Red Riding Hood

March 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Red Riding Hood
Warner Brothers Studios
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Writer: David Johnson
Stars: Amanda Seyfried, Lukas Haas, and Gary Oldman

Rated PG-13

Rating:  A-

~~ REVIEW ~~
I love a good “fractured fairytale” and that is what I got with Warner Brothers newest release “Red Riding Hood”.  This movie took one of the most renown horror flicks, “The Werewolf” and combined it with an epic fairytale “Little Red Riding Hood” to create a new drama that I won’t soon forget.

“Its a new twist to an epic fairytale that will make this film memorable and intriguing for all that watch it… This isn’t the Little Red Riding Hood our Parents read to us”

In the tale of “Little Red Riding Hood” Red goes to her grandmother’s house to discover a wolf has chased her down; wanting her basket full of goodies.  However in this movie, Red Riding Hood a.k.a Valerie played by Amanda Seyfried has a unique connection to the wolf and what she has in her basket – the wolf won’t want.  To my surprise this wolf is no ordinary wolf like in the storybooks; instead the wolf that plagues the village is a full out Werewolf; with massive strength and overflowing with evil.

Valerie discovers her world is full of lies after the death of her sister by this demonic killer of a wolf.  Her life becomes an entangled mess from her strange connection to this wolf, the death of her sister and dealing with an embattled love triangle she found herself in; all of which play a pivotal role within the plot.

I personally found this movie intriguing, I love the dark setting they put towards an ordinarily bubbly fairy tale.  However if you’re going to this movie to witness blood, guts and gore think again; despite it’s dark nature there were very little graphic scenes.  The movie actually flowed well, but the suspense was predictable.  The scenes during the day had little to no suspense or surprises, it was more the “telling of the story” in preparing for the suspense that showed during the night scenes.

Throughout the movie, I think there were only two spots where someone could actually be scared… over all it was pretty tame.

The best part by far was the ending, at least for me.  The twist of fate made for quite a surprise, especially when the connection between Valarie and the Werewolf are revealed.  Its also exciting to see that despite the ending, her connection lives on.  I can guarantee this movie will have a sequel coming soon.

Overall I can see this movie being a “love it or hate it” movie; I think some will find it hard to say they are neutral about it.  I personally loved it, but those die hard trilogy fans or avid horror flick freaks will be disappointed.  I love it because of the creative twist Warner Brothers tied into the plot.  I love the feel of the movie as well as the characters.  I love the twist at the end; which I personally feel made the whole movie.

I would not take young children to this movie despite the PG-13 rating.  I would recommend seeing the picture, it is worth the money at the box office.

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Flipped – Review

August 30, 2010 By 2 Comments

Flipped is by far the best movie I’ve seen in years.  From the very first scene to the closing credits I was captivated by the movie, and I’m still taking about it.  This movie didn’t have any intense graphics, special effects, or any A-list celebrities; it didn’t need them.  Flipped was incredible because of its simplicity.

The movie is based in the late 1950s when a new family moves into town and their son, Bryce Loski (Callan McAuliffe), catches the eye of the neighbor’s daughter, Juli Baker (Madeline Carroll).  This connection would stick with Bryce for years to come, well into junior high school.

Juli Baker is a strong-willed girl, whose mature vision of the world starts off at a young age, intimidating most of her school mates.  Falling for Bryce, she chases this immature boy for years, who wants nothing to do with her at all.  This changes, however, when Juli catches Bryce in a lie.

After seeing his lies, Juli realizes how shallow Bryce is, finally understanding how horrible he treated her all those years.  On the flipped side, Bryce’s eyes are opened to Juli’s inner and outer beauty, realizing how deep and special she really is.  Her strange habits throughout school now made sense to him, causing his heart to ache for this social outcast.  Do they ever get together?  That’s for you to watch and find out.

What I love about the movie is how they take a specific incident and give you both Bryce and Juli’s perception of what happened.  The movie points out the fact that girls mature faster than boys, as you see when each one tells of the incident and how opposite their perception is.

My favorite quote of the movie came when Juli’s dad realized his daughter had feelings for young Bryce, and she knew he really didn’t have the same feelings back.  He said “Juli, you got to see the whole picture sometimes.  For instance, a sunset is just a sunset, a field is just grass, and a cow in that field is just a cow.  However, when you blend them all together, you get a magnificent picture showing the depth of that moment; the true beauty.”

Flipped also personifies the hypocrisy of the ’50s way of life, and how everyone had to be same, or instantly become an outcast.  The same hypocrisy was brought to life in the Monkey’s smash hit, “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”

Warner Brother’s did an amazing job with this movie.  The script was well thought out and well written.  The musical scores were a blast from the past rocking some of the ’50s and ’60s greatest hits.  The acting was supurb, and photography was top notch in my opinion.  It was reminiscent to the blockbuster hit from the ’90s, Forrest Gump. Flipped wouldn’t surprise me if it wins numerous Academy Awards next year.

If you only see one movie this year, make Flipped the one to see.

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Do You Miss The WB Cartoons?

June 11, 2008 By 1 Comment

I remember growing up and running home each night to ensure at 6:00 PM I was done with my homework, dressed for bed, and ready to watch 2 hours of TNT Bugs Bunny Hour.  The classic cartoons that paved the way for today’s animated marvels.  Who can forget Bugs Bunny, Yosemity Sam, Elmer Fudd, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, The Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote just to name a few.  The lines are legendary, we can hear them in our sleep.

Sadly, they have almost become extinct.  They used to be on the Cartoon Network after TNT gave up showing them.  They were pulled from the Saturday morning cartoon line up, and now almost non existant on the Cartoon Network or Bravo stations.  They have come and gone to more modern cartoons.

On July 28th, 2008 the Tampa Theatre will bring them back from the dead and show these wonderful cartoons on the screen they were originally shown on, before feature presentations!  Yes, the Looney Tunes are back for 1 day only.  So bring your kids, bring your family and head down to Tampa Theatre in downtown Tampa.

Tickets are $8.00, and the show starts at 3:00 PM.  What a wonderful way to spend the day with your family.

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