The Dark Knight Rises: Busby's Review

I know I'm a little late on this review, but I had to REALLY think about my overall opinion on this movie.  The Dark Knight Rises was by far the most anticipated movie of the year the summer.  It's been 4 years since The Dark Knight was released, and a lot of people didn't really think this movie wasn't going to be made.  After Heath Ledger's unforgettable performance as The Joker, his untimely death, and the "To Be Continued" ending.  A lot of people thought that Chris Nolan wasn't going to conclude the story, myself included.  However, 4 years later Chris Nolan came up with a story that would be the final chapter in the Dark Knight saga.  Pretty much with same name just with the Rises right next to it.  Nolan was going to end Bruce Wayne's journey of Batman not with a fizzle, but with a bang.  Word to Emma Stone..

The story takes place 8 years after the events of the previous movie.  Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has went into seclusion, and Gotham City has become a safe place thanks to the "Dent Act".  Meanwhile a new menacing criminal mastermind by the name of Bane (Tom Hardy) brings his army to Gotham just to wreck shit.  Now with Gotham in trouble, Wayne has to come out of seclusion and has to put that mask back on.  "Why?" you ask? because he is the goddamn Batman that's why! The main characters are all back in their original roles along with some new characters.  Anne Hathaway plays Selina Kyle a.k.a Catwoman.  Joesph Golden-Levitt plays John Blake, a Gotham police officer who has a good heart, and Marion Cotillard plays Miranda Tate, board member of Wayne Enterprises that takes care of Bruce Wayne's money.

Now in my opinion, this was the most action packed movie out of ALL the Batman movies.  Matter a fact, this was the most action packed movie that Chris Nolan has ever made.  It was very fast paced in my opinion, the 2 hours and 45 minutes flew by very quickly.  The movie was also very emotionally driven, it captivated you from the very first frame all the way to the very last scene.  Everybody did a good job at their roles, especially Tom Hardy as Bane.  Even through he had a mask over his face, his eyes alone and his whole presence was just imitating enough.  Even with his proper English accent, it made him even more scarier.  Now was he more menacing then Heath Ledger's Joker? Well in my opinion, not so much, but it's up for debate.  Tom Hardy really did get the job done and was a good villein.

Anne Hathaway did a really good job as Catwoman.  Even though the closest thing they mentioned of Selina Kyle's alias was a "cat burglar" we ALL knew who she was.  Personally I felt that Michelle Pfeiffer's version was better.  However, Nolan's version of Catwoman was the one that was more close to the comic book.  Anne Hathaway was the perfect fit for that role, and honestly I couldn't see anybody else pulling it off.  She even pulled off those fight moves like she was Xena, I fucking loved it!

Now with the positive, there does come some negatives.  There were some plot holes in this movie that lightweight left me scratching my head.  Now without giving out spoilers, let me just say that almost every character from the first 2 movies are either referenced or they make an appearance.  Now you notice I said almost every character is referenced.  The elephant in the room was The Joker's absence.  They don't even bother mentioning where he was, or what happened to him.  They pretty much pretended that he didn't exist.  I can understand it was out of respect for Heath and all that, but c'mon.  I guess that 8 year gap left it up to the comic books, video games, and/or animated movies to fill in what happened to him.  However, the movie could have at LEAST mentioned the dude.

Also another thing I found annoying about the film was Christian Bale's Batman voice.  He was STILL talking like he has a bunch of balls in his throat.  I don't know WHY he kept doing that shit with his voice but it just so damn annoying.  I mean there even comes a point in the movie where damn near everybody knows who really is and he is STILL using that voice.  It became almost comical at some points, but whatever.  It is what it is...

