dylanhook Reviews

Tangled (2010)

Definitely one of the best animated films I've seen...a guy's review

[10/10 · 21 August 2012]

Let me start by saying that I'm an 18 year old male, and was kinda dragged into watching this by my girlfriend, who is a big fan of the Disney princess movies. I finally gave in the other day, and I've very glad that I did.

The movie looked gorgeous, the animation was spot on; all while holding on to the classic Disney feel.

The main characters are extremely likable. Repunzel is your typical Disney princess style character: sweet, funny, etc. Eugene, aka Flynn Rider, kinda stole the show for me, but maybe that's because I'm slightly gender biased. Nonetheless, you can't deny his wit and humor. Maximus the horse fills the role of animal sidekick perfectly; just as good as Donkey was to Shrek even though he doesn't talk.

While the plot is relatively predictable, it was still quite an enjoyable movie. I didn't find myself to be bored at only of the parts, and I was laughing a lot more than I had expected to. This movie is an instant classic, and a near perfect example of what animated fairy tales should be like if they want to appeal to a wide range of viewers, not just tween girls. The ending was sweet and should leave everybody happy.

I think there's enough fun in this movie for all ages, including an 18 year old guy like me.

Chronicle (2012)

I was expecting to come home to a ton of negative reviews...

[1/10 · 13 February 2012]

I honestly don't understand how this movie can have so many good reviews. I've never reviewed a movie before, but I absolutely need to write about this.

The shakiness of the camera was almost unbearable; I had a raging headache after the first 10 minutes. I understand this is a "handheld camera" style movie, but so is Cloverfield, and I didn't have a problem with that at all. The movie looks like crap too, up until the end. This was obviously done on purpose, trying to create the "home-movie" type feel that I personally hate in films. The visuals did improve during the last 15 minutes which was when all of the action took place, but the shaky camera and weird cut scenes kinda ruined that for me.

The movie has no plot...at all. We kinda just have a few events thrown at us, and we aren't given any explanation as to why or how these things occurred. Basically, the three kids walk down a hole, find a glowing rock, and suddenly have telekinetic powers. No explanation, no other reference to the rock aside from the time they go back to see the hole has sunk in. They then learn to harness their power, and for one of the kids, he becomes mad with power. That's about it. The ending is somewhat confusing, and seems to be left open for a sequel.

I also don't get the reason why the kid carries around a camera the whole time. This wouldn't be so bad if the who carrying a camera thing wasn't so over-emphasized throughout the beginning. Everybody he came in contact with in the first 10 minutes of the film referenced the fact that he was carrying a camera and asked him why, and he kept saying "don't worry about it, just gotta film things now, trust me on this, etc." no real explanation as to why later in the film.

The only redeeming qualities in this film is the semi-cool action sequence at the end and character Steve who was pretty funny.

I'd say skip this one, especially if you're prone to getting headaches, or hate movies with minimal plot depth, character development and/or storyline.