Top 10 Best Movies of 2013

As the 2013 comes to an end, it is time to look at the great movies that came out this year. This is a list of my top ten. These films are the ones that had me in awe and reinforced my decision to be a reviewer.

You may notice that the ratings are not very consistent. A movie I gave four stars may be higher up than another movie I gave five stars. There are a two reasons for this:

I am fairly knew to film criticism, and I am trying to refine how I rate movies. This is actually the most difficult thing for me about doing this. I often see a movie and think "Holy cow, that was a great movie!" or "Man, that was bad!" Other times I think "This movie would have been so much better if they would have just changed certain aspects." Coming up with a rating that reflects these opinions and is completely fair to the quality of the film is very difficult for me. I have been debating changing my rating system for 2014.

Another reason for the inconsistency is because of retrospect. There have been times I give a rating and realize I should have either heightened or lowered it. This usually happens as I watch and read other reviews, which I try not doing until after I have reviewed the movie myself. I actually have manually changed some ratings on this blog, but most of them are the same as they have always been.

And so without any further ado, here is my list of the top 10 movies of 2013.

10. "Ender's Game"

"Ender's Game" is a very interesting movie. It is about a fifteen-year-old genius named Ender who is selected to train for leadership role in the Earth's defense against an alien race that is speculated to return. The premise is really interesting, and the ending blew my mind.

The film is a little slow at the beginning, but once it starts going, it is very entertaining. It features some good child-acting, impressive visuals, and an interesting premise. It is definitely worth seeing.

9. "Gravity"

"Gravity" lets us know how it would feel to be stuck in space with nothing but your spacesuit, the limited oxygen you have in your tank and another astronaut who knows how to use a jet pack, which also has limited fuel. This movie had me at the edge of my seat for a good portion of it. There was also a particularly poignant scene near the end that I really liked. 

One thing that impressed me about this film is the director knew the premise was not meant for a long, complicated film. It is a very simple storyline with a very short length--90 minutes-- and a lesson smoothly placed at the end.

8. "Thor: The Dark World"

"Thor: The Dark World" gives Marvel fans exactly what they have come to expect: action, adventure, comedy and well-defined characters. What works for this movie is how well it further develops Loki. Tom Hiddelston's portrayal of the god of mischief is so fun to watch in all three films he is in. In this one, we learn more about this character's motivations, and some of his actions further puzzle us. He is a complex character, and I look forward to seeing what happens with him next.

7. "Frozen"

To tell the truth, I thought the first part of this movie was a little too much like "Tangled." It was the way the movie wrapped up in the third act that really impressed me. This movie took the next step in a recent trend Disney princess films have been setting since the days of "The Little Mermaid" and "Beauty and the Beast." This film takes the traditional "Cinderella" style movie, satirizes  aspects of it, and turns it on its head. It really is an overall brilliant film!

6. "Prisoners"

This movie is no where to be found on this blog because I saw it during a transitionary period, which is a long story that I will explain further in a later post. Basically, I was debating whether I wanted to do a blog or make YouTube videos. I tried doing this one as a video review, and I had a really hard time with it. That is partially why I decided to start this blog. I never got around to doing a written review of this one.

This movie stars Hugh Jackman, Terrence Howard and Jake Gyllenhaal. It is about two little girls who go missing, and it is about what extremes some parents will go for their children. Jackman's performance is what stood out to me. He has been great in everything I have seen him in, and this one is no exception. He constantly does horrible things that actually impede the investigation. However, you cannot really judge him because he is in a terrible situation that I would not wish on my enemies. Jackman plays this believably, and while I have not heard whether or not he has been nominated, he definitely deserves an Oscar for this role. 

This is worth seeing, but I must warn you that it is not the movie for the faint of heart. It is intense and dark.

5. "Captain Phillips"

This movie reminded me why film is such a great art form. It is about something that actually happened. Tom Hanks plays a captain of a cargo ship that gets ambushed by some Somali pirates who take the him captive. It is something that had been read about in newspapers and talked about on television. However, until it was actually put onto the silver screen, there has never been a way to empathize with Captain Phillips in as powerful a way as you do seeing this movie.

Hanks did such a good job at portraying just how scary this situation had to have been, and the actors who played the pirates were terrifying. There is a scene at the end where Hanks showed me just how powerful an actor he can be. I am not going to spoil it for you, but you will know it when you see it.

4. "Saving Mr. Banks"

This movie is about the creation of "Mary Poppins." Actually it is not so much about how the movie was made as it is about how the film rights were obtained so that Walt Disney could adapt it into a film. It is a very interesting film that explains the life P.L. Travers, the author of "Mary Poppins." It has some very touching moments, and it adds depth to a classic film that I watched all the time as a kid.

3. "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire"

About halfway into this movie, I realized that there is really very little wrong with it. It improved upon the mistakes that were made in the first film, namely that the camera was still and focused. Furthermore, I actually like how these films were adapted. They took a book that was done in first-person point of view and made it into a movie that shows the perspective of many other characters.

