Reviews

Steamboy used a relatively humble premise of the emerging power of Steam technology in the 19th century and built a strong plot foundation on the debate over the role and pitfalls of science and technology. Unfortunately, after establishing this base the film began to lose its way. The debate seemed to be pushed aside as the overwhelming visuals took over and by the end I was left feeling tired, disappointed, and a bit confused.

The movie started out good, got awesome, then literally lost it's way in a cloud of . . . steam. A lot of effort and time was spent on a very short and disappointingly shallow plot line that at times flirted with depth, but never got there. I recommend it to hardcore anime fans

I've been a Daredevil fan since I was seven and I liked the movie. I do admit that it was not very good. Trying to avoid any biases, I'll give you my take.

The worst parts of the movie were directing and Writing. The movie could have benefited from a much better director. Ang Lee would have been great for this film rather than MSJ. The script forced some of the actors to say lines that were just insufferable. "I'm not the bad guy", "that's the C-Train", "Stay. Stay with me." AAAAAHHHHH!!! No actor should have to say ridiculous lines like that. Due to the slightly low budget, director and the producers the movie also walked a weird line between ultra-CGI Spiderman and non-digital Batman (original). Personally I think that the movie could have been done without excessive digital effects. In the commentary the MSJ admits that the CGI was atrocious at times. Daredevil, in terms of superpowers, is more like Batman than Spiderman and more stuff like the opening fight scene would have been nice.

The cast, in my opinion was excellent. There were plenty of moments in the movie that made me believe Ben was a good choice. He performed well in the courtroom as Matt Murdock and at the end against Kingpin. Farell was obnoxious (perfect), Jennifer Garner was solid as Electra, and Michael Clarke-Duncan was the best possible choice for Kingpin. They were good; too bad the script didn't make good use of them. Ben definitely is not the best actor out there, but he could have done well in a better situation.

In the end, it was not horrible, but not good either. I saw it a couple times and bought the director's cut (which I recommend. It is better). I try to see the potential in it and kind of gloss over the lame parts but sometimes they're just too bad to ignore. In spite of it all, I'd recommend it to hardcore DD fans because it's cool to see your favorite superhero on screen but I would not recommend it to people looking for a good movie to watch on a Friday night.

It was what I expected in a lot of ways. Kinda' hokey, kinda' corny, but entertaining. A run-of-the mill romantic comedy with few surprises on that end. The actors did a good job keeping it interesting and fun. Dunst played the strength or her character well, but never seemed to take the heavier scenes seriously enough. Paul Bettany was solid, but in a lot of scenes, he overplayed the stereotypical Hugh Grant British stammering and awkwardness. It should be noted that this is from the same team that made Notting Hill.

I must give the movie a LOT of credit for transferring the game to the screen rather well. Wimbledon did an outstanding job at depicting the psychological game within the game. At some points I actually felt the tingling in my legs that I remembered from the starting blocks in my first track meet. Intense. The visual effects were also well done. In some ways it played like The Matrix only instead of the war against the machines it's Wimbledon and instead of "the one" it's some British guy.

In spite of its genre-specific clichés, it was original enough for me to enjoy. I gave it a 6 for being an enjoyable movie, and an extra point for its visual effects and dramatic power. I recommend it to the romantic comedy fans and mild sports fans.

I'd actually recommend seeing it if you don't feel like a heavy movie and just want to watch something fun. The movie is 'another teen movie" but does have some unique aspects to it, some pretty funny quotes ("what is this, the dork outreach program?")and moments, but unfortunately, a lot of that average teen movie drama and a few overly two-dimensional characters (Zach's friends and girlfriend). Cool dance scene though, and Freddie Prinze Jr. is bearable Rachel Leigh Cook is likable (I personally thought she was pretty good in it) and notably talented actors like Kevin Pollak, Kieran Culkin, and Anna Paquin give the movie some supporting foundation. Not a bad movie, not a great movie, just simply what it is:'another teen movie'.