Movie Reviews By Movie Reviews Pro

Drag Me to Hell - Alison Lohman

Rating:

Movie: Drag Me to Hell (2009)

Studio : Ghost House Pictures; Universal

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 99min

Website : dragmetohell.net

Trailer :
http://www.dailymotion.com/videox8nkai

Review:
Drag Me to Hell marks Sam Raimi’s reinsertion to the horror genre, a director infamous for his cult series The Evil Dead. His latest endeavor follows Christine Brown (Alison Lohman), a loan officer from Los Angeles determined for a promotion to assistant manager. In an attempt to impress her boss, Christine forces herself to deny an old woman’s loan extension. The woman, named Mrs. Ganush (Loran Raver), gets on her knees and begs Christine to grant her an extension, but she does not falter. At the end of the day, Christine is assaulted by Mrs. Ganush, and after a brief tussle, she places a curse on her. Christine is to be tormented by demons for three days, in a sort of “Hell on Earth scenario”, before ultimately being dragged to Hell to burn for eternity. Knowing this, she must find a way to destroy the haunting demon before time expires.

Overall, the film is spot-on. Raimi provides a script full of suspense, sheer terror, and even some morbid humor. One would think that after 22 years of directorial projects outside of the genre, it would be tough to dive back in. However this is not the case, as Drag Me to Hell knows how to push all the right buttons to create optimal enjoyment for the audience. Unfortunately there are some pitfalls in the movie, albeit rather minor. The computer-generated effects are quite underwhelming at times, and even if the plot is enticing, it feels rather thin. Despite these complaints, Drag Me to Hell is an entertaining watch with loads of hair-raising moments guaranteed to keep you situated at the edge of your seat.

-Daniel S.

Horror, In Theaters, Thriller Drag Me to Hell

Angels & Demons - Tom Hanks

Rating:

Movie: Angels & Demons (2009)

Studio : Imagine Entertainment; Columbia Pictures

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 138min

Website : angelsanddemons.com

Trailer :
http://www.dailymotion.com/videox799zs

Review:

The action starts in the Vatican after the sudden death of the Pope; simultaneously, the Hadron Collider in Switzerland successfully generates anti-matter. Shortly after this remarkable scientific achievement, one of the vials of antimatter is stolen by a mysterious stranger. After four Cardinals are kidnapped, a mysterious ransom video and note show up brandishing the word Illuminati, an ancient group infamous for opposing the Catholic Church in the 1600’s. Harvard symbologist professor Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks) and his team of investigators urgently seek meaning behind the Illuminati’s cryptic clues, in order to save not only the lives of the kidnapped Cardinals, but everybody in Rome as well.

Bits of history are sporadically spoon-fed to the audience about the Church/Illuminati strife, as well as each party involved; this method allows for viewers who have not read the Dan Brown novels to closely follow along. The movie is quite suspenseful, as each discovery the team makes only leads to yet another shrouded clue in the web of Illuminati references. This, however, gets a bit tiresome as it serves for the basic architecture for the entire two hours: the result being a lot of talk and sparse action.

The recurring theme acts as a metaphor for hot-button topics of today, issues that mostly boil down to religious vs. scientific beliefs. Within the movie are characters of vacillating mentalities, such as staunch Catholic priests in addition to more progressive-minded ministers. These sorts of characters essentially bridge the gap between religion and science, in an attempt to prove how each side has its utility.

Even if you do not follow the series of novels religiously (pun intended), Angels & Demons is guaranteed to deliver as thorough entertainment with remarkable suspense. It opened worldwide on May 15 with $152 million in earnings, and is now playing in theaters.

-Daniel S.

Drama, In Theaters, Thriller Angels & Demons, Angels and Demons, Drama, Thriller, Tom Hanks

State of Play - Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck

Rating:

Movie: State of Play (2009)

Studio : Universal Pictures

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 127min

Website : stateofplaymovie.net

Trailer :

http://www.dailymotion.com/videox7tyba

Review:

Featuring a star-studded roster of critically acclaimed actors, State of Play is the film adaptation of a British 6-part mini-series of the same name. The story follows an investigative journalist named Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) as he attempts to unearth the truth behind the mysterious death of Congressman Stephen Collins’ (Ben Affleck) mistress. Initially ruled as a suicide, Cal unexpectedly finds himself waist-deep in a quagmire of political and corporate conspiracy, a secretive web with potentially lethal repercussions for anybody that stumbles upon it. Faced with this discovery, Cal must choose between preserving his firmly-rooted friendship with Collins or risk everything to unveil one of the biggest scandals of the century.

Set in the nation’s capital, the complex yet sensible plot is particularly intriguing given that its embedded in current affairs; in this case, a lucrative military contractor is facing political opposition. However, the pace seems to drag a bit at times, as the finer details require more time to be fully ironed-out. But this isn’t an entirely bad situation, because these instances of plot development precipitate occasions of unnerving suspense.

Throughout the screening I found myself briefly wondering what sort of twist could come next, while simultaneously watching along in an unending stupor of fascination, the sort of infatuated yet vegetative mental state that only a thorough storyline could evoke.

Rarely does Hollywood produce such a tremendous work of film, where plot development, performance, and suspense are all top-notch. State of Play is more than just a political thriller, as it exposes the workings of the dying newspaper industry, their sporadic collusion with politicians, and their cooperation with law enforcement. It successfully delivers an elaborate while discernible storyline guaranteed to consume film fanatics and average movie-goers alike, thus it comes highly recommended.

- Daniel S. Edited by: Trent M.

Drama, In Theaters, Thriller crime, Drama, police, russell crowe, state of play, suspense, Thriller

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Hugh Jackman

Rating:

Movie: X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)

Studio : Twentieth Century-Fox

Info : Click Here

Runtime : 107min

Website : x-menorigins.com

Trailer :
http://www.dailymotion.com/videox7qm22

Review:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is by far an amazing movie. The trailer of this movie promised an action endured film, and it did just that. This is possibly one of the best prequels I’ve since seen Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The movie starts from the beginning of Logan’s (Hugh Jackman) life as a child when he discovered his mutant powers; the movie ends when he loses all of his past memories.

I cannot believe how amazing Hugh Jackman maintained his character throughout this movie! Hugh Jackman was in literally almost every scene in the movie! The movie hadn’t gone 5 minutes without showing Hugh Jackman’s sexiest man alive of 2008 body in the next scene! And with all this happening, Hugh just made it a movie worth watching.

A lot of twists and ties had turned this movie into an epic classic film. This entire film explains Wolverine’s continuous flashbacks in the first X-Men films. It also explains Wolverine’s resistance to connect with anyone. On top of that it explains how Wolverine got his name and his unbreakable metal claws! So much explanation with so little time.

That was the downside of this movie, “little time”. There was so much information and explanation that the producers had to do that was all jammed into a two hour film. I know two hours seems like it would be an extreme amount but even after the film was over there was the big essence of a “rushed film”. There was a lot of story told, yes, and there were many action scenes, yes, but it seemed that the movie jumped from scene to scene very quickly.

I would definitely see the movie in theaters as well as purchase this movie. It is an all time classic that lives beyond its standards as a prequel.

- Trent M.

Action, In Theaters, Sci-Fi, Thriller hugh jackman, mutants, origins, wolverine, x-men, x-men origins: wolverine, xmen