From beginning to end this movie was very entertaining. It is not so much about the Hunger Games as it is about the aftermath of some choices the characters made at the end of the first film. A lot of people's lives are in danger unless the characters react a certain way, and that leads to some intense situations.

2. "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug"

Peter Jackson will be known in the history of cinema as the one who took some of the most complicated books and adapted them onto the silver screen. Not only did he just do it, but he did it right. Both "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" films are masterpieces that I will watch 20 years from now. 

There are so many great things about this film, but I am just going to point out the main aspect that had me coming back to the theatres willingly: Smaug the dragon. I said this in my review, but he is without a doubt the coolest dragon I have ever seen on screen. He is HUGE, he is menacing and he is voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. 

1. "Star Trek: Into Darkness"

It is weird that a "Star Trek" movie would win out over a Middle Earth movie in a list that I made. I am much more of a "Lord of the Rings" fan than I am a "Star Trek" fan. However, when comparing these two movies,  "Into Darkness" had a slight edge over "The Desolation of Smaug." 

That edge was the pacing. "Into Darkness" had a very quick pace that had my attention from beginning to end. While "The Desolation of Smaug" was probably better in this aspect than its predecessor, I felt that "Into Darkness" did a slightly better job.

A complaint I have heard about this movie is that it is very similar to "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan." I have never seen it, so I could not tell you whether or not it is.

What I can tell you is this movie is almost perfect! The visuals are impressive, the acting is good and the villain is menacing. This film introduced me to Benedict Cumberbatch, who has become one of my favorite actors over the course of this year. He has such a huge on-screen presence. He is formal, calm and calculating. Whenever he is in a scene, he seems to overshadow everybody else. 

Another thing I like about this film is it did a good job at being complex without overdoing it. There end up being a couple different antagonists in this film, and the way it is done is easy to take in.

This film also develops the relationships established in the first film even further. In particular it does this with Spock and Kirk's. By the end of the film, their relationship is at a different place than it was at the beginning.

You may notice that a full review of this film is also not on this blog. That is because it came out before I started reviewing movies, and I have been busy reviewing the films that are in theatres already.

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" Review

"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" is a fun, upbeat movie with a good message.

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is a man who does not like to take risks. He is still single, and he is not very social. His job, working with negative photos for "Life" magazine, requires him to work with only one other person in a secluded area.

Mitty constantly fantasizes about being a more adventurous person who takes risks. Through his day-to-day routines and conversations, he constantly daydreams about how his life would be if that were the case.

The story starts during a transitionary period for "Life" magazine. The company is downsizing as it prepares to end its run of magazines and focus on the Internet.

The final issue is slated to come out, and the head photographer, Sean O'Connell (Sean Penn), gave Mitty the negatives for the issue. However, the one that was supposed to be used for the cover--what is described as the "quintessence"--is missing, a fact that could mean Mitty's job.

After being unable to find the photo, he reaches out to Cheryl Melhoff (Kristen Wiig, "Bridesmaids"), a woman who also works for the magazine, for help in tracking O'Connell, who probably knows where the photo is. However, it is impossible to find him. He never carries a cell phone, and he is constantly on the move to take more pictures.

Melhoff encourages Mitty to do what he can to reach O'Connell. Mitty embarks on a dangerous international adventure to find the photographer so he can retrieve the final cover photo of "Life."

Watching this movie, I found myself excited to see where he was going next. His travels lead him to some very interesting situations involving intriguing characters. Walter Mitty himself is an intriguing character, and it is entertaining to see his reactions to other people.

Ben Stiller does a good job in the title role. He is known for being in comedies. He is perhaps best known for his over-the-top performance in "Zoolander" in which he satirizes the modeling industry. He also does a good job in more subtle, quirky roles as in "Meet the Parents."

This is why he is perfect as Walter Mitty. He is a shy character with subtle quirks. However, when he has his visions, he is slightly over-the-top without being unbelievable. Stiller does a good job making real Mitty and fantasy Mitty the same person. The only difference between the two is his dream self takes more risks.

Mitty has a definite character arc. Both Stiller and the writers did a great job showing the audience that the title character in the beginning is a different person at the end. It is interesting to see this all play out.

One of the techniques for showing this arc is the film's use of one of the main ad placements: eHarmony. As Mitty has more experiences, they show up on his profile, and he is able to get attention on it. Patton Oswalt ("Ratatoullie") plays the customer service representative for the company, and it is through him that we find this out.

A lot of times ad placements are awkwardly forced into movies. There are shots that are so obviously done to make money that it is laughable and distracting. The eHarmony placement was not bad. The company is mentioned several times, but Patton Oswalt brings comedy and charm that makes it palatable.

That is not to say that there were not some awkward ad placements in this film. Papa Johns obviously paid the filmmakers a pretty big sum. The writers tried to blend it in as an important part of Mitty's backstory, but this plot point feels forced.

A reason it did not work is the backstory is not clear. His character is developed in that we know he does not like to take a lot of risks. However, it is also revealed that he is good at skateboarding. This is a skill he has been able to do since he was a child. When his father died, he started working at Papa Johns, and things changed for him. It is never explained why Papa Johns and his father's death changed him so drastically, which is why the Papa Johns ad placement felt forced overall.

