CinemaLeviathan

Member since 12/12/2007, last signed in awhile ago.

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Interested in:Action, Adventure, Comedy, Comedy Drama, Crime, Drama, Epic, Fantasy, History, Horror, Music, Mystery, Romance, Science & Technology, Science Fiction, Spy Film, Thriller, Western

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Flags of Our Fathers

A Must See
By CinemaLeviathan in CinemaLeviathan Blog
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"Clint Eastwood brings us a character inspired war drama based on The Battle of Iwo Jima and the men that raised the flag and inspired the world and became a patriotic symbol of hope, inspiration, and victory. William Broyles Jr. and Paul Haggis adapted the screenplay from the book written by James Bradley and Ron Powers. As the producer, Steven Spielberg takes a step into the non-fictional world of feature war drama with Flags by telling the story of the actual men in the service and their families during that time of World War II unlike, Saving Private Ryan – which can be seen as an obvious inspiration during the battle sequences in Flags. Like Steven and his Director of Photography, Janusz Kaminski, Clint and his DP, Tom Stern, chose to portray the battle as a non-glamorous event by using handheld camera techniques, washing the color out from the sequences, and creating brutally realistic effects consisting of both practical and CGI. An example of great CGI usage in the ... " [More]

The Black Dahlia

Flawed by Fictionalizing
By CinemaLeviathan in CinemaLeviathan Blog
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"From the director of Scar Face, the writer of L.A. Confidential, and the most famous unsolved murder mystery right here in Hollywood, there’s only one thing to think: “I have to see it!” September 16, 2006, the picture was released to Friday night movie goers who were sold on the sensationally eerie marketing campaign. The radio spots mentioning, “The body was cut in half,” and “The most notorious murder mystery”. The release of non-fiction books about The Black Dahlia revealing disturbing photos from the actual crime scene, autopsy, and investigation. Most photos so disturbing that I would have to cover them with my hand just to look at the neighboring page. This impact of the case and inhumane cruelty Elizabeth Short went through forced me to want to learn more about her, the case, the monsters behind her murder, and possible cover ups. So when September 16th rolled around, I just had to see the movie. Maybe it would reveal more f ... " [More]

Flushed Away

DreamWorks is the New Disney
By CinemaLeviathan in CinemaLeviathan Blog
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"As Roddy the mouse sleeps peacefully in his owner’s mansion, a sudden explosion of water spits up through the drains revealing Sid, a sewer rat who reflects the average male in today’s world. Sid takes over the joint, turns the television to the World Cup. Roddy has enough, and attempts to outsmart Sid by insisting he gets into the swirling ‘Jacuzzi’ before the game. Sid suddenly shoves Roddy into the toilet and Roddy is Flushed Away to the underground sewers. As Roddy swirls