Reviews by Joshua "LF"

This film is very similar to the first film. I refer to the flaws, the strengths, and in essence, everything that has to do with the first film. This is not good, nor bad. The first movie was an enjoyable rumpus, but it was filled with flaws and holes. This film was no different, but it balances out as being nearly as good, if not equal to the first.

The first similarity between the two films is the first half hour. The content is different enough, but it starts in the same way as the first. That is, a brilliant first half hour, then an hour and a half of pirates that never is as good as the first bit.

This time however, I was entertained a little bit more the rest of the way through. The first half hour wasn't as strong as the first film's beginning, but it makes up for it with a stronger body.

The special effects are incredible, even better than the first. The scenes with the legendary Krakken in particular are very good.

And this brings up one of "Dead Man's Chest's" biggest strengths; it's action scenes. Unlike the first, much of the action is fun and memorable. There is one elaborate part where a chase for a chest, a moving sword fight, and a clash with Davy Jone's crew all occurs at once on a beach, in a mill, and in a jungle. It's very entertaining, and quite thrilling. It's also quite elaborate, the way everything occurs at once, but I couldn't help but think about how much was just filled in with CGI later, rather than filming simotaneously.

This film does, however have some new flaws the first didn't have. One thing is the plot, or more specifically, lack of. I felt like I kept waiting for the plot to kick in. It never really did.

Also, the character of Jack Sparrow was one of the most entertaining bits of the first film. Unfortunately, he has a considerably smaller role in this film, and he can't truthfully be considered the star in this episode. This leads to a lot of dull stretches.

On the upside, the score is even stronger than that of the first. This time, it's fully composed by Hanz Zimmer and it's not only good, it's incredible. This is a soundtrack you'll want on your iPod.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is just as good as the first; with weaknesses and strengths balancing out to create an equal package. One just wishes that there was some kind of reason to all the fighting and action, because frankly, we never get one.

Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl is flawed fun. It's mostly predictable, it's got some good gags, but it's heavily flawed.

The film has literally HUNDREDS of contradictions and plot holes. I enjoyed the film, but the contradicitions were distracting.

This film has a fantastic first half hour. It's funny, and thrilling at times. However, after that first half hour, the quality drops. It's still enjoyable, and you will be entertained, but it never lives up to that first half hour.

The musical score is VERY good. There were too many hands in the score for me to properly credit anyone, but Hanz Zimmer played a big part in the score, and it shows.

The action, is mostly generic, and will never have you on the edge of your seat. At times, the action is even predictable. At the minimum, it's passable, and not terrible.

The acting is strong. Performances from Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Geofferey Rush shine.

The story is a little on the cliche side, but it's a silly tale, and no one really cares.

In addition to contradictions, there were a lot of moments where I rolled my eyes at the improbability of it all. Of course, teenage boys tend to eat that stuff up.

POTC: TCOTBP is a fun, albeit flawed movie, that's probably best for teens and tweens with low expectations.

I firmly believe that "The Princess and the Frog" is one of the best non-pixar animated film ever to be created. There has never been a better argument for the revival of traditional animated films.

"The Princess and the Frog," follows of the story of Tiana, a young woman who dreamed of opening her own resteraunt since she was a child. She's so close to her dream, when she gets outbid for the building she wants, and worse; turns into a frog due to a voodoo spell. Tiana and the spoiled Prince Navine must find a way to turn back into a human.

This film is visually enchanting, with gorgeous 2D animation that even rivals modern day CGI. One particularly dazzling scene, is during Dr. Facilier's song, "Friends on the Other Side," a vibrant colored, and elaborate musical number that will win the audience's attention with ease.

So, there are lots of songs, as I should probably mention. Some worse than others, but there's nothing terrible. They range from mediocre, and even incredible. Randy Newman pens all these songs, and composes the score.

All Disney princess films have their magic. This time around, there's voodoo. Certainly there will be discerning parents, and sensitive children may be frightened. I personally enjoyed this unique, and far less generic take. It's darker, and has much more potential. It also provides a lot of unique bits in the film.

The cast is colorful and unique, the movie is hilarious, and at times, quite emotional. There may not be a lot of tears, but you wouldn't be human not be touched by this wonderful film.