I also found that Mitty's fantasies were just okay. They are obviously meant to be funny, but I felt the filmmakers tried to hard in these segments. The funniest parts are when Mitty is having real-life conversations. He is a quirky, likable character from beginning to end, and some of the situations he gets into are very funny.

Each event in this film does a great job illustrating the lesson this film tries to teach. It is about how life is not worth living unless you take some risks. Most of what Mitty does is extreme, but the basic idea is well executed.

This movie gets three and a half out of five stars from me. It definitely has its flaws in some shameless ad placement and forced plot points, but it is a charming movie with a good life lesson. If you are looking for something to see with your family, I would recommend seeing this.

Content: Rated PG. There is very little language. The only part that parents may have a hard time with is when one character calls another an offensive word. There is one instance in which sex is mentioned, and that is when a character says "make love" in reference to the song "If You Like Pina Coladas."

Topic for Comment: What movie has the most annoying ad placement you have ever seen?

This is something new I am doing on this blog. I made it as easy as possible to post a comment. You are welcome to say anything you want even if I do not agree with it. However, I have two rules: do not demean other people including myself and do not say cuss words. If you do so, I have no choice but to delete your post. It is nothing against you, I just want to keep my blog appropriate for all ages. 

"The Hobbit" High Frame Rate Review

The high frame rate, or HFR, gimmick that Peter Jackson uses for the "The Hobbit" films is something that I hope never becomes a trend.

When I first read that Peter Jackson was going to show "The Hobbit" in 48 rather than 24 frames per second, or FPS, I was excited to see what this would mean. Having never worked in the film industry, I thought he had a camera that somehow shot twice as much film in one second, and that it required a special machine to be able to project all of that film in the same amount of time it would take to show a regular movie.

However, it is not this way at all. It is the exact same amount of film, but it is sped up. The result is the characters move unnaturally fast, and the camera moves in quick jerky motions whenever it pans. 

Instead of being a subtle quality to enhance the picture--like High Definition making the picture clearer--it is something most people will undoubtedly notice. Even if someone does not know the film was sped up, he or she will know there is something off about it. 

Furthermore, instead of enhancing the quality, it is actually cheapened. When Peter Jackson filmed the movie, the way everything was timed was assuming it would be the normal 24 frames per second. An example from the trailer is a scene where Bilbo has the ring in his pocket, and it looks like Gandalf is going to find this out. For the sake of clarification, I will describe the scene for you as it appears in the trailer:

"I found something in the goblin tunnels," Bilbo says.

"What did you find?" Gandalf asks with concern. He looks at Bilbo as he fiddles with the ring in his pocket. It seems he knows that Bilbo has it.

"My courage," Bilbo says after a brief pause.

"Good," Gandalf replies, "You'll need it."

The reason this scene works in the trailer and in the 24 FPS version of the movie is because of the timing. It is meant to have pauses throughout to build suspense. It helps us as the audience internalize that Gandalf might suspect Bilbo has the ring, and this holds our attention as we wonder how the wizard will respond. The pace is just right for this to happen. Sped up to 48 FPS, it does not have the same effect. It is much quicker, the pauses are much shorter, and we do not have as much time to try predicting what will happen.

When the movie started I hated this! I felt cheated. I was thinking it was going to be some ground breaking technology, but instead it is an annoying effect that happens when you press the wrong button on some DVD players. 

When the action scenes started, I was a little more relieved. The quick movements were pretty fun to watch in those scenes. There were also other scenes in which it was actually a relief to see normal motions made quicker. For example, when a character picks up an apple, instead of waiting a couple seconds for it to be picked up, it is done super fast.

After thinking about it, I have come to the conclusion that this is not a good thing. My being relieved that I did not have to wait a few seconds for a character to pick up fruit is because the society I have grown up in has conditioned me to be impatient. It is increasingly becoming the norm to want something now. For example, when I want to find out about something, I will look on the Internet. When I can find it instantaneously, I am satisfied. When my wi-fi is slow, however, it is not fun to be in the room with me. I get frustrated that I cannot find what I wanted right then. Instead of doing this, I should count my blessings that the Internet exists. If it did not, I would have had to take a trip to the library to look up what I want to know.

Chances are you have experienced the same thing. Society is only increasing our intolerance to be patient. There are two very popular trends that I hate because of this: Twitter and Vine videos. With Twitter, you can only write messages that are 140 characters or less. I believe this website has become popular because of the fact that everything is short, so you do not need to patiently read long articles to get information. 

The Vine videos are six second scenes. Some of them are pretty cool, but others are simply ideas of something that could have been so much better. Sometimes they are very short jokes, and they would have worked if they only had a little more buildup. Like HFR, a lot of the problem with Vines is the timing is off. 

What are the ramifications of this? This is just speculation, but it can lead to poor communication skills. We need to be patient with others. If my friend does not text me right away, I should not be annoyed with this. If I am talking to him face-to-face, I need to have the ability to patiently listen to what he has to say. If I am impatient with other people, they will not want to talk to me, and I will have poor interpersonal relationships.

