The Resident

Going into this film, I kind of knew in the back of my mind that it probably was not going to be very good and that there was a reason that it wasn't getting very good reviews. After watching it, not only did I not like it, I hated it. The film is ruined by bad ideas. It also is laughable at times and being a horror film, this is the last thing you want.

The film is about a girl named Juliet who moves into a new apartment in Brooklyn after a rough break-up with a boyfriend. Once she moves in, strange noises appear all around and it is now a mystery to figure out exactly what is going on in her apartment. The plot is not very original and the film suffers because of this.

The main flaw of the film is that we learn the twist of the film right in the middle of the film. Because of that, the film becomes less interesting after that and the rest is kind of pointless. The twist itself is not bad but the killer (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is. He's a very dull killer who feels like someone who you might want to start a conversation with but then end it right away because he is not interesting and has nothing to offer to you. The killer also makes some very stupid mistakes especially near the end of the movie. Also one particular character (Christopher Lee) doesn't do much at all and seems useless here.

As for the killer's mistakes, they are terrible. His mistakes are very bad because he can be spotted easily by all of his victims and also it is not very smart how he just stares at his victms. This also adds to the laughs in this film which is not a good thing.

The only highlight of the film is the lead Hillary Swank. She is an attractive lead and Swank does some good acting. Her character is in some nice scenes with beautiful shots of New York in the backround but all of this is not enough to save the film from it's many flaws.

Overall, The Resident is a silly horror movie with bad characters, a bad killer, bad timing and a bad structure. The Resident falls right after Act 1 and it is no doubt one of the worst horror films of last year.

1.5/5

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Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

Madagascar is another movie series that I grew up with. As a matter of fact, I remember seeing the second one on my 11th birthday. As time goes on, I must admit that I have kind of forgotten about the series and can't remember half of what was in them now. I went into this third installment with an open mind and I left seeing a dull and dry film that doesn't offer much but it is somewhat decent and does offer a nice closure to the series.

The film is about the same group of animals from the New York Zoo who are still trying to get back to New York after being stuck in Africa for a long period of time. This time around, they try to get back to New York through Europe and with a circus. On the way, they meet a somewhat crazy French lady named Captain Chantal Dubois and run into some difficulty because they don't know anything about being in a circus.

I think the circus does offer an interesting angle to this film. It does include some new characters and it can be pretty entertaining watching the animals struggle in the circus and here the characters really show some emotions and can be quite lovable and sweet. That said, there are flaws here. King Juilian has a dumb love story with a bear, the animals seems to run the cirus and the whole set-up for entering the cicrus and having to tell a lie to get in and then getting in trouble for it, is not too original and nothing new. The circus aspect probably could have been done better but it has enough highlights to make it worthwhile.

One thing I forget with the other films is who were the villains. In this one, I was not a fan of the villain, Ms. Dubois. She is strange and not in a good way. She is not likable as she is just too weird and a lot things about her are unexplained. Overall, this is a poor character as she is just too strange and hard to figure out.

One thing that I do remember about the first two films are the good lead characters including the good voice characters. In this one, it is the same. All the characters are likable, funny and lovable and they are all voiced pretty well. The animation is also pretty solid.

The main thing I liked about the film is the ending. It is something that you can't see coming and it offers good closure to the film and also the series. This ending shows that the characters have grown up through the sequels and that they have some good feelings that we have never seen before in these films.

This film is not great and does have many flaws. It is also not the most interesting film but it does have the same good cast, a good new plot and has a really nice ending. Even though the film is just okay and it is not terrible, it is still time for this series to end and I do think this is a good film to end it. The film ends the series with a movie that's shows the characters have grown up and that they have found where they want to be and I think that is an appropriate ending.

3/5

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Paul

Being a big nerd, I could relate to this film in so many ways. It offers quite a bit of info about aliens, comic books and Star Trek. Along with being a nerd film, the film is also a fun adult sci-fi film that really has something for everyone, over the right age of course, and I think it was one of the best sci-fi movies from last year.

Paul is about two big nerds named Clive and Graeme who come to America from Britain and go to Comic-Con in San Diego. After Comic-Con, both of them plan to go see Area 51 and other alien sites. On their travels, they meet an alien named Paul who can walk and speak but he also is in some sort of trouble. Paul offers a lot of fun on their journey but he also leads to some big trouble.

The main thing that works in this film is the duo of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. They have worked successfully together in other films including Hot Fuzz and Shawn of the Dead. Like every film they are in, they have good chemistry, bring laughs and they are very likable making you root for the characters throughout the film. The movie also has a  really good supporting cast that includes Sigourney Weaver, Jason Bateman and Seth Rogan as the voice of Paul. From the leads to the supporting characters, the cast is excellent.

