Movie Review - Easy A

Rating: 6/10

Olive Penderghast is a nobody. That is, until a little white lie spreads - about her losing her virginity to an imaginary "George". Catapulted into "fame", she naturally wants to keep her reputation, and so she starts receiving money and gift checks so others could pretend they had sexual encounters with her. But even fame has its dire consequences...

Contrary to what other reviewers say, I personally did not like Easy A. Emma Stone's acting is not bad but I'm not crazy about it either. Sometimes she looks too mature to pass as a high schooler. It's just weird. I also have an issue with how Christianity was portrayed - more like obsessive fanaticism or something. Sorry, but I just didn't like the film.

Movie Review - Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

 

 Rating: 8/10

Scott Pilgrim, bassist of The Sexbob-ombs, was relatively living a peaceful life until he meets Ramona Flowers, a mysterious girl who delivers items from Amazon.ca. His life turns topsy-turvy when he learns that he must defeat Ramona's seven evil exes in order to have her.

The movie uses oozes a game-like atmosphere, with the evil exes dissolving into coins when they're defeated. I find the plot a little slow moving. The fight between Scott and the Katayanagi twins seemed too fast. But, still, this does not change the fact that it's a very funny movie.

Movie Review - Princess Mononoke

Rating: 10/10

Ashitaka, prince of the Emishi tribe, was wounded during a battle with a demon-possessed boar attacking his village. The wisewoman of the village informed him that the wound will spread over his body, eat his flesh, and kill him eventually. But there is still some hope left: Ashitaka must travel to the world of the spirits to seek a cure. However, he was soon caught in an epic battle between humans and the raging force of Nature.

Princess Mononoke is directed by Hayao Miyazaki, acclaimed director of Academy Award winner Spirited Away. The word mononoke in the title actually means "monster" in Japanese and princess refers to the San, the human girl who was raised by the wolf leader Moro, one of the gods in the movie. It was given a rating of PG-13 due to some scenes of violence.

I personally liked this movie because it is a deviation from the movies usually directed by Miyazaki. Most of his films tell the story of young girls and the atmosphere is light, fun, kid-friendly. Mononoke is not that. It's so much different, in a relatively good way.

For starters, the main characters are older, and wiser. The themes explored are more mature and the animation is incredible. There's nothing childish. Even the characters have undergone a change. They're more complex and the shifts of sympathizing between the residents of Iron Town and the forest gods makes it all the more exciting.

Personally, Princess Mononoke was a delight to watch. :)

(I watched the English dubbed version, by the way.)

Movie Review - The Pirates of the Carribean 3: At World's End

Rating: 9/10

Captain Barbossa leads a crew of pirates aboard The Black Pearl to world's end in order to rescue Jack Sparrow. The English fleet is steadily gaining on the capture of pirates, and things must be done to stop them. But with The Flying Dutchman at the English side, can Jack and his handful of crew survive?

(Err. Yes, that is a very cheesy summary. :P)

I liked At World's End very much. It's quite interesting and it satisfied my movie-going self. Of course, there's Johnny Depp as the rum-loving Jack Sparrow. His performance is as good as ever. Sometimes it's hard to tell what Depp really looks like from all the odd characters he's played... :D

Book Review - E is for Evidence by Sue Grafton

Rating: 8/10

Kinsey Millhone is accused of insurance fraud after taking on a seemingly innocent claim investigation. Add to that a family that hides a number of secrets. Kinsey stands to lose everything if she can't clear her name in time. But doing so might just cost her her life...

I think E is for Evidence is brilliant. It's set during the holiday season and Kinsey is "home alone", with Henry in Michigan and Rosie taking a vacation. The reader is treated to a very lonely Kinsey Millhone with no one near to comfort her sorry life. The investigation is just as awesome as Grafton gets.

Book Review - The Golden Road by L.M. Montgomery

Rating: 9/10

The new year is almost upon Beverly, Felix, Dan, Felicity, Cecily, Sara Ray, Peter, and the Story Girl. They can't hep but wonder what surprises the new year will bring them. Little do they know the many changes that would come to them. The Golden Road is the sequel to the equally delightful The Story Girl.