I think the reason Peter Jackson is trying to push HFR is he wants to be known for pushing the boundaries of film-making technology. In my opinion, he should stick with being known for bringing Middle Earth to the big screen. HFR cheapens the overall quality, and it can lead our society to grow more impatient.

"Saving Mr. Banks" Review

"Saving Mr. Banks" works not only as an interesting making-of movie, but as a well-written, emotionally touching biopic.

Walt Disney (Tom Hanks) really wants to adapt one of his favorite books, "Mary Poppins," to film. However, in order to obtain the rights, he needs to convince the author, P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson, "Nanny McPhee"), that he will take good care of her characters.

Travers is a proper, uptight British woman. She does not want to sell Disney the rights to her book for various reasons that are revealed throughout the film. She only agrees to consider selling the rights because she is having financial difficulties.

Disney invites her to his studio where she works with the script and song writers. She is very specific about what she wants, and it seems she is looking for every minuscule excuse to not let Disney adapt her book. Everyone is sucking up to her because one wrong move could mean she will decide not to sell the rights indefinitely.

Her attitude puzzles those involved because they do not understand that her reasons for being so clingy to her writings are deep-rooted in her childhood. There are some sad events that occurred as she was growing up, and "Mary Poppins" played an important role in coping with them.

What makes this movie great is the characters. It is interesting to see the contrast between P.L. Travers and Walt Disney. Travers is so uptight that she wants people to address her as Mrs. Travers at all times. Disney is so friendly and warm that he insists everyone call him Walt, and he likewise addresses other people by their first name. He often does this to Travers despite her resistance to it, and this creates some comedic dialogue.

It is also very interesting to see Mrs. Travers' character arc. She seems to change throughout the film in various ways. By the end of the movie, she is not the same person she was at the beginning. The audience also comes to an understanding of why she is who she is as more and more events from her childhood unfold.

When I first heard of this movie, I was excited to see Tom Hanks play Walt Disney. While he does a great job, like always, Emma Thompson is the person to get the most praise. She does an outstanding job portraying P.L Travers. Thompson has the acting ability to carry out all the changes her character goes through. The last scene in the movie features her in an emotional situation, and I really felt it.

Another reason the final scene worked is because of the writing and direction. The way the final scene is cut, there were several people in the theatre crying (and I may or may not have been one of them).

Another performance that stood out was Collin Farrell's. He plays P.L. Travers' father in the flashback scenes. His character is complicated in that he obviously has great love for his daughters, but he also has obvious problems. The audience is never told explicitly what they are, but they are implied as the movie goes on. There is one scene in particular where I really felt for the character because of Farrell's performance.

The only problem with this movie is the pacing. It is slow-moving at parts, but I feel this is mostly necessary. It is very dialogue-based, and it may not hold the attention of children.

The intended audience is definitely adults who have seen "Mary Poppins." If you have not seen it, you might want to do so before seeing this one. As an adult who grew up with it, this movie gives me a different perspective of the classic film. I used to think it was just a fun musical. After watching this, I understand that there is greater meaning to it.

I give this movie five out of five stars. The performances are great. The characters are interesting and well developed. It is intriguing to see the complications arise from just obtaining the film rights to a movie I grew up with. This is definitely in my top ten films of the year.

Content: Rated PG-13. It is actually a pretty light "PG-13" movie. There is very little language. The main reason it is rated PG-13 is there is some blood in some scenes.

"Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues" Review

When I left the theatre after seeing "Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues," I immediately wanted to go read a book in an attempt to regrow the brain cells I lost. However, being a psychology major I knew it was impossible.

The movie takes place after "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy." In that film, a woman named Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) is hired as an anchor for a local news station. This affects chauvinistic Ron Burgundy (Will Ferrell) and his friends. They think of women as nothing more than sex objects, and they do not want to lose their jobs. 

At the end of that film, Burgundy and Corningstone end up together both as a couple and as co-anchors, which is where this film begins. They have now been co-anchors for several years, and they are married with one kid. Veronica has been doing such a good job that she gets promoted to prime time. Ron, however, gets fired for being a horrible anchor.

Time passes, and Ron starts working at Sea World. He is approached by a person who is starting something revolutionary: a news station that runs for 24 hours. The person wants Burgundy to gather a news team and work on this station, called Global News Network, or GNN.

He is told he can have anyone he wants on his team, so he goes cross country to gather his friends Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Brick Tamland (Steve Carrell) and Champ Kind (David Koechner, "The Office").

Writing down the basic story premise is pretty difficult because there is a ton of stuff that goes on in it. This is funny at times, but at others it is kind of annoying to me.  I believe the story was written as it was being filmed. It really does not feel like anything was planned out.