Overall, it was a good movie and in my opinion it lived up to the hype.  Was it one of Chris Nolan's best movies? I wouldn't say that much, but it WAS a good movie.  Now this IS the final chapter in Bruce Wayne's story.  Now if you asking me if he dies or not, well you just gotta see the movie for yourself.  Or if you followed me on twitter, you would already know what the answer is, so it's on you to decide.  Now IF Warner Brothers decides to make another Batman movie, Nolan has REALLY set the standard high. and God bless anybody who wants to put their hands in it.  Now is it better then that other super hero movie that came out a few months ago? Well, in my opinion it comes down to preference.  I prefer both kind of superhero movies, ones that are both action packed, and also serious at the same time.  As of right now Chris Nolan's Dark Knight Saga will go down as one of the greatest superhero movies of all time.  That is IF Hollywood decides to push that reset button..


Busby's Review: 4.5/5

~~Mr. Busby~~

The Amazing Spider-Man: Busby's Review

I know, I am a few days late on this but cut me some slack okay? I've been busy!  Anyway one of my most anticipated movies of the summer finally hit the big screen this week.  The Amazing Spider-Man is yet another reboot from the Hollywood studios. It's been 5 years since the last Sam Rami Spider-Man movie was released.  Even though the movie grossed over $800 Million worldwide, the critics won't really to thrilled with how campy the movies had become at that point.  So when the studio decided to push that restart button, everybody got really sketchy with the idea.  I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty sketchy about Sony rebooting the franchise as well.  I mean, I was already getting accustomed to Toby Maguire being Peter Parker, and in my opinion he did a pretty good job portraying the character.  However, I do feel that Sam Rami just did Spider-Man 3 just to troll the studio just so that he can get out of his contract.  But hey that's just me so..I don't know.  Now it's 5 years later, we got a new director, a new cast, and a new way at looking at the story.

This time around we have Andrew Garfield (The Social Network) portraying the young Peter Parker.  You should know the story by now, loser in high school, lives with aunt and uncle (Sally Field & Martin Sheen), likes a girl (Emma Stone), gets bit my spider, gets super powers, fights crime, etc.  Now they did make some minor adjustments to the story.  This time around, we get a little back story on Parker's parents, and why they left Peter with his aunt and uncle.  Also the movie is sticking true to the comic book and it is NOT Mary Jane that is Parker's love interest, instead its Gwen Stacy.   Dennis Leary plays  Police captain George Stacy, whose main goal is to capture and bring to justice the vigilante known as Spider-Man. The villain this time around is Dr. Conners aka The Lizard (Rhys Ifans), who pretty much just wants to fuck things up.

Andrew Garfield did a really good job playing Spider-Man in this movie.  Unlike the Toby version, this version of Peter Parker actually stands up for himself, and isn't no punk.  Even when he was getting beat up by the school bully, Parker still talks shit.  They really stayed true to the character in the comic strips of him being a smart ass when he has the spidey suit on.  Speaking of the Spidey suit, I actually kind of preferred the Spidey suit from the original movies.  The spidey suit they use in this one is pretty much the updated version that he wears in the comics.  It's alright for what it is, but to be honest I think they should have kept the old one.

The on-screen chemistry between Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone is really good.  To be honest, their on screen relationship was a lot more believable then Toby Maguire and Kristen Dunst's relationship in the previous films.  They really do play off each other really well, and to be honest I'm not surprised they actually got together in real life.  Lucky basterd, Emma was suppose to be with me! But it's cool..I'm not gonna cry...

The special effects were pretty good for what it was.  No different then any other Marval super hero movie.  The web swinging action is slightly different, almost more believable.  Just like the comics, Parker actually creates the web shooters so he can swing around.  And instead of just shooting aimlessly at buildings so he can swing around.  He actually has to concentrate and actually aim at objects to maneuver around.  It's not till later on in the film where Spider-Man finally gets the hang of it and becomes the master at web-swinging.

Overall, the movie was pretty good for what it was.  The story was pretty dark, grimly, and it was more suited for the mature audience.  The movie was really well casted, and Marc Webb did a pretty good job at directing it.  Not too bad giving that this is his second movie that he directed giving that his first one was the classic (500) Days Of Summer.  Hopefully he stays around for a few of the sequels.  Oh yeah, you should know the deal now for Marval movies.  Stay during the credits for another "da-da-dum!" ending.  It pretty much sets up for the inevitable sequels that are going to come out in the coming years.  I won't be surprised if Spidey makes an appearance in the up coming Avengers sequels.  But for now, Amazing Spider-Man got the job done, lets just pray that Hollywood feels they got it right this time and don't press that reset button.

