New Home

Hi guys, I'm moving over to tumblr where you can get my most recent reviews. The address is awesomereviewer.tumblr.com so hope to meet you there.

New Look

Welcome to the home of Awesome Reviewer, where I review movies, video games, and give my random opinions on things that I like or dislike. See if your favorite movies or video games earn my official seal of “Awesomeness.”I’ll also take requests, but mostly try to do newer reviews.

Here is my rating scale it is out of 5:

5/5-“Awesomeness,” The highest rating I can give. It indicates a high level of entertainment that is nearly perfect. A definite watch/play. Rarely given out.

4.5/5-“Fetch Status,” Almost the same as a perfect score, but because of some minor flaw or personal bias it could not make the cut.

4/5-“Muy Caliente,” A impressive title that is done exceptionally well. It has many good things going for it, but it might not be for everyone.

3.5/5-“Caliente,” A very good title that has a lot going for it. Small minor problems here and there, but over all worth a look.

3/5-“Alrightness,” A above average title that may or may not work for everyone. Problems are noticeable, but not distract. Worth a look.

2.5/5-“Time Pass,” Nothing new or impressive. Seen it been there done that. However it offers a familiar experience and you’ll know exactly what to expect.

2/5-(black accent)”I Sat Through That,” A waste of time, that may have been sort of fun, but the end result leaves you saying “Really”and questioning “Why.”

1.5/5 or lower-“WTA (What the Anchovy),” Complete stinker that is not worth your time and is a complete waste of money. There might be something you liked, but the overall product is completely awful and uninspired.

So that’s my basic rating system and that is how I review my movies and video games. However, read the text because it might explain and give a better reason to why I gave the score.

(I'm changing somethings because I didn't like how things were being done. It's a completely new direction. However, my older reviews will still be up. Plus this gives a better idea of what I am about.)

The Lion King

Okay I took a break from my last reviews, but now I'm back and ready to go. I want to start off by reviewing one of the most beloved animated classics of all time, "The Lion King." I went to the theaters about 2 weeks ago and watch the new 3D release of the movie. This review will be split into two sections, one for the movie itself and one for the 3D.

"The Lion King" is the story of a young lion cub named Simba, who gets framed for the murder of his father. He is sent into exile, where he develops a carefree lifestyle. When his home becomes overruled by hyenas and his tyrant uncle, he has to make a decision to take responsibility or keep living his carefree lifestyle. It is probably one of the greatest coming of age stories out there. The movie narrates his life from a a child to teen to finally becoming an adult.

When Simba is young he is naive to the world. Like any any child he easily believes almost anything someone tells him and he is eager to discover new things. When his father tells him that one day he will to be king, Simba immediately gets that sparkle of astonishment in his eyes. However being the naive child he is, he thinks being king is all about having power and just doing what he wants. This can symbolize the way kids think when they are little, they think growing up means you can boss around anyone you want and you have no responsibility. As he goes into exile he develops a more carefree attitude and thinks he has found what it means to be an adult. Like many of us when we were teens, we didn't care for a lot of things and we would kind of push away our family members and have this rebellious phase. But it isn't until we become older that we have to realize it is time to grow up. That is when we really learn what we have to do and step up. Which Simba does when he gets a message from his father. What makes Simba such a powerful character is that no matter who we are we can relate to him because some of the situations and behaviors he has most of us did too.

The movie is filled with great spiritual and deeper messages. One powerful scene I can think of is when Simba's paw falls into Mufasa's paw print. It tells Simba that he has to fill in the footsteps of this great lion. We can see the fear in Simba's eyes he wonder, "will I be able to do this?" Another theme the movie deals with is death. The movie is very blunt on death. On screen we see Mufasa die and a baby cub trying wake up the carcass. "The Lion King" tells us that death is inevitable and we have to deal with it. We can't just stop living our lives. But it also says that the person we lost always lives within us through their wisdom our how they helped develop you into the person you are.

The characters in "The Lion King" are great. We can relate to them and we also have someone like them in our own lives. Mufasa, father of Simba,  is probably one of the most memorable characters in this movie even though he is only on screen for a short amount of time. He is powerful and intimidating, while at the same time lovable and protective.  His wisdom guides Simba through the film and develops him into the man he has to be. Scar, Simba's uncle, is a great villain character. He is funny, frightening, and very intelligent. He behaves as the person in our lives that want nothing more than to see us get harmed. He doesn't show his true intentions and at times feels as if he wants to help, but in reality he just wants to see failure. Timon and Pumba are the comic relief, but we all have people like this in our lives. They teach Simba how to move on and don't let the past hold you back. Even though they bestow a carefree lifestyle on Simba, they wish nothing, but the best for him. When he needs help these two are always ready back him up, like any friend. All the characters are great and very relate able.