There is an episode of "South Park" that makes fun of how random "Family Guy's" writing is. In that episode, the writers of "Family Guy" are a group of manatees in a tank who drag some balls with writing on them to a certain spot. It ends up being a group of three or four balls, and whatever they say is what that particular scene is going to be about. For example, the phrases "Frank Sinatra," "eating a pizza," and "at the Louvre" are put together. The resulting scene would be one of the characters saying "That's as bad as the time I ate pizza with Frank Sinatra at the Louvre," and it would cut to a scene where that happens.

The reason I bring this up is I feel that is how the dialogue of this film was written. It is funny at first, but then I realized that all they are doing is shouting as much random stuff as they possibly can. Maybe if this was used sparingly it would be very comical. However, the entire movie is stuffed with crazy one liners that don't make a lot of sense.

The jokes are mostly a hit and miss. I did enjoy some of them. There is a gag involving bats that was pretty funny. There is also a scene at the end that is supposed to be a continuation of the battle among news reporters in the first film. That scene is really the highlight of this film, and there are some jokes in it that really worked.

This film tries to be satirical at parts, which is good, but it needed to go deeper into its satire. For example, it discusses a big problem with the way the news is run: it is sponsored by big companies. This is something that has been discussed among media professionals for a while. The problem with it is the news cannot report on certain things. An example of this problem is there was a scandal involving Disney hiring sex offenders as employees at Disneyland. The news that was owned by Disney could not report on this. The conglomeration of media ownership is lightly addressed in this movie, but it is such a small part that it could be easily missed. 

The film also tries to joke about race. The first one gets away with telling very chauvinistic jokes about women, and I will admit I found those kind of funny. The way I justified this is the characters were sexist, and that is what made it comical. Maybe I matured a little since seeing that movie, but there is only one race-related joke I found funny. The rest was pretty uncomfortable to sit through. 

Maybe I am a overly cynical about this movie, maybe I was spoiled by discovering Quentin Tarantino this year and maybe it is because I saw the movie after a long day at work, but I am going to rate this movie pretty low. In my opinion, it is not worth the price of admission unless you are a die hard fan of the first "Anchorman" movie. It is what my friend calls a 2:30 a.m. movie. That means it is the type of thing that is better really late at night when you are not thinking right and should be sleeping. My friend and I are Mormons, so that is why we do not say that it is the type of movie you can enjoy when you are drunk. For those of you reading this who are not Mormons, that is what type of movie this is. 

I give it 1.5 out of 5 stars. Some of it is pretty funny, but it is not worth sitting through an entire movie of a poorly constructed plot and a poorly written script. 

Content: Rated PG-13. There is some language throughout including one use of the F-word. There is quite a bit of sex-related humor including one mild sex scene. There is no nudity. 

"The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug" Review

Seeing the dragon, Smaug, on screen is itself worth the price of admission for "The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug."

The film continues the story about Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit who was sucked into an adventure with a group of dwarves to reclaim their homeland, which was taken over by Smaug.

Most of the movie is about how they get to the Lonely Mountain, where the dragon resides. They first have to journey through a long, twisty forest that is easy to get lost in. There they encounter a group of large, hungry spiders with sharp teeth that make Shelob look like Barney the Dinosaur (not really, but they are creepy).

They are saved by wood elves who take them captive and put them behind bars. Since Bilbo has the ring, he is able to get by the elves undetected and free his friends, who need to get to the Lonely Mountain by the last light of Durin's Day, which is when the keyhole to get inside the mountain will be revealed.

While they are escaping, the elves chase them. However, an even more pressing matter diverts their attention. A large group of orcs is after Thorin, and the elves now have to attack the orcs instead of capture the dwarves, who get away.

Their next stop is Laketown, which is just below the mountain. In order to get into the city, they hire a smuggler who ends up being an important part of the story. He finds out there is a prophesy that these dwarves are going to bring destruction to Laketown, and he wants to stop them. 

Meanwhile, Gandalf is on a very important quest. There are rumors of a great evil coming to Middle Earth, and he needs to investigate to see what exactly is going on. There are many orcs assembling for this dark power. A leader of this assembly is the pale orc, who was after Thorin in the first movie. Whatever is happening is so important that he appointed a different orc to kill him. 

Each "The Lord of the Rings" movie has a distinct feel to it. "The Fellowship of the Ring" is more of an adventure movie about Frodo taking the ring to Mordor. In "The Two Towers," it goes into Frodo and Sam's relationship with Gollum and the assembly of men to resist Saruman's orcs. "The Return of the King" is about the war for middle earth, the end of Gondor's need for a steward and the destruction of the ring.

That is exactly how "The Hobbit" movies are. The first one was about the start of the adventure, and it features a lot of exposition that makes it slower than this movie. "The Desolation of Smaug" is about how they get to the lonely mountain and all the complications that arise. Most of the conflict in this movie is other characters not wanting to help the dwarves and even impeding them from accomplishing their quest. 

The pacing is better in this film than in the first one. It is two hours and forty minutes long, but it felt much shorter. "An Unexpected Journey" felt slow in that it took a while for them to actually go on the journey. At the beginning of this film, they are already on a journey, and it stays fairly action packed from the start.