Busby's Review: 4/5


~~Mr. Busby~~

Prometheus: Busby's Review

Welp it has arrived, one of my most anticipated movies of the summer. Alien fan boys have been anticipating this movie for the past decade and Ridley Scott delivered.   Now the question you may want answered is, "Is this really a prequel to Alien?".  Well the answer is...kinda, sorta, yeah...well you wanted a answer didn't you?  If your expecting to see Ripley or any of her crew don't count on it.  This movie is an entirely new story that just happens to take place in the Alien universe.  Now did the movie deliver?  In more ways then one, yes it did and it mos def lived up to the hype.

Prometheus is the story of an archaeologist couple played by Noomi Rapace (2009 version of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) and Logan Marshall-Green (Devil) who discover a star map among several unconnected ancient cultures.  They see it as an invitation from humanity’s forerunners, or “Engineers" as they called them.  After being funded by the Weyland Corporation, CEO Peter Weyland (Guy Pierce), builds them a ship named the Promethesus which helps them journey to the distant planet.  Charlize Theron plays mission director Meredith Vickers who represents the corporation who oversees everything. Idris Elba (c'mon now you KNOW who is by now..) plays the captain of the ship and pretty much brings comic relief to the film. Also along with the journey is an android named David (Michael Fassbender, X-Men: First Class), who takes care of everybody on the ship and also seems to have his own agenda.  After the crew lands on the planet, they quickly realize that shit isn't all that it seems.  It turns out that the "Engineers" didn't make the map for no damn invitation, and the crew quickly discover that shit just got real.

Visually this movie is just stunning, I know that it is a very cliche thing to say but that is the only way I can describe it.  In my opinion, the only way for you to watch this movie is in 3D IMAX, that is the best visual experience you will get.  Ridley Scott and his crew did a tremendous casting everybody, and also did a AMAZING job on the special effects.  It's a damn shame that not a lot of people know who Noomi Rapace is, however, after this movie you will remember her name.  How Ridley Scott made  Sigourney Weaver's career in Alien, he pretty much made Noomi Rapace's acting career in Promethesus.  Especially a certain scene in particular that you are going to remember for a long time.   I'm not going to spoil it for y'all but let's just say it's every women's nightmare...

Now I'm not going to lie, there ARE some plot holes in this movie. But there are meant to be there for a reason.  Ridley Scott has said that there will be sequels to this movie, and alot of questions that were not answered in this movie WILL be answered in the sequels.  That's Hollywood for ya, have to milk it for every penny.  Now the OTHER question I bet y'all wondering is if the famous Xenomorph Alien makes an appearance in this movie. Well, I'm gonna plead the FIF on that question, you just gotta see the movie.

Now overall, I liked the movie and it lived up to the hype.  This movie delivered in more ways then one, and Ridley Scott showed that he still got it.  Now if you are religious and get sensitive about it, you may not like this movie.  It's a movie that purposely makes you think, and in my opinion it makes the movie a whole lot more interesting.  But for me I just take the movie for what it is, pretty fucking entertaining.  Like I stated before, this is one of the best movies of the year...that is until Chis Nolan comes and crushes the buildings. 


Busby's Review: 5/5

Men In Black 3: Busby's Review

I was always a fan of the Men In Black movies, well actually I was fan of the first one.  The 2nd movie was filled with so much struggle it was embarrassing.  So you can imagine that I was a little bit skeptical when I heard about the third installment.  It also didn't help that this movie was announced in 2009, and it took 3 years for the film to finally be released.  However, this IS Will Smith after all and he has let to release a film that flopped at the box office during the summer.  I mean shit his worst movie made back it's budget in less then a few weeks.  So the power of Will is no joke, and to be honest Men In Black 3 delivered.

