Rice Picker Entertainment

Well it’s summer time and all the hot movies are coming out.  In the past month I’ve seen four movies: Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean 4, The Hangover 2, and Kung Fu Panda 2.  All these movies were entertaining.  I had high hopes for the movies (well most of them).  I’ve been exposed to analyzing and criticizing movies so much that it’s become a burden to me.  So what better way to get rid of the thoughts than to write it down.  If you are reading this, take it lightly because we all have different opinions on movies.  Oh and just to warn you now if it happens: SPOILER ALERT!!!

Thor

Ah yes the Viking god of thunder and part time Avenger for Marvel.  This was a movie I was definitely looking forward to.  I mean you got Chris Hemsworth making a big debut by putting on 30 pounds of muscle (a little exaggerated, but he did have enough to outgrow his costume) and the lovely Natalie Portman.  Let me warn you now that if you don’t know your Viking mythology or at least the backbone of the Marvel series, you should brush up on some of it; it helps you understand the two different realms in the movie.  Also Thor and his people speak with the Shakespearean type of English accent and slang, so be aware.

The thing I really loved about the movie was the effects.  Most of the realm that Thor lived in was CGI and it was so convincing that it was real.  The movie had the typical humor you’d find in all the Marvel movies; an abnormal guy trying to fit in with the world.  Also if you’re following the Marvel series real closely and watch how it leads to the Avengers, this movie ties up the loose ends in Iron Man 2.

However there are some bad things about the movie.  I was hoping for more action.  Chris Hemsworth does kick ass in the movie, but not enough.  In fact, most of his fighting seemed to be done as a human yet he still got owned.  All the fighting that should’ve been there was replaced with too much romance.  Obviously it was needed to connect the story, but there was too much.

OVERALL RATING: good, something worth seeing if you’re a superhero fan or not.

Pirates of the Caribbean 4

Another adventure with the misfit pirates from Disney where Jack Sparrow seeks the Fountain of Youth.  To be honest I wasn’t planning on seeing the movie, but I decided to go anyways to kill some time.

What I liked in the movie was all the misadventures Jack gets himself in; that was where most of the humor lied.  I also liked some of the history that they tied into the movie.  If you don’t know, history and culture really fascinates me and the movie surprisingly had some accurate stuff.  A few dates were off like the fact Blackbeard was supposed to be dead when King George (I think it was him) was ruling; however they did clear up why Blackbeard still lived.

The movie however didn’t satisfy my need for a solid movie plot.  All I know is that there were like three to five stories going on and they all were aimed to finding the Fountain.  For me it got confusing.  I’m trying to piece things together from the previous party in the movie as a new plot occurred.  Some of the stories didn’t make sense or even fit into the movie idea.  That’s all I will say about the movie so I don’t give too much away.

OVERALL RATING: decent, it was entertaining for a short time but nothing special.

The Hangover 2

What’s more fun than seeing four friends having a wild night in Vegas?  Seeing them do it again only in Bangkok.  I had mixed feelings when I heard this movie was in production.  Obviously it wasn’t going to live up to the previous movie and what more could they do?  But surprisingly the movie has gotten a lot of recognition.

I liked the movie because it was a simple plot line to follow with a lot of mishaps in the way.  I also liked how they used a place outside of the U.S. to make the stakes higher for the wolf pack.

The downside to the simple plot line was the fact it was too simple.  You may not agree, but I felt this was just like watching The Hangover again only located in Thailand.  Now it’s true that different locations lead to different mishaps, but these mishaps were rather a little more disturbing than the first movie; it’s better left unsaid and have you watch for yourself.  The movie was good in some senses, but I felt they could’ve taken it a little farther and outside the original boundary.

OVERALL RATING: decent, it was entertaining but I found the first one better.

Kung Fu Panda 2

WAH-TAH!!  HI-YA!!  PAN-DA!!  I definitely want to learn kung fu after watching this movie.  If you watched the first movie, then you’ll love the second one.  Dreamworks definitely made this movie for kids.  The humor and storyline were easy enough for a young person to follow and the moral theme was a good lesson for kids to know.

I liked how the movie picked up right where the first one left off.  It shows how Po has progressed and become a big celebrity with the Furious Five.  The movie even goes more in depth on Po’s life and shows him growing even more as the Dragon Warrior.  I also liked the moral theme.  It was a very valuable lesson that people should learn about who they are.

The things I didn’t like about the film was that they tried to cram so much in only  100 minutes of footage.  I felt they could’ve stretched the time a little bit more because it seemed like the movie was rushed in a way.  But overall I don’t have too much dislikes.

OVERALL RATING: good, I’d recommend it for kids and adults.