One concern I had going in was the character of Paul itself. I was concerned about how he was going to talk, what he was going to do and if he was going to be a good character. As it turned out, he really was better then I thought. He is funny, helps move the film and he is pretty fun to watch on many levels.

The ending has something that really impressed me and also something that I don't think anyone would see coming. It is a nice twist on the story in a good way and it offers a new fun way to watch the film in the next viewing. It is also quite original.

Paul does has it's flaws and is by no means perfect but it does offer quite a bit for just about everyone. Both nerds and non-nerds should like this. It is a nice adult sci-fi film that is funny, has an excellent cast and a nice twist to the ending and this is something I usually don't say but I wouldn't mind seeing a sequel which shows how much this film impressed me.

4/5

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Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

This movie is one reason why I am beginning to like foreign films more than Americans films. Foreign films seems to always offer something new and different and they seem to be more original then American films. This film is a prime example of that. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is a Christmas horror tale that has children as the main leads and Santa as a weird monster. Not only is it one of the most original films I have seen in a while, it is very creepy and has a very cool twisted ending. I think it works real well in a weird way for a  Christmas story.

This tale is about two kids at Christmas time who hear about weird stuff that is happening at a mountain area near were they live. Things get  bizarre when children and objects start to disappear. Along with parents and some of the children that are still around, they all team up to figure out just what is going on around the mountain.

One thing that works in this film is the main characters. It can be risky putting children in the lead in a horror film and then have them be able to do much but here it is something different and interesting and I liked the idea. They all do well with their acting being very realistic. This is the good example of how to work with young kids in the lead.

Another cool and original thing about the film is how much Christmas is used as a theme. It is not used  through greeting cards, snow or like Gremlins where Christmas is just a background product. Here, the film wouldn't be the same without the Christmas theme which supports the entire movie.

The ending is also very interesting. It is an ending that really wraps up the film well. This movie does have it's flaws. The flaws range from bad CGI to adults letting their kids do whatever they want by letting them hang from a helicopter and letting them get into life-threatening situations. After an hour and half, it the film seemed to fall apart a little but the ending is what makes this film so good. The ending is weird and very strange but in a good way. It is a really cool way to end this the film.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale is really neat foreign film that has a lot of elements that you would probably never see in a domestic film. It also is an example of how strange a horror film can be. It can also put you in the Christmas spirit even in the summer time which is when I watched it. Overall it is nice foreign film that is great in so many ways.

4/5

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Men in Black 3

The Men in Black series is one that I grew up with. It is a series that I watched numerous time as kid and usually loved it even though the second one wasn't very good. I was pretty excited for Part 3. Going into to it, I thought that maybe it was just a money grab with a useless idea but I had still hope for it due to the cast and the interesting time travel idea. After watching it, I was pretty much was right on the money with this. The movie is pretty useless to the series and a way to cash in but it does has some good moments and is decent all the way around. I would call it an "ok" movie that hopefully will be the last one in the series.

To back up, Men in Black 3 is a confusing story of an escaped prisoner named Boris who wants to go back in time and kill Agent K due to something that happened in the past. Agent J must go back in time to stop Boris and also meet the old Agent K. It is very hard to follow this and I wished it was simpler and different but it is what it is.

What helps the film the most is the acting. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are back and good as usual but what is good here is the new supporting cast. Josh Brolin does a pretty good job as young Agent K, Emma Thompson does well and even Jemaine Clement puts together a wired but fun performance as Boris. Because of them, the film is somewhat interesting and this gets the film going in the right direction. The ending is also pretty interesting. It is an ending that I hated in one way and also kind of enjoyed. It is an ending that is short and could have been developed more but it does offers closure to something in a nice touching way.

Looking back at this series, all the other movies had some nice action. With Men in Black 3, there is some action but there are too many character set-up moments and not enough action. Instead of action, we have have to deal with the plot which is not that great. The plot does have some interesting elements including some very cool 1960's nostalgia scenes, an interesting ending and a couple of funny scenes but for the most part it is just not very interesting. There are also some bad characters which add nothing to the movie or the series. The best thing about the plot is that there are some new weapons and some transporting of objects but all of this is really in just one scene and doesn't add enough to the plot.

In the end, I don't believe that this movie adds much to the Men in Black series. It lacks action and the plot could have a lot been better but on the other hand it does have some new actors, a couple of cool 1960's scene and a nice ending. Men in Black 3 is not great and there is not much here it does anchor the first two films and is kind of interesting but I think it is time for an end to this series.

3/5

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