This time around Agent J (Will Smith) has to go back in time to 1969 to prevent the killing of his partner Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) from the alien fugitive Boris The Animal.  In order to do that, he has to team up with Agent K's younger self (Josh Brolin) to stop him, and also save the world in the process.  Typical Will Smith blockbuster plot when you look at it on paper, and pretty much you get what you pay for.  Will Smith and Tommy Jones's screen chemistry is pretty much the same from the last previous movies.  But the real highlight of the movie is Josh Brolin's SPOT ON performance of Tommy Lee Jones.  It really seemed like the essence of Tommy Lee Jones jumped into Brolin, and he did a very excited job at it.  When him and Will Smith were on screen together, their screen chemistry was PERFECT.  To be real, I wouldn't be surprised if Brolin gets nominated for an Oscar, its a stretch but you never know.  I mean they nominated Robert Downey Jr when he was in black face, so hey anything is possible.

As for the movie itself, it is filled with a lot more action and special effects then the previous movies.  The witty comedy is still there to, but there are some moments where some of the jokes were just too cliche and corny.  Like some of Will Smith's one liners weren't really that funny, it almost seemed like you can tell his is getting old.  However, if you can get past all that, the movie is really enjoyable to watch.  The movie also does a good job at character development on the main protagonist and you literally feel for both characters.  If you are the fan of the franchise, you are really going to like this installment of the Men In Black movies.

Overall, the movie was really enjoyable and you get your money's worth.  HOPEFULLY this is going to be the last Men In Black movie because honestly, Will Smith and most notably Tommy Lee Jones, are really getting old.  However for Will Smith age ain't nothing but a number for him, he got a shit load of sequels on his schedule which means a SHIT load of more money for him.  As for this movie, I enjoyed it.  Not as much as the first one, but this movie is MILES ahead of that God awful second one.  Now if you excuse me I'm gonna get jiggy to this classic..

Busby's Review: 4/5

~~Mr. Busby~~

Busby's Most Anticipated Summer Movies of 2012

It's that time of year again, and it's time for Hollywood to make a whole lot of money from the general public.  After the worldwide success of The Avengers this past weekend, I think it's safe to say that it's going to be a hot summer in the box office.  There are a TON of movies that are coming out in the next few months that I personally can't wait to see.  My local theater is going to eat real good off me during the summer.  So without further ado, and in no particular order, here are my top anticipated movies for the summer..



Movie: Battleship
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, & Liam Neeson
Release Date: May 18th
Busby's Thoughts: 
Based off the popular board game, this movie seems like a typical popcorn flick.  It seems like another version of Battle: Los Angeles, only difference is that it is at sea.  Nice to see some of the Friday Night Lights alumni are in this movie  This is also going to be Ri Ri's acting debut, I'm not expecting much for her, but I expect her to be a bad ass with that gun.  Hopefully we hear Ri Ri scream out "THUG LIFE BITCH!" while she is wasting clips on them aliens.




Movie: Men In Black 3
Starring: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, & Josh Brolin
Release Date: May 25th
Busby's Thoughts:
Of course the Fresh Prince has to come back to reign supreme in the summer box office for the 100th time.  Big Willie does it in his sleep, so it's no surprise he is coming back to do the 2nd sequel to this franchise.  It took them them long enough for this movie to come out since MIB 2 came out in 2002.  I am fan of the movies, and I expect to have a good time. Don't even TRY to front, I KNOW y'all still bump this.



Movie: Chernobyl Diaries
Starring: Jesse McCartney and a whole bunch of no names..
Release Date: May 25th
Busby's Thoughts:
Oren Peli, creator of the Paranormal Activity franchise, decides to give you another reason why you can't sleep at night.  Judging from the trailer, it looks to be shot like it's found footage but at the same time it isn't?..**shrugs** I don't know.  I wanna see this cause I am really curious to see if Oren Peli can bring the same fear he brought in Paranormal Activity to this movie.  It looks promising, and I personally can't wait to see this.



