My Movie Reviews

Release Date: 20 March 2009
Time: 2 hr 1 min
Distributor:
Rating: PG-13
My Rating: PG-13
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Rose Byrne
Grade: C

Synopsis: A time capsule containing a cryptic message about the coming apocalypse sends a concerned father on a race to prevent the horrific events from unfolding as predicted in this sci-fi thriller directed by Alex Proyas (Dark City) and starring Nicolas Cage. 1958: As the dedication ceremony for a newly constructed elementary school gets under way, a time capsule containing student drawings of the future is buried on the grounds and scheduled to be unearthed on the school's 50th anniversary. Instead of submitting a drawing, however, one little girl scribbles a series of seemingly random numbers on her paper before it is buried. Fifty years later, the time capsule is unearthed for a new generation of students to examine. Young Caleb Koestler (Chandler Canterbury) is one of those students. The mysterious sequence of numbers falling into his possession, Caleb takes the paper to his father, Professor John Koestler (Cage), for examination. Studying the numbers, Professor Koestler soon discovers that they aren't random at all, but an encoded message containing the precise dates, death tolls, and coordinates of every major disaster since the time capsule was buried. Not only that, but the document also indicates that there will be three more such events, the last of which indicates a doomsday scenario that appears directly tied to Professor Koestler and Caleb. His desperate plea to authorities falling on deaf ears, Professor Koestler realizes that his only hope for preventing more lives from being lost is to take personal action. Though the author of the prophecies is no longer living, Professor Koestler is eventually able to track down her daughter Diana Wayland (Rose Byrne), and granddaughter Abby, who reluctantly agree to aid in the investigation. As the final date on the list draws near, Professor Koestler enters into a frantic race against time to prevent destruction on a global scale, in the process realizing that in order to save millions of lives, he may have to make the ultimate sacrifice. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

My Review: This film was not that great. I think the ending just really put me off when I finally understood what was going on. I am not a fan of movies that end the way this one did and so that really put me off. The film kept me entertained most of the way and I got nervous a few times. The film was decent, but once again I didn't like the ending one bit.

Recommend: Probably not. If you don't have any other choices then you can watch it, but don't expect much. And if you do watch it, be prepared for the ending to be really bad!

Release Date: 15 October 2008
Time: 2 hr 20 min
Distributor:
Rating:
My Rating: PG-13
Starring: Light Yagami, L
Grade: B+

Synopsis: The series is about Light Yagami, a young man who resents the crime and corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground. The Death Note's instructions claim that if a person's name is written within it while picturing that person's face, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the notebook's authenticity, but after experimenting with it, he realizes that the Death Note is real. After meeting with the previous owner of the Death Note, a shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the New World" by passing his judgement on those he deems to be evil or who get in his way.

My Review: Sequel to the first film. It continues the store of Light and L and their battle. This film begins to change quite a bit from the Anime and it ends quite differently. I realize that they had to do this or the film would have never ended.

Recommend: Definitely if you watched the first one. Don't watch it otherwise because you won't understand half of what's going on. Oh yeah, rumor has it that these films are being redone in Hollywood. We'll see if that really is the case. See here.

Release Date: 20 May 2008
Time: 2 hr 5 mins
Distributor:
Rating:
My Rating: PG-13
Starring: Light Yagami, L
Grade: B+

Synopsis: The series is about Light Yagami, a young man who resents the crime and corruption in the world. His life undergoes a drastic change when he discovers a mysterious notebook, known as the "Death Note", lying on the ground. The Death Note's instructions claim that if a person's name is written within it while picturing that person's face, that person shall die. Light is initially skeptical of the notebook's authenticity, but after experimenting with it, he realizes that the Death Note is real. After meeting with the previous owner of the Death Note, a shinigami named Ryuk, Light seeks to become "the God of the New World" by passing his judgement on those he deems to be evil or who get in his way.

My Review: This movie is based on a very well known Anime series of the same name. I saw the anime series before seeing this version, and like most things the anime was better. However, they did a good job of putting these films together. A couple of things that I didn't think were so great were the shinigamis as they looked really tacky. Also, too much swearing. They translated this, so why did they leave it all in? I thought that L was done very well and he brought a lot to his role. I also really enjoyed Light's little sister and she made the film more enjoyable.

Recommend: If you don't have the patience to watch the anime, then you should check this film out. This isn't really for children as it would be a little too scary for them. If you want to watch this, then I have the links to the movie online. You probably won't find it otherwise.