The music is beautiful in this movie and I can promise that you will be humming along during and after the movie is over. It capture the spiritual and epic vibe of the movie to a point of pure magic.

"The Lion King" is a fantastic movie that entices you into the story, never once leaving the epic feel. From probably one of the greatest movie intros to the climactic battle to the triumphant pose at the end, the movie comes full circle. In my opinion I believe it to be the best animated film and one of the best movies ever made. It is epic, deep, funny, and very emotional. Epic in scope and Shakespearean in tone. Kids will have fun, adult will reflect back on their own lives, and it's just a perfect film. I give "The Lion King" 5/5, beautifully animated, catchy songs, a story anyone can relate too, and just a great epic.

Now the movie is still fantastic, but what did I think if the 3D? Well i thought it was pretty good, not the best. The 3D isn't up to par with say Avatar, but it is the best use of 3D in an animated film that I've seen. Haven't seen "How To Train Your Dragon" or "Tangled" in 3D. But it does excite me to see more hand drawn movies in 3D. There is a great part where Zazu is flying and it really feels as if he is right there in front of you. I'm not a big fan of 3D, but when used right I won't complain. I give the 3D , 4/5, not completely mind blowing, but effective.

The Sound of Music

"The Sound of Music," what can I say about this great contribution to cinema? Well for starters the movie was a box-office success, grossing over $286,000,000, and it practically saved 20th Century Fox from bankruptcy due to low revenues from "Cleopatra." It also went on to win Best Picture in 1965 and 4 other Oscars along with 5 other nominations.

The story of "The Sound of Music" is about a odd ball nun who becomes a governess for 7 mischievous children of the Von Trapp home. Georg Von Trapp the father is a widower and very strict, he has certain rules in the house such as no singing or goofing off basically anything that reminds him of his wife. However Maria, the nun does not adhere to Georg's commands and goes out of her way to make the children happy again. She tries hard and eventually brings back music and happiness to the family again. She soon falls in love with Georg and complications arise that tests their love and the love of the family as a whole.

The characters are great in the movie, they bring a sense of reality into the movie. For instance the children misbehave to get the attention of their father. And the father tries very hard to be there for his children, even though there are some short comings, and tries to also teach them great moral lessons about doing what is right over doing the popular thing. Maria is free spirited and deals with the complications of doing what her brain tells her over her heart.

The characters a re good and at times very believable, but the acting by the children is pretty weak. The adults give decent to great performances, like Julie Andrews, but the kids lack. They aren't always believable. They seem to be fake. However each child does shine once in a while, but overall they performance leaves much to be desired.

The songs in this movie are great, written and composed by Rodger and Hammerstein and Irwin Krostal. They have a fun melodic flow. Songs start of slow with soft vocal performances and quickly become dramatic and enchanting. Meanings of the most of the songs are mostly in front of you. They are meaningful songs, but the moral is usually thrown at you with little room for the imagination. However songs like "The Sound of Music" accompanied by a powerful scenery transcends the movie to a whole other level.

Moral themes much like most of the songs are up in your face. The movie overall is the importance of family and staying together. The Von Trapp family have so many complications such as the loss of a mother and the way the families lives are changed. Another message in the movie that is handled pretty well is that family is all you can really count on. Leisl has a friend in the movie who she thinks she can trust to the very end, ends up betraying her trust. She is left with only the love of her family.

Overall I think "The Sound of Music" is a fantastic film, it tells a timeless story of the value of family and their unconditional love. The songs are great and very iconic. The movies 3hr running time goes by a breeze. Acting from the children are decent, but at times fake and the morals are kind of thrown to you. However the acting or the shallowness of the message, I give "The Sound of Music" 5/5. The story is compelling and it still manages to tell a powerful story about family.

"The Sound of Music" will conclude this journey we've had reviewing musicals. I know I didn't get to a lot of them, but probably will later down the line with my reviews. I had a fun time doing this and it gave me an amazing opportunity to check out some of these great musicals in cinema. Starting tomorrow I will begin doing reviews of movies I've seen over the summer. Some will be brand new movies I've discovered for the first time, others will be my favorite classics, and most of which will be this years releases.