I am disappointed that this movie has yet to spark any new 2D developments with Disney. This has to be one of the best examples of 2D animation out there. "The Princess and the Frog" should not be missed or overlooked, it is a treasure.

9 is not a casual film. This isn't the kind of movie where you invite a bunch of friends over, expecting an "awesome" movie. That's not to say it's a bad movie, it's quite good in fact. It's just not a typical film. It's bleak, it's eerie, and even the action, though strong, has a lot of symbolic meaning.

I don't often watch films like 9, nor do I want to. 9 offers only a few smiles, and no laughs. Rule #1 for me, it has to have humor. I don't mind serious films, but a little humor can go a long way in helping me remember the film, and enjoy it. 9 manages to entertain without laughs.

But 9 has a lot of emotion anyway. Fear certainly comes to mind, as does sadness. The PG-13 rating was not earned from language or sexual content. Part of it comes from the bloodless, yet intense violence. The more protruding part comes from the darkness. Despite it's limited inappropriate content, this is not a film for kids. It's dark themes may even challenge older ones.

The story isn't all that sophisticated, to be honest. And there's more than a few cliches. There are plot points we've seen before, and characters that may evoke a sense of deja vu. But that's okay, because the movie is strong.

The animation is incredible. The musical score, though a little run of the mill, is appropriately creepy, and it knows when to keep quiet. The voice cast is filled with stars that shine, but don't distract.

Of course, you didn't come to see any of that. Depending on who you are, you came for one of two things; an intellectual film, and thought provoking themes, or epic machine vs. rag doll fights.

If action is what you came for, you shouldn't be disappointed. There are plenty of, I shouldn't say duels, but fights between the stitch dolls, and the mechanical beasts. This film is not made up of action throughout, so teens coming ONLY for the action will surely be disappointed, but there's enough action to thrill and excite.

If you came for intellectual stimulation, you will have to wait for after the film to enjoy that bit. During the movie, you will have to do little thinking. This is the kind of flick that inspires conversation after viewing. As the film runs, you simply have to sit back and enjoy.

9 is a wonderful movie. It's by no means, one for the ages, but it's a thought-provoking, heart pounding little flick, that can surely be enjoyed by any one who wants to try something, a little new.

Stop motion is a curious art. It never looks as real as CGI, and it's not as fluid as CGI. Also, it's extremely difficult to master. In fact, one would wonder why anyone would bother making a stop motion movie, as opposed to a CGI movie. The reason, is that stop motion has an odd, old fashioned, hand made feel to it. And somehow, that feel has been captured and placed into this movie, and it's not just evident in the animation.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is inspired from Roald Dahl's picture book by the same name. The film follows the story of Mr. Fox, who starts stealing farmer's merchandise again, without telling his wife. Mr. Fox has been planning some "great heist," despite his promises to his wife, claiming he would quit. Soon, the three meanest farmers of them all (Farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean), decide to end Mr. Fox's reign once and for all.

The film's dry humor is both witty and hilarious. No movie in the world can stand up to the unique humor that Fantastic Mr. Fox displays.

I give points to the outstanding voice talents (namely for George Clooney and Meryl Streep), and the comedic score by Alexandre Desplat.

The animation is spectacular. By far the best I've seen in a stop motion film. It's truly fantastic. Even for stop motion, it looks incredibly good fashioned, and that is a very good thing.

Unlike the book, however, this is not a piece of entertainment I can recommend for younger children. It's too dark, and they probably won't get many of the jokes (they may get a kick out of all the fuzzy animals, however). This is more of an older kids and parents flick.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is fun, entertaining, unique, and visually wonderful. It is not hard to understand why they call it "Fantastic" Mr. Fox.

I just don't understand all the bad reviews for this film. Atlantis- The Lost Empire is another wonderful Disney film. Atlantis- The Lost Empire doesn't really break a whole lot of new ground, but it's an exceptionally entertaining animated film.

The film is about Milo Thatch, a young professor that no one takes seriously who is in search of Atlantis. Once again, Milo's funding proposition is turned down. But all that changes when he's given a package from his long deceased grandfather, and given proper funding by a associate of his. Now Milo goes in search of Atlantis with a crew of colorful characters.

