that Michonne is a key part of their storyline.

            There is a lot of controversy over Rick’s teased death and many people are saying that it was really dumb, but I think otherwise. Rick’s teased death was used to let Carl know that he cannot live without Rick, let alone see him die. This fake death was used for a reason. And when Rick is crawling toward Carl looking like a walker, some people might think, “Why doesn’t he just whisper Carl’s name so that Carl doesn’t think that he’s walker.” Well for one, I don’t think that Rick was thinking straight. And Rick thought that he was dying, so he wanted to be with his son in his final moments and he tells his son to go outside. The reason the made the death seem like Rick’s real death was so that the viewers could not have guessed that it was not Rick’s death. This is one of the best deaths they could have possibly thought of for Rick, and I thought he was dead. Another thing people will not like it that it just randomly cuts to Rick and Carl talking, but I am just glad that it did cut to Carl yelling “Yay!” as he found out Rick was not dead. It was good that the tone was kept consistent throughout the entire episode.

            This was an excellent episode that I personally loved. This is my favorite episode of the season so far. It is my 3^rd favorite episode of all of The Walking Dead so far. I cannot wait to see what happens next and I really getting into this show.

"Robocop (1987)" (Older Movie) Movie Review

             Robocop (2014), the remake of Robocop (1987), hits theaters this week, so I guessed it is time to review the original Robocop that was so popular that it was able to warrant a remake, because every popular ‘80s movie is now being remade. I do not believe it is the big classics, which are still great, that should be remade. I believe the films to be remade are films that had a great premise, but were bad. An example of this is the horror film, The Evil Dead (1981). This film was not exactly bad, but its budget was only $375,000. Therefore, the quality of the outcome of the film was very bad. The remake, Evil Dead (2013), had a studio fund it. Therefore, it was able to have an outcome quality that was very good. And that is one of the good horror remakes. It is fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Anyway, it is time to get back on course. Is Robocop (1987) a film that could be remade? I think so.

            

            Many people refer to this film as a classic. Though, there are also many people who say that it is “just good”. I would be part of the people that say Robocop (1987) is just good. This film is directed by Paul Verhoeven and stars Peter Weller. I should not have to explain this plot because it is a classic, but I will anyway. When a Detroit cop is injured to very near death, he is able to join the force by being made into a cyborg as a robot cop, but not all goes to plan.

            

            I had fun with many elements of the film. It is a moderately and mostly enjoyable film. It also had some fun and cool action sequences. There were some good thrills from the movie. Though, it suffers from pacing issues. I am not saying that it was too slow; I am saying that it is not pacing linearly. There will be two back-to-back action sequences, then a while without anything. If the action sequences would have been placed evenly apart, then the film would not have these pacing issues. It is important for a film to be paced linearly, because with the uneven and choppy way this film was paced, it had many dull moments and there were times where I was bored with the film.

            

            Robocop (1987) is a very original film. At its time, there was really no film like it. It was different and today there are films that try to mimic it. It is also very inventive. It goes on an unconventional route and explores new things that films at the time did not go into. Its originality and inventiveness help carry the film.

            

            The plot for this film takes several turns in a different direction. Some of the turns were ones that helped keep my interest, but several of them made the film seem unfocused. This flaw lies in the script. There was no way the director (Verhoeven) could have explored the plot in a different way, unless there was a new script. It is the story that makes the film unfocused. The many, many turns the film take almost forget the initial premise the film already had. It is like the screenwriter thought that the primary story was not good enough and needed to be changed.

            

            

            There are also other flaws with the script. For one, Robocop (Officer Alex J. Murphy) is an underdeveloped character. I did not know much about him; therefore, in a scene specifically for this character, I did not care. I also did not care about him in the action sequences, so it was nearly impossible for the film to have intensity. Another flaw is the dialogue. Sometimes this film relies on the cheesiness and over-the-top elements of the film to keep viewers entertained. Though, the cheesiness here adds nothing to the film. As it would in a film today, it takes away from the film. And the over-the-top violence also takes away from the film. I knew the filmmakers were trying to make these elements work, but they came off silly and unnecessary for me.

            

            With all of these flaws with the script, there are good things, but mainly with the directing style of how these things were done. One thing I liked is that this film illustrated how some corporations may be to help other people, but they could be very bad inside. This is one of the first films to do this. This is part of how inventive the film is. Another thing I noticed that is great is the writing for the news. From the headlines to the commercials, it is a fantastic satire of American culture. The commercials depict how dumb some things in our culture are, and the reports depict how violent we can be. The writing and directing behind these two things are very good. And the overall directing of the film was very good. Everything is framed and shot very well, and the scenes look good.

            

            Robocop (1987) is a good movie. It has flaws with the script and some of the execution, but it is still, for the most part, a very well done movie and most of that credit goes to the director. It is original, unconventional, and inventive. Do I think this is a classic? No. This is a film that could be remade, and not just because of the dated CGI. The script could be better and the film could be less cheesy and over-the-top. 