Movie: Snow White & The Huntsman
Starring: Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, & Chris Hemsworth
Release Date: June 1st
Busby's Thoughts:
I'm not gonna lie, this movie actually looks like it's going to be epic.  Seeing Kristen Stewart do something different then that Twilight bullshit makes things a little bit more interesting.  Seeing Charlize Theron being cast as the Evil Queen is the PERFECT role for her and I can see her pulling it off.  Chris Hemsworth being the hero seems about right, I don't see it being no different then him playing Thor.  I won't be surprised if the 7 Dwarfs get gangster in this.  All in all, looks like its going to be an epic good time..



Movie: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Starring: Benjamin Walker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Rufus Sewell, Dominic Cooper, & Anthony Mackie
Release Date: June 22nd
Busby's Thoughts:
When I first saw the poster for this, I just had to SMH, the whole concept sounds retarded as fuck.  You trying to tell me that Abraham Lincoln was a vampire slayer before he became our president?  And you are REALLY trying to convince me he had ALL these skills to kill a vampire but he didn't have the skill set to dodge a bullet from John Wilkes Booth? Right....HOWEVER, If i can just avoid the common sense, this movie looks like it's going to be fun.  I mean shit, Tim Burton is producing this, and you can tell that this is right up his alley.  I don't expect nothing deep in this, I just expect a young Lincoln to lay the smackdown on these vamps.



Movie: Ted
Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Mark Wahlberg, & Mila Kunis
Release Date: July 13th
Busby's Thoughts: 
This movie looks funny as fuck, nothing else I can really say.  Looks like a live action Family Guy movie.  A walking talking teddy bear and everybody seems to be okay with it like it's a regular thing.  I can already see critics hating this, but to be honest with you, if you watch ANY of Macfarlane's shows you already know what to expect.


Movie: The Expendables 2
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Terry Crews, Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, & Arnold Schwarzenegger
Release Date: August 17th
Busby's Thoughts:
The Avengers aren't the only people assembling this summer, every action superstar from the 80's to late 90's are coming together to kick ass.  I am going to see this movie just for the simple fact that Chuck MOTHERFUCKING Norris is in this bitch! Crazy to believe that he is 72 years old right now, but thats 72 years of whopping ass!  I don't know any Chuck Norris jokes so you can just insert one here.  Shit Stallone convinced the fucking Terminator to come back just to kick ass, and same with Jean-Claude MOTHERFUCKING Van Damme!  The only person missing is Steven Seagal and Wesley Snipes (but that nigga needs to learn to pay his taxes..).  Either way, Stallone got the boys back together to open a can of whoop ass!


Movie: The Amazing Spider-man
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, & Sally Field
Release Date: July 3rd
Busby's Thoughts:
Soooooooooo..let's just pretend the first 3 movies didn't happen.  When I first heard that they were going to reboot the series I was literally scratching my head like WTF?!?!  The only Spider-Man movie I REFUSE to remember was the God awful 3rd one, I'm just gonna pretend THIS didn't happen.  I guess the studio thought they needed to start fresh, so here we are now.  A new Spidey, a new cast, and the story is the same...kinda.  The movie looks legit I'm not gonna lie, and for once they are going to use a different villain with The Lizard (which they were lightweight hinting at in the original 3 movies).  All in all, I can't wait, and I won't be surprised if they included Spidey in the Avengers sequel.


Movie: Prometheus
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Idris Elba & Charlize Theron
Release Date: June 8th
Busby's Thoughts: 
The kinda sorta prequel to the Alien franchise that fan boys been waiting for the past decade is finally seeing the light of day.  Ridley Scott has NEVER made a bad movie, and it seems like he is going back to his Alien roots in this one.  Judging from that 3 min trailer this movie looks like it's going to be NO joke.  I REALLY can't wait to watch this in IMAX, because it looks like it's going to be CRAZY.  Not gonna lie, I always seem to replay the final min of that trailer, that blood clotting scream gives me goosebumps EVERY time.  Can't wait!...