The trailer for this movie teased about Smaug. The audience can vaguely see his face, but unless you see this movie you cannot get a clear sense of how enormous and awesome he is. The animation of the dragon is a huge achievement for the filmmakers. He is huge and terrifying. Him breathing fire is a visual that obviously took a lot of time to construct, and it pays off.

The buildup for him added to this enormity. He is lying down in a room with so many gold coins, it would make Scrooge McDuck salivate. The coins shift as the dragon moves around in his sleep. Every time Bilbo takes a step in this room, he is trying to not awaken the dragon. The suspense that builds from this scene makes it my favorite part of the film.

Another great aspect of Smaug is he is voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, who has a very intriguing voice. He adds a sense of menace and psychopathy to the dragon.

My main gripe with this movie is there are some unnecessary sequences. When the dwarves are imprisoned by the wood elves, a love triangle is introduced between Legolas, a female wood elf named Tauriel, and Keely, one of the dwarves. It is not a big deal, but it adds superfluous cheese to the story. I also thought that while the Necromancer was really cool, it did seem to slow the movie down slightly. However, I am excited to see where that takes the third movie. 

There is also a very long segment that features characters running away from the dragon. This is awesome at first, but after a few minutes, not a lot changes, and it gets a little boring. Though the pacing of the movie is better than the first film, it would have benefitted from being cut down just slightly.

The action scenes in this are among the most visually impressive and brutal of Peter Jackson's Middle Earth films. There are many heads being chopped off. Legolas and Tauriel fight with stylized movements. Imagine Tarzan from the animated Disney film killing orcs while tree surfing: that how some of the action scenes look.

Overall, I give this movie four and a half out of five stars. It is a great addition to Peter Jackson's rendition of Middle Earth. I recommend seeing this in theaters to anyone who enjoys these films.

Content: Rated PG-13. There is a lot of brutal violence throughout, including orcs' heads being chopped off and arrows stabbing clean through their bodies. There is one brief sexual innuendo that surprised me. 

"Breaking Bad" Review

As a child, some grown ups would tell me that television rots the brain. While this is true of some shows, there is one in which I can feel new neural connections being formed as I watch it. That show is "Breaking Bad."

It is the story about a man named Walter White (Bryan Cranston), who is a very smart high school chemistry teacher. He is the typical suburban father with a wife and son who love him and another child on the way. His wife's sister is married to an agent for the Drug Enforcement Agency, or DEA, named Hank Schrader (Dean Norris).

At the beginning of the show, the family is gathered for Walter's birthday party. Hank is very excited because of a recent drug bust in which a ton of money was confiscated, and they are watching it unfold on the news. This is how Walt realizes just how lucrative of a business selling meth would be.

Meanwhile, he is doing things legally and not getting much to show for it. His job as a teacher does not make him very much money at all, and in order to make ends meet, he works a second job at a car wash. He hates it there! He is forced to do grunt work with a stubborn employer who constantly bosses him around.

To make matters worse, he finds out he has lung cancer. He does not necessarily want to go through chemotherapy, but he wants to leave some money behind for his wife and children. Even with the two jobs he has, there is no way for him to do that. This is especially true when he quits his car washing job on a day he is feeling particularly ill.

This all leads him to want to do something immoral for what he considers a very moral cause: he wants to make meth.

Because Walt is a very intelligent chemist, he knows how to go about making the highest quality meth product in existence. However, he does not know the ins and outs of illegal drug business. He needs to work with someone who can help him with that.

He finds this person when Hank takes him on a ride along. They go to a drug bust in which the DEA captures a meth cook. The cook is actually working for another person, who Walt recognizes: Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul, who gives us Idahoans pride), Walt's former student who had previously dropped out of high school.

Walt talks to Jesse about becoming partners, and after some reluctancy, Jesse agrees. They make a batch of very pure meth, and selling it arises complications that end badly.

That is a lot of how the show goes. Walt tries to make money by selling meth, and this leads to a lot of different conflicts. Even when he thinks he will get out of the business, there is something else that pulls him back into it.

When his product is put on the map, he goes by the pseudonym Heisenberg, who is known for wearing a black pork pie hat.

Walter's moral sense declines throughout the show. He becomes a different person. He becomes greedy and kills people who get in his way. His justification throughout the show is he is doing it for his family. However, in the process, his actions cause danger for the people he is trying to help.

The show goes into the family dynamics because of what he is doing. It affects his relationship with his wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn), in a negative way. Even when she does not know he is cooking meth, she knows something is going on, and she is scared of what it might be. She loses more and more trust as he becomes more and more evil.

There is also the dynamic between Walter and Hank. As a DEA agent, Hank starts noticing this pure meth going around, and he knows the name Heisenberg. However, he does not suspect Walter for a minute. The writers could have very easily made Hank a total idiot, but he is not. He is so right about so many things while he is investigating the case. The one thing he cannot seem to grasp is who Heisenberg is.