Mary Poppins

Walt Disney's "Mary Poppins" is the pinnacle of the studios success. No film till that point or since then has been able to match the amount of accolade and success this film had received. It holds the record for the most Oscar nominations, 13, and wins, 5, any Disney movie had ever received. The movie was also a huge financial success becoming the highest grossing movie of its year, 1964, and the following year, 1965. The film went on to gross a whopping $102,000,000>, not much by today's standards, but ticket price was around a dollar per person, so that means over 102,000,000 people have seen this film in theaters and a countless amount of people have seen it on home video. "Mary Poppins" wasn't only a money making juggernaut or Oscar gold, it was also a landmark in special effects. From mixing live-action with animation to using wires to the full effect. It was seamlessly infused into the movie and enhanced it to another level.

I hadn't seen "Mary Poppins" in years, the last time was probably when I was in elementary school, but with the power of Netflix and my recent obsession with musical, I was able to watch this classic film. I completely love this film and had  a smile on my face the whole time. The depressing parts had me choked up and the more funny scenes had me laughing out loud. And I was completely astonished  by the special effects. I could not fathom how they had done it all without the use of computer graphics.

"Mary Poppins" is the story of The Banks children, Jane and Micheal, who are often neglected by their busy parents, so they always need a nanny around. After their last nanny quits on them the father, Mr. Banks, makes an ad for a more stricter nanny. However the kids have their own ideal nanny that they want. The father disagrees and rips up their ad and throws into the fire place. However the winds of change blow and Mary Poppins comes across the letter and immediately packs her bag and enters the lives of the Banks.

The story of "Mary Poppins" is very strong, at times it is very whimsical, but hefty with symbolism For instance wind plays a very strong role in the movie. It suggests that Mary Poppins can't stay at one place for a long time. It gives her enough time to change the hearts of people she comes into contact with. Laughter and being a kid is another strong part of the film. Laughter is important and states that i when a person laughs they can rise from any kind of situation. Regardless of what kind of job we have or how much money we make laughing is the key to happiness, as shown by the character Bert. Bert isn't very rich, but he is happy because he has laughter and his imagination.  It can pick us up and make up feel good again. The movie puts heavy emphasis on being a kid and how precious it is and also on the fact of giving. Not only give money, but giving joy and nourishing the youth.

The songs are probably some of the best in any musical. The Sherman brothers did a magnificent job with the songs and the score. The job they did on this movie is probably their best work. The music is varied from whimsical and fun, to ironic, to very emotional. They are all mostly catchy and a sound track that you might be humming all day long. No matter what the song it fits well into the movie, it doesn't feel like it's just there for show, but instead it's there to enhance the story with smart and full of symbolism lyrics. "Feed the Birds" for instance is a song that may sound like what the title says, but it is much more than that. It is about giving and looking past your nose. Many of the songs are like this and have double meaning that people realize as they get older.

The characters are fantastic, they are colorful and fun. However my favorite character and I am guessing most other peoples favorite as well is Bert. He represents the every man who is happy with what he has and enhances it through other means. He has hobbies like chalk drawing and singing to occupy his time. Bert is played by Dick Van Dyke and he escalates this character to another level, just with his sheer screen presence. He makes the character very charismatic. And Julie Andrew does a great job playing the lead Mary Poppins. Her voice is amazing, screen presence is powerful and charismatic, and she looked pretty good back then too.

Overall "Mary Poppins" is a fantastic movie, it achieves the highest level of story telling, with amazing characters, memorable music, and state of the arts special effects that don't look too dated by today's standards.. The movie also captures the imagination and the youthfulness of childhood in a timeless classic. I give "Mary Poppins" a 5/5, a stunning film and anything else I say will not do justice for the film.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," another collaboration of Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, but this time it's a black comedy horror musical. I'm gonna be honest I'm not a big fan of either of these two people. And honestly can't fathom the amount of people that flock to their movies. I'm not saying they're not talented, but I just can't understand the obsession and fascination. Tim Burton is a decent director, but most of his movies are pretty similar in tone and he never really steps out of his comfort zone. I can't judge a director that only does one type of movie, yet people consider him to be a genius in the leagues of Spielberg or Hitchcock. I hardly consider that, he does have some good movies, but I usually grow board of his black comedy/horror movies. I can appreciate him for having a style, but he could put it to use in another genre something out of his comfort zone. Johnny Depp is another person I can't seem to understand the obsession with. People flock to his movies like flies to an apple core. He is a good actor, but he isn't that good. I think he over acts and tries too hard to be corky. I've just never been impressed with him I guess.

However, as much as I don't prefer their movies, I did enjoy this one. It of course had the Tim Burton touch and feel, but I also liked Depp's acting it was solid. I didn't think he over did it and he gave a decent vocal performance.