The characters are hilarious, to be vague. Dirt experts, explosive enthusiasts, and grease-loving chefs make up a small part of a large and amusing cast. And the voice cast only adds depth to these characters. There are also plenty of genius one liners.

The animation boasts impressive visual effects, but there are a lot of flat backgrounds. The score is generally impressive as well.

The climatic battle isn't incredible, and it won't raise your pulse, but it's certainly entertaining, and I've seen a lot of action movies with considerably worse final battles than this.

Atlantis- The Lost Empire provides a funny and adventurous film that will surely entertain kids and parents alike.

Muppets From Space, is exactly what I would describe as mediocre. While not completely terrible, it brings nothing new to the table. Muppets From Space offers some good gags, and a lot of bad gags. Muppets From Space isn't a bad movie, it's just not a good one.

But the muppets can be so much better than this. Mediocre is not what we expect from the muppets.

This is the story of Gonzo, trying to figure out what species he is. Turns out, he's an alien. But the government kidnaps him, and it's up to Kermit and Co to rescue him in a dull and generic prison-break.

Muppets make appealing jokes, and just as many unfunny ones. But if you think the muppets are bad, wait till you meet the humans. The humans make almost no good jokes.

Also, despite the modest running time, the movie seems to go forever. After about an hour, the rest of the movie seems relatively pointless.

The score is actually pretty good, but when all of the lyrical songs are obnoxious.

Kids will probably enjoy Muppets From Space, but everyone else will surely be bored long before the film's end.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is not nearly as good as I was expecting and hoping, but it's still a lot of fun.

One thing I should clarify, is that if you came to see the muppets, you will probably be disappointed. This film is all about Scrooge, who is played by a very human Michael Caine. This is truly, the biggest flaw in The Muppet Christmas Carol, because with the muppets getting so little screen time then they deserve, this adaption of the Dicken's story doesn't have much to separate itself from other adaptions.

Gonzo narrates, and Rizzo the Rat is there to make jokes. This potentially amusing duo isn't very funny, and is only there to move the story along. In fact, they feel a lot like filler.

And speaking of filler, did I mention all the songs in this movie? I believe there were 6 or 7 songs total. Though the one at the beginning is somewhat entertaining, and a genius number by the Marley brothers is highly enjoyable, most of the songs are tedious and dull. They exist only to extend the running time.

You will be seeing a lot of Michael Caine, which should be obvious because he plays that star, Ebeneezer Scrooge. I expected to see more muppets than humans, but this proved incorrect. Michael Caine performs adequately as Scrooge, but in the end, his performance is a little underwhelming. Also, during the musical numbers, it always seems like he has nothing to do.

When the muppets get into the act, the film is more enjoyable, but this certainly isn't first class muppet material. It feels like B-movie muppet material, and that was certainly a disappointment.

The movie adapts the classic faithfully, and there are lots of fun scenes. And even among a lot of dull songs, there are a couple gems. I just expected so much more from the ever-dependable muppets, and I can't help but feel a little let down.

Above average Christmas tale, under average muppet film.

Hmmmm. There are action sequences, plenty of one liners, and Robert Downey Jr. I can only deduce that this is another Hollywood box office smash. And silly old me, I just saw the film. My friends pestered me about this for the longest time. They loved the film, and were positive I would too. I told them I'd get around to it, until finally one of my friends lent me the movie to watch.

My feelings about this unique film are a little mixed. The film wants to be clever, but very little smarts at all are needed to view this film. Naturally, this film is geared towards teenage boys, who for the most part, are not interested in an intellectually stimulating film. They just want to see Downey deliver witty lines, and watch him beat up thugs. So, if that's what you came to see, you will not be disappointed.

However those wanting a more intelligent film, should not look here. Even when the Sherlock Holmes is explaining how he figured out the case at the end, it's through many clues that the viewer didn't have a chance of deciphering themselves, which is quite contradictory to what Sherlock Holmes is all about. I know the target audience, so I expected as much, but my mother who viewed the film with me, was quite irritated at the obscure clues.

A good mystery should be tailored so that the audience can try to solve the mystery too (and make it hard enough, so that they can't figure it out). This film does nothing of the sort, instead, we merely learn at the end, that Sherlock had seen things that the camera never shows us, making it impossible to solve the mystery ourselves. But like I said, the target audience doesn't care about such things, so therefore, the film is oddly "smartless." But I digress.