Super Bowl Trailer Reviews - Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, and Transformers: Age of Extinction

        

           

            During the Super Bowl, there were several trailers for upcoming movies. The ones listed above were some of them, but not the only ones. Though, they are the only ones that I really care about; therefore, I am only reviewing those.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

            The first trailer for this film really surprised me in that it had a political statement and took things more seriously, while having a cool villain and some cool action. It was a really good trailer. This trailer is great. There are three versions of it: the fifteen-second teaser for the thirty second T.V. spot, the thirty second T.V. spot, and the full two minute, thirty second trailer. The full trailer is the one that I am talking about. I will start out with its small flaws. The villain in this trailer seems to not have a very good motive. It looks like he just wants to do but and that is it. I think there should have been something more about the villain in the trailer that is not people just talking about him. My other flaw is that this trailer is looking like the film could have a thin script. It may be able to back up every encounter with a reason. The action may seem meaningless.

            Now that I have gotten all of my flaws with this trailer out of the way, I can talk about its good stuff. It again has a very seriously and spy movie-like feel to it in that it is not just a fun, action-filled trailer. Although I just mentioned that the trailer makes the film look like there may be many meaningless aspects, there are aspects that look like they have a meaning. This trailer also has great shots and it looks like the cinematographer really needs the shots to be good, which is a good thing for the film. I am feeling that Captain America will get more character development in this film, because the trailer almost makes the film look like it is going to go into his past. We also might get some character progression with Captain America and see him change. Though, I think others, like Nick Fury, could change, too. This trailer also has some amazingly directed, awesome, exhilarating, and extremely well-executed action that I am really looking forward to seeing on the big screen. This villain in this film seems very imposing to Shield (and out heroes), so I think Shield will really have to work to defeat him, and I would like to see Shield face a big challenge.

            That is what I think of the Captain America: The Winter Soldier Super Bowl trailer. It is a great trailer that really got me excited for the film.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2

            This is the second trailer for this film. The first trailer was not that good. It made the film seem like a convoluted mess with three thin-to-point-where-they are-nearly-empty villains. I am glad that I can say that this trailer is a big improvement. There are also three versions of this trailer: the teaser for the T.V. spot, the T.V. spot, and the full trailer. Again, I am talking about the full trailer. First, I will mention some cons. The three villains are still a problem, whatsoever. It will be hard for three villains to work, and this trailer still makes the film seem like the villain aspect of it could be a bit convoluted. Also, the villains do not seem like they would work together. They seem like they would all want to be on their own, from what we see in this trailer. My last flaw is that Electro’s motive for not being a hero like Spider-Man and wanting to kill him is that, although Spider-Man remembers him even though he is some sparkly thing now, he does not remember Electro’s name within ten seconds of seeing him.

            Now I can tell why this is a big improvement over the first trailer. It looks like we will learn more of why Peter Parker is Spider-Man, and generally more about his character through his conversations with Gwen Stacy. We also learned in this trailer why Max Dillon wanted to become Electro in the first place. It is also a good motive for Max to want to be a hero. We also see cool action in this trailer that would definitely look cool on the big screen, because of the fact that it is well directed and very good-looking. Also, the people at Ozcorp have a good motive to why they want Spider-Man off the streets. Think about it, he stopped one bad thing from happening, so he is a threat to Ozcorp, because they are evil. This is told through a hero message that it is very hard to be a hero and you will always have big enemies.

            Those are my thoughts on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Super Bowl trailer. Despite its flaws, it is a very good trailer that has sparked my interest in the film.

Transformers: Age of Extinction

                This is the first trailer of any kind that we are getting for this film and it only has one version: the thirty second T.V. spot. As I expected, this film does not look good at all. When Michael Bay is the director of a film, most likely it will be bad. Here, I will start off with the good things. I am glad Mark Wahlberg is involved, because he can give good performances. And frankly, just about anyone would be better than Shia LaBeouf. The next thing is that the film has potential to have cool action, despite the style. It looks like some of the bigger action between the transformers could be fun to watch.

            It is now time for me to tell you why I am not looking forward to this film. The action in this trailer goes too far. At one point, we have a robot falling backwards in slow-motion, shooting two machine guns. We have seen people do that before. That is on the line of too far. But a robot doing it at skyscraper height is definitely too far. This trailer is edited stupidly. It has the conventional quick-cut style with cool sound effects to keep audiences still interested. This trailer also has silly and bad-looking CGI. None of the robots look like they are actually there. And the lighting does not work. If it is at night, make the CGI lighting for the robots dimmer. Lastly, and of course, we have our Michael Bay stamps. There is constant slow-motion use. There is a lot of people running in slow-motion, most of the time from an explosion. There are overly processed colors that almost blinded my eyes. And, of course, we have what Michael Bay is famous for, a lot of explosions. Firework-like, random explosions are in these thirty seconds, a lot. These Michael Bay stamps are always bad. I am pretty sure this film will not be good.

            That is why I think that this is really not a good trailer at all and why I am not looking forward to this film.