Another thing the writers and the directors get right is the use of foreshadowing throughout the episodes. In one scene, Skyler's sister, Marie (Betsy Brandt), lays a baby down in a crib, and she talks about how the baby needs to lie in a certain position so she does not die in her sleep. Later in the very same episode, a person who recently injected herself with heroine dies in her sleep for the same reason Marie was talking about. This is a very significant part of the story, and it was interesting how the writers figured out a way to explain what was going to happen in such a subtle way.

In another episode, a character is tracked because of the GPS on his phone. This is something that is not explicitly stated, but there is another scene in the episode where they mention GPS tracking in phones. It is so subtle, but the audience immediately knows what is going on.

There was a review I watched by Siskel and Ebert about a movie they did not like. In it, Roger Ebert talks about how he does not like it when a movie will assume the audience is stupid. After watching that, I realized "Breaking Bad" has the exact opposite effect. With its brilliant use of foreshadowing it assumes that the audience is intelligent. In fact, after watching the show I feel smarter for having connected so many things without being told explicitly what is happening.

It is no secret that this show is very well acted. Bryan Cranston alone won three Emmys in a row for Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series for this show. Before that, he was nominated three different times for an Emmy in Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series when he was the father in "Malcolm in the Middle."

After watching some episodes of this show, I wanted to see what he was like on "Malcolm." Not only was he good in that show, but plays the most hilarious character. The man is very good at physical comedy. In fact on IMDB's "Breaking Bad" page, it says the producers were so used to him being goofy that they did not consider him at first.

I am glad he got this role because I believe no one could have gotten it as well as he does. He has proven with "Malcolm" that he is perfectly capable of being an average suburban dad. That is how his character is supposed to be at the beginning of this show. However, he also takes it to the next step, taking on at least one more identity as the fearsome drug lord, Heisenberg. His performance is so good, that he is scary in some moments, and likable in others.

Another stand out performance is Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman. An interesting fact about him is Jesse was originally intended to be killed off by the second season. However, his performance blew the writers and producers away, so they decided to keep him.

Paul does a great job portraying Jesse and all his complexities. At first, he is just another drug addict who has never amounted to anything in his life. However, as the show progresses, the audience starts realizing that he is really the only character we like. He becomes torn apart as he is forced to do some very dirty deeds, and he wants out of the business towards the end of the show.

It also becomes apparent that children have a special place in his heart. There are several moments in which children are harmed, and this always angers Jesse. He absolutely hates how desensitized people working in the drug business are to harming them. This causes a lot of tension throughout the show.

Anna Gunn also does a great job with what she has to work with. Her character is very controversial. She comes off as rude sometimes especially when she is dealing with her husband. However, when you actually look at what is going on with the rest of the show, she really cannot be blamed. Had Walter been doing the right things, they would never have been in this mess, and their marriage would have been happy.

My thoughts on the final episode (warning: spoilers)

When I first watched the last episode, I was not sure what to think. In the end Walter dies and Jesse gets away. However, it feels like Walter got off easy. I really wanted to see him go to prison for what he did, and I wanted to see more about how people saw him.

After watching some other reviews of what other people have thought of the final episode, I realized that it really is the perfect way the writers could have ended it. The fact that it was not what I expected makes it even better.

The final episode reaffirms the fact that this show is first and foremost a modern-day tragedy complete with a tragic hero. When I learned about tragedy in high school English class many years ago, my teacher told me the tragic hero is supposed to be someone the audience likes and can identify with. That is exactly how Walter is in the beginning. He is a family man and a high school teacher. He never intends to hurt anybody, he just wants to support his family. Anyone who has ever struggled with money can identify with this character.

In the final episode, there is a brilliant scene in which Walter talks to Skyler. Throughout the show he says that everything he does is for the family. However, in this scene he corrects himself and says he did it all for himself. He accepts the fact that he hit rock bottom with his life and that this is the end.

This acceptance of the man he has become is what affirms how tragic the story really is. He has given up going to the top. His only goal now is to tie up some loose ends before this miserable life he has created ends.

Another thing I learned in my English class is the tragic hero always has a tragic flaw. This becomes apparent when he admits that he did everything for himself. His tragic flaw is pride. There are so many other things he could have done for his family including swallowing his pride and taking the money his rich ex-girlfriend and her husband offers him. However, he does not want their money because they previously cheated him out of a business he could have made a ton of money in. Him saying that he did it for the family is just him making justifications of what he knows is wrong, and it is one of the many lies he tells.

It is important that we study tragedy in our society because it is meant to teach us a lesson. In "Breaking Bad," the lesson is that making grave mistakes and not seeking to make amends right away leads to a life of darkness. It lead Walter White into a life where he is a danger to his family, and it ultimately leads to his death.

My rating for "Breaking Bad" In case you have not guessed, I give this show five out of five stars. It is a brilliant show all around. It is considered by many to be among the best television shows to ever come out. The writers are very intelligent, and it makes the audience feel intelligent watching it.