On the other hand, the cast does a fantastic job at portraying each of their characters, even if some lines were delivered a little hammy.

Also, the musical score, composed by Hanz Zimmer, is very good, and absolutely hilarious. Music doesn't commonly make me smile (out of humor anyway), but this score did.

Though many of the action sequences were rather ordinary, there were definitely a handful that kept me on the edge of my seat, and I'm sure the target audience will eat it up.

The film is quite amusing, as one can expect with from the leading actor, but for some reason, the film wasn't quite as humorous as I was expecting. It was funny enough, anyway.

Lastly, and this may be a major problem for some, but this film just doesn't feel like Sherlock Holmes. It feels like Robert Downey Jr. makes another million dollars. I suppose this is to be expected, but somehow, I was hoping that there might be some sort of Sherlock spirit to this, but alas, there was not.

I was not wowed, but I most definitely enjoyed myself. I do wish, though, that the film was a bit more intelligent, and this film doesn't feel like Sherlock Holmes at all. Regardless, this is an enjoyable romp, and I'll probably catch the sequel on DVD.

Consider me entertained, but not impressed.

Another Dr. Suess adaption. I say this without enthusiasm or disappointment. Dr. Suess films are usually just mediocre, nothing to get excited over. However, they make a lot of money. Thus, we get the movie adaption of "The Lorax."

I won't lie, I've never read The Lorax, nor do I know anything about it, aside from it's environmental message. But I can tell this film really stretched the source material. Even with the extensive (and uninteresting) chase scene, even with the half-dozen of musical numbers (only one of which I really enjoyed), and even with the additional characters added, the film has a relatively modest running time.

The Lorax isn't that good, unfortunately. It has strengths, but it also has a lot of weaknesses.

For one, it seems The Lorax has no imagination for itself. At least half of the material of the film has been borrowed from other films. The "adorable" brown bears that wander around speaking in gibberish are obviously a rip off of the minions in Despicable Me. The prank that the Lorax plays on the Once-ler, by putting his bed in the river is a rip off from Parent Trap.

And speaking of the "bed-in-the-river" prank, I must ask how it's physically possible for a bed, frame and all, to float in the water.

There is nothing unique about the characters. We've seen them all in other movies. O' Hare is the generic, evil, power-hungry villain. Audrey is the generic, tom-boy, girl that the main character falls in love with. There are even characters in this movie that seem to appear in different forms. The Lorax just can't run by itself. It has to take ideas from elsewhere.

The voice cast is average, but the voice of the main character, Ted, just doesn't work. He's supposed to sound like he's 10. Don't have Zac Efron voice him, get a little boy! But I digress.

On the flipside, the animation is gorgeous. It can't match the detail of Rango or Tintin, but it makes up for it with vibrant colors that really bring the world of Dr. Suess to life.

Also, the musical score by John Powell is very good, though it doesn't really break any new ground. And to be honest, I really didn't like the choir bits. And did I mention my feelings about the songs in the movies? Aside from the one at the beginning, they were all very uninspired, and usually dull.

Some of the gags are quite good, but there were too many stale ones to make humor the strength of the film. There are also attempts of "cuteness" that over stays it's welcome.

There are, however, some surprisingly touching moments, and there are times where you might just sit back and think for a moment (heaven forbid, you may actually think during a movie). There's certainly a curious amount of food for thought on display.

The one thing I like most about the film, is also the film's main problem: The singing fish. There are three fish that looks like that of Cat and the Hat, that sing, not words, but notes. This is all performed in barbershop-quartet form, and is very amusing (there's one moment in particular when they hum the Mission Impossible theme).

The reason this is the film's biggest problem, is because they're the best part. If the strongest thing about a movie is a recurring gag, you've got a problem. And that's the problem with The Lorax. It's not good enough to remember outside of a couple good gags. The rest is fluff.

The target audience, however, (kids between 2 and 10) will love this film, I guarantee it. The auditorium I saw the movie in had not a single spare seat, and every kid in the room was laughing their heads off. I heard very few parents laugh.

This isn't a bad movie. It's just a kid's movie, and it's somewhat painful to say that.