Christmas Vacation (1989)

There is a reason that Christmas vacation is considered a christmas classic. The film still holds up to this day. Chevy Chase is at his prime in this film being funny, expressive, and likable. In fact, most of the characters are likable despite most of them being two-dimensional characters. Contrast this film with the film Deck The Halls which had a similar main character. The filmmakers of that film seemed to have been trying to go out if their way to make the characters completely unlikeable along with being completely unfunny. The film is at its best when it goes over the top such as when Chevy Chase's character uses something on his saucer sled to cut down on friction which results in him going the speed of light. As I have gotten older, it has become harder for me to laugh while watching comedies, as I have heard all the jokes before. This film however had quite a few jokes that made me laugh especially some of the more raunchy ones. I wish modern day comedies were as funny as the ones in the eighties. There is one complaint I have with this movie; the ending is a little bit of a cop out when it comes to the resolution. I recommend the film to people when winter starts. I felt kind of weird watching the film when Fall has just started. In addition, I would like to tell any of my fellow classmates that this film and the previous two are available in the school library if you are interested. I give the film a 9/10.

The Fighter (2010)

The Fighter is based on a true story of Mickey Ward. The movie tells the story of two brothers. One of the brothers is a former boxer who became a crack addict while the other is an up in coming boxer. We watch these two characters try to rebuild their lives after making so many mistakes in their lives. Everybody in the film is great at their part especially Christian Bale. Bale is famous for his skill at being able to gain or drop weight incredibly quickly as shown through his many roles as an actor. He also manages to speak in a convincing Massachusetts accent despite having a british accent in real life. Melissa Leo is excellent as the mother as she channels being a complete word that I am not sure I am allowed to type on this blog. Mark Wahlberg is extremely likable as the main protagonist. The story is strongly told, as the film has no filler in the way the story is told. The film is subtle with its emotional scenes, making sure that the film does not turn into a melodrama. All of the emotions feel real. Also an interesting note, despite being a film about boxers the film does not focus on the boxing.  The Fighter is a great film worthy of the awards that have been given to it. The acting, the direction, and the writing are all great. I recommend the film to anybody except small children. I give the film a 9/10.

spirited away (2001)

Spirited Away is a masterpiece of animation and storytelling in general. Hayao Miyazaki crafted a coming of age story with more heart, soul and creativity than most films these days. Miyazaki creates a world rooted in Japanese folklore that is beautiful to look at. All of the themes that are typical in Miyazaki films are present from environmentalism to the dangers of greed and capitalism. These themes are presented subtly so as to not insult the intelligence of the viewer. The themes are presented by using symbolism such as the parents being turned into pigs after eating so much food justifying that they will pay when the owner of the stand comes back, the spirit with no face, and the unrecognizable monster who is revealed to be the river spirit covered in pollution. The main character of the story grows throughout the story from a bratty child into a mature adult through learning manners from ancient Japanese custom and hard work. The antagonists of the film in departure from most kid's films are three-dimensional with at least some redeeming qualities. The producer for the English dub was John Lasseter, CCO of Pixar Animation Studios and director of the first two Toy Story films. He does a introduction to the film on the DVD where you can see how much admiration for the film he has. This film went on to win best animated feature at the Academy Awards, and the movie deserved the honor. I give Spirited Away a ten out of ten. I recommend the film to all ages.

sherlock holmes (2009)

For my first post I will be reviewing a slightly older movie to try and figure out how my reviewing style will be.

I had always heard that the character of House was inspired by Sherlock Holmes, now I can see how. This Sherlock Holmes has returned to being the antisocial, drug addict of the original stories. Sherlock is played by Robert Downey Jr., who is perfectly cast as this iteration of Sherlock due to his personal life being pretty much the same as Sherlock's around ten years prior to the making of the film. A now competent Watson is played by Jude Law. Going with the House comparison, one of the flaws of the movie is that the plot is usually less interesting than the characters. Jr. and Law have great chemistry with each other. you believe that these two have been together for a long time and that their bromance is strong if a little strained. The story however seems a little weak in places such as the part with (spoiler) Professor Moriarty and the love interest which just seem shoe-horned into the plot for sequel bait and mandatory hollywood romance respectively. You could have taken out anything to do with Moriarty and the story would still have been the same. Also the mystery could have been strengthened by not revealing the villain until later in the movie as the villain reveals his plan to the audience long before Sherlock figures it out. However the mystery does well to give you all the evidence to figure out the main twist which is a sign of a good mystery. Despite some flaws, Sherlock Holmes is a solid movie. The mystery is smart, the character's relationships are interesting, and the actions is great despite the final sequence being a little over the top. I give the film a 7/10.

welcome

Hello, my name is Colton Barns. I am a freshman at William Jewell College in Missouri, but I did not grow in Missouri. I came from a small town in Oklahoma. My school was so small that my graduating class was only fifty-eight people. This blog was created as an assignment for my writing class although if you are reading this blog, that statement is probably true about you. I am honestly a really shy person, and I have a really hard time talking about myself. That problem has a side effect of me seeming like a jerk to people when I do not respond to people. For these reasons, I will be using this blog to talk about myself and my various interests. I am really interested in movies and comics. When I watch movies with friends or family, I have a habit of talking about the production of that film to the annoyance of the rest of the audience. My plan is to make this into a movie review blog assuming I can get my Netflix streaming subscription up and going. If I cannot get my Netflix subscription worked out, I still have the movies at my school library along with other resources. I want to make a movie review blog since they sound like fun to write and there is a huge amount of topics I can write about in detail. I have problems expressing myself when talking to people in public, so with this blog I hope to show people who I am and my opinions.