Content: This show is rated TV-MA on Netflix, which is equivalent to an R rating. Because it is about the drug culture there is profanity throughout the show. Several episodes feature characters saying the F-word, and in at least one instance that I can remember, that word is used in a sexual context. There is also quite a bit of sexual content. In one episode, there is a disturbing scene in which one character almost rapes another. At the beginning of the second episode, sexual sounds are heard, and there are several episodes portraying a man and a woman in bed with each other. At the beginning of one episode (I believe it was the one entitled Más in season 3), some characters attend a strip club with topless women wearing pasties over their nipples (it is a long scene that you can skip easily if you desire to do so). There is also some bloody violence in many episodes. It is a very interesting show, but just be warned about the content. It is definitely intended for an older audience.

“Frozen” Review

By Christopher Campbell

If the movies “X-Men” and “Tangled” got married, their baby would be “Frozen.”

Elsa (Idina Menzel, “Enchanted”) is a princess of the land of Arendelle who has the power to manipulate cold. She can freeze things, create ice and even change the weather. She is very powerful, and she has trouble controlling it.

As a child, she realizes the danger of it as she is playing with her little sister, Anna (Kristen Bell, “When in Rome”), who encourages Elsa to use her power for their enjoyment. She accidentally hits Anna with her ice magic, and it knocks her out.

Their parents take Anna to some trolls who know how to cure her. Because she was hit in the head -- which they claim to be better than being hit in the heart -- they are able to help her out easily. The trolls advise the family to keep Anna away from her sister’s power.

Anna’s memory of the power is erased by the trolls, and Elsa keeps herself locked up in her room for years. As they grow older, Anna has little to no contact with her sister, and she does not understand why this is. Though she does not remember Elsa’s ice powers, she remembers that they used to get along. Suddenly her sister has estranged herself. What she does not know is this is Elsa’s attempt at protecting her.

Years pass, their parents die and Elsa is of age to be queen. The coronation party is the first time in years Anna actually talks to Elsa, and they get along really well.

Meanwhile at the party, Anna meets a man named Hans (Santino Fontana), and she really likes him. They decide to get engaged right then and there. Unlike “Cinderella,” in which this sort of thing is acceptable, this movie makes it known how stupid of an idea it is.

When they announce it to Elsa, she is not pleased with their decision. As Anna tries to convince her to give them her blessing, Elsa gets more and more angry until she lets her icy powers loose. The weather changes from summer to winter. This scares everyone, and Elsa runs away to be alone.

Anna goes after her in an adventure in which she meets a man named Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), his reindeer Sven and a naive, talking snowman named Olaf (Josh Gad, “21”).

Disney has found a new formula for princess movies that works pretty well. When the company started animating movies, the most romantic concept seemed to be that true love happens at first sight. This changed with “Beauty and the Beast” in which neither character even liked each other at first. However, as that movie progressed, they started tolerating and even loving the other person.

In “Tangled,” the characters do not start falling in love until they get to know each other as well. “Frozen” takes this radical new trend a step further by parodying how couples in old Disney animated features barely know each other before getting married.

There are a lot of similarities between this film and “Tangled.” They are both about a young girl who has been locked up in a building her whole life and one day goes on an adventure with a man and his cartoonish animal. The main problem with this concept is I do not understand why Anna was never exposed to the outside world. The only answer the film gives is she could not be exposed to her sister, but that does not mean the family had to keep her locked up. I think the filmmakers forced these circumstances on her so she would be a certain way not thinking about how logical they were.

This is also true about Princess Elsa. She reminds me of Rogue from the X-Men movies in that she has this power she does not know how to control. She has hurt someone she loves, and she tries to distance herself because of this. The concept of Elsa is really cool, but the character was two-dimensional. She completely closes herself off from Anna for years because the trolls tell the family to keep Anna away from her powers. I really doubt that in all those years she would have shut herself off as much as she did. I also wonder why no one ever attempted to train Elsa so she could control her powers. If the writers took this into consideration, it would have been a better and more interesting movie.

That is not to say I did not enjoy the movie. It does have its flaws, but there were a lot of parts that made me smile. This is partly done because some of the characters had distinct, interesting personalities.

The main character, Anna, is very entertaining to watch. She is a naive young woman who does not understand how the world works. There is a likeable awkwardness about her that Kristen Bell did a good job bringing out through her voicework.  

Olaf the snowman was also particularly loveable. He was created out of Elsa’s power and is very young. Like Anna, he is also very naive. When Elsa and Kristoff tell him they want to bring summer back, Olaf wants to help because he has never experienced summer. What he does not understand is heat would make him melt. There is an entire song he sings about how he looks forward to the season. It hilariously plays off the fact that he has no idea what summer would actually mean for him.

Another thing that works for this movie is it has a very good message about love. It has a common theme that has been present since “Snow White”: true love will heal a curse. I do not want to spoil it for anyone, but this movie had its own special twist on this theme. Not only is it interesting, it is also a good example for children who are watching it.

I give this movie four out of five stars. It does come with its share of logical errors. However, in suspending disbelief, it goes places other Disney movies have not been. It is also very charming, and it made me smile throughout. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see another good, family-friendly animated feature from Disney.

Content: Rated PG. There is some mild violence and some images that might frighten children. The official MPAA rating says there is “mild rude humor.” I do not remember anything in particular about adult humor.