Movie: The Dark Knight Rises
Starring: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, & Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Release Date: July 20th
Busby's Thoughts:
I'm gonna be honest, I REALLY didn't think this movie was going to happen.  After Heath Ledger's death, and the way The Dark Knight ended, I really thought Christopher Nolan was just going to call it a day.  I mean shit, how the hell can they follow Heath Ledger's performance of that iconic villain?  Well some how, some way, Nolan figured it out and he is going to give us his FINAL Batman movie.  Now when I say FINAL, I mean this is going to be the last Batman movie that is going to have Christoper Nolan's name on it. This is also going to be the final time that Christian Bale is going to be wearing the cape and mask.  People are already questioning the cast with Anne Hathaway playing Catwoman and Tom Hardy playing Bane.  However, Nolan proved you guys wrong before, so be prepared to be proved wrong again.  I have a feeling Nolan is going to end this movie with a bang, and he is going to make it hard for ANYONE to even THINK about making another Batman movie.  He is going to set the bar HIGH...

Honorable Mention:

  

 

 Movie: V/H/S
 Starring: Unknowns
 Release Date: August 31st On-Demend, In Theaters October 5th
 Busby's Thoughts:  
This movie is creating a little buzz for itself for the past few months.  I know this isn't in the summer, but I have a feeling this movie is going to sweep the nation the same way Paranormal Activity did a few years ago.  Yes, ANOTHER found footage film that is going to reset the standards for horror movies.  This is going to be an anthology film, that is going to have 5 short stories told through the camcorder.  This premiered at the Sundance film festival and it seems like EVERY review I've read it was HUGELY praised. There is no trailer for this movie let, and to be honest I hope the keep it that way until the release comes close, gives the movie a real mystery.  They say you shouldn't watch this movie with a weak stomach, and to be quite honest I can't wait for this movie to come out.  If Paranormal Activity set the standards for horror movies, I have feeling this film is going to reset them...


And there you have it folks, my top anticipated summer movies of 2012.  I WILL review some of these movies, to let y'all know if it lived up to the hype...CAN'T WAIT!!

~~Mr. Busby~~

The Avengers: Busby's Review

After 5 years, 5 movies, and a SHITLOAD of waiting, Marvel finally releases the movie that comic book geeks wanted to see for a LONG TIME.  The Avengers is the 6th movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe which features an ensemble cast of Marvel superheroes of Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth),  Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), and The Incredible Hulk (Edward Nor....errr...I mean Mark Ruffalo).  Assembled by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), The Avengers come together to take out Thor's adoptive brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who plans on taking over the world.  Pretty cut and dry and a simple superhero movie plot.

Joss Whedon wrote and directed this film, and he did an EXCELLENT job with it.  There were a lot of funny one liners, and a ton of action.  He also did a very good job connecting the main plot points from all 5 of the movies.   I also liked how the movie didn't really focus on one member of the Avengers.  That's what their separate movies are for, so if you seen all 5 of their separate films, then you don't need no review on who they all are.  The action in here is top notch, its everything you would ever need from a superhero movie. There were moments in the movie where I literally geeked out when I saw all 6 of them fighting together.

  

When the audience saw this scene, EVERYBODY started clapping and cheering.  Me and my boy lead to a mini "YES!" chant in the theater, it was fucking AWESOME!

There were sure as hell a shit load of explosions, and a slow motion fight scenes that almost seemed inspired by Michael Bay movies.  In fact, The Avengers is the movie that Michael Bay WISHED he did.  However, unlike a Michael Bay movie, THIS movie was done RIGHT.  I gotta give credit to Marvel for actually sticking with their guns and keeping damn almost ALL the actors from the previous movies.  This is the first movie where we have an ensemble cast of legit superheros all in ONE movie and just kicking ass.  This movie was ALOT of fun, and I HIGHLY recommend watching this if you love to have a good time.  Oh yeah another thing, you should know how Marvel movies are by now, stay during and after the credits.  Without spoiling anything, lets just say Marvel is going to have a SHIT load of spin offs and sequels.

As of right now, this is the best superhero movie of the year.  However, we got a WHOLE lot of summer left.  And Christopher Nolan is gonna come for that crown in a few months....

Busby's Review: 5/5

~~Mr. Busby~~