I didn't really like The Story Girl as much as I liked the others. But this one's pretty interesting because they put up their own magazine called Our Magazine. I think it's genius. Haha!

The changes that came into the children's lives are many and varied but, I think, the hardest that hit them is the realization that people have to grow up. Change has to come. It's something that we all learn some time in our lives and I'm not really sure whether I accept mine with happiness or regret. But, it's there and we've got to do what we could to cope with it.

All in all, The Golden Road is an interesting read, with an equally sad ending.

Book Review - The House at Pooh Corner by A.A. Milne

Rating: 10/10

The House at Pooh Corner is a collection of stories about the adventures of Pooh and his friends. From Pooh and Piglet's endeavor to build a house for Eeyore to Rabbit's "organdizing" a Search and to their efforts to unbounce Tigger, the reader is sure to be tickled by all.

It's a delightful little book by A.A. Milne. I'm almost eighteen but, hey, I enjoyed the book a lot and I believe that it has something to tell everyone. It's very easy to be involved in Pooh's adventures and the ending is just so, so sad.

Anyone will - and can - enjoy this book. :)

Book Review - Q is for Quarry by Sue Grafton

Rating: 8/10

Con Dolan and Stacey Oliphant are two police detectives nearing the end of their lives. But before they pass away, they want to take care of some unfinished business 18 years back: the murder of a Jane Doe whose body was found in a quarry in Lompoc. They hire Kinsey Millhone, Santa Teresa private investigator, to look into the case. What transpires is a hunt for Jane Doe's identity and her killer, who has been sitting idly with a horrible secret for eighteen long years...

I can't really say that Q is for Quarry is awesome, but it's a good read nonetheless. It didn't have me gripping my seat like T is for Trespass did but Kinsey's scrapes are naturally exciting. Add her association with Dolan and Oliphant to the mix and you've got an exhausted but effective trio.

One thing that really creeps me out is the fact that it's based on a true story. The pictures of the facial reconstruction only add to that feeling. It's really horrifying thinking that an unidentified girl was murdered and it hasn't been resolved yet. It's just... Unnerving, I guess.

Book Review - M is for Malice by Sue Grafton

Rating: 8/10

A rich, old man dies of a disease and leaves his properties to his four sons. The problem is, one of them is missing and it is up to Kinsey Millhone to locate him. Unknowingly, she sets in motion a series of events that date back to the missing son's troubled past...

So, M is for Malice finds Robert Dietz back in Kinsey's life... For a short time. Anyway, this novel is pretty interesting because Guy Malek is connected to a church and, oddly enough, Kinsey finds him attractive. I was a little surprised, I admit...


The story is great and the idea of the motive is good. I think Grafton really did well with fleshing out the suspect. It's awesome. :)

Book Review - C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton

Rating: 6/10

Private investigator Kinsey Millhone is hired by Bobby Callahan, the victim of a freak accident that erased some of his memories. A few days later, Bobby ends up dead, leaving Kinsey with only the barest clues to the identity of Bobby's murderer.

C is for Corpse was so-so. There's nothing in it that really excited me. The ending was kind of lame. I was expecting the suspect to do something more sinister or crazier, at least. Oh well...

Movie Review - The Lovely Bones

Rating: 9/10

Susan "Susie" Salmon died on December 6, 1973, murdered by one of her family's neighbors. When she wakes up, she finds herself in an in-between world. From there, she could see her family and friends on Earth. As Susie watches on, the lives of the people she loves unfold as they struggle to cope with her death.

I think The Lovely Bones was a very lovely movie. No wonder. It's directed by Peter Jackson, who also directed The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the 2005 remake King Kong. Saoirse Ronan was a good actress. She did a neat job. The story is beautiful and everything is just breathtaking.

If you're watching for a movie to watch with the whole family, I strongly recommend The Lovely Bones.

Changes, changes, changes!

Hi!

If you notice, my blog posts have diminished and the reviews are all gone. That's because I moved them to another blog: http://thesanctumreview.blogspot.com

I did it because... I just felt like it. :P