"Sweeney Todd" is  story about Benjamin Barker aka Sweeney Todd, who's been missing for 15 years returns to London on a boat to find his wife and daughter. He is accompanied by Anthony, who is very excited to come to London. On the other hand Todd is not and he tells Anthony about how he was tragically separated from his wife and daughter by a jealous judge. After telling the story they both separate and go their own way. Todd comes upon a pie shop on fleet street where he meets Mrs. Lovett, who knew his wife and tells him that his wife had taken poison after being raped by Judge Turpin.  Todd becomes angered and wonders what has become of his daughter and Lovett tells him that she is with Judge Turpin. Lovett also returns Todd his old razors with which he plans to get revenge with. Mean while Anthony comes across a beautiful girl who is singing form her window and immediately falls in love with her. He soon finds out that this is the Judge Turpin's home and is beaten by the judge for looking at the girl. After taking a beating he vows to take Joanna, the girl, from her home. The story continues with more deception and twists as Todd tries to get revenge and find his daughter with Lovett. The movie also has romance between Lovett and Todd.

The story was good and interesting, but I thought the dialogue was hard to follow. They are so fast at delivering dialogue that it just sounds like mush. I couldn't make head or tail of what they were saying, which hurt my understanding of the story. I also though the romance between Joanna and Anthony go nowhere. It is underdeveloped and hits a brick wall toward the end. Their love story didn't work for me. Another thing I didn't like was the relationship between Mrs. Lovett and a child worker she takes in, Tobias. They sing a heart touching duet about being there for each other, but throughout the movie mainly towards the end I don't see that song translate into the movie. Lovett does some questionable acts to the boy at the end of the film, I just see that song applied to the film.

On the other hand the music was well intertwined into the film. It didn't seem out of place and they were melodic. The songs fit well with what was happening and had a great operatic feel. They are dark, funny, heart warming, and everything else, except memorable. The songs worked great with the film, but are forgettable outside the context of the story. I can't see these songs part of anything else. The only song that I thought could sort of stand on its own was "Johanna" which melodic and harmonious. It's a song that I can hum and makes me feel. One more problem with the movie was the singing, it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. The actors manged to sing decently, but they couldn't hit all the right notes.

Overall "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" is a good movie and musical. It's visuals are great and very unique and it has a good story, which is harmed by poor dialogue delivery and some relationship issues. I give the movie a 4/5, Good story and stunning visuals, but non-memorable songs and poor dialogue delivery. My favorite Tim Burton and Johnny Depp film.

Dreamgirls

So today I watched "Dreamgirls," a musical drama about three young ladies and their journey to stardom. I have to say this is a fantastic film, it has everything from amazing music to beautiful visuals to heart. The movie is about going for your dreams and the sacrifices one has to make to achieve those dreams. And what happens when the rug is pulled from right beneath you. The story starts off light hearted and slowly weaves into the more dramatic aspects. From start to finish we as the audience feel and experience everything the characters feel. It's as if we are following them through this journey every step of the way. However, the movie cuts abruptly in certain scenes and it kind of weakens the overall impact. Certain characters are paid less attention to and when something happens to them we are supposed to care.

The acting in this movie was great, every actor portrayed their character well. However, Jennifer Hudson steals every scene she is in. She plays Effie, the lead singer of the group, but is quickly replaced by her friend Deena, played by Beyonce. She is pretty much a diva in the movie. She wants all of the spot light on her and refuses to see the bigger picture for the group. Years pass and she finally realizes what she had. Hudson played the character so well, giving her power and she handled the emotional scenes well. In my opinion the star of the film was Effie as she was the real heart of the film. And instead I think Hudson should have been nominated for a lead actor award instead of a supporting one.

The songs probably the most important part of a musical. The songs are all great and song to perfection by the cast. "Dreamgirls," the title song is beautifully song and harmonized. It feels like a song that only can be song by angels. "Patients" and "One Night Only"(Effie version) are both great songs that made me really emotional. My favorite number are the ones at the end of Act 1, "It's Over" and "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going," both of which are very dramatic and show the shift in the tone of the film.

Overall I think "Dreamgirls" is a fantastic musical and should have been nominated for Best Picture. It hits all the right notes. The songs are great and the acting is good. The story could have been tweaked a bit more to make it flow better.

I give "Dreamgirls" a solid 4/5, good acting, memorable and amazingly well sung songs, with strong characters, but some minor problems in the whole execution.

P.S. I only have a few more musicals to review and then I will start my general reviews. I have seen so many movies over the summer, some new, some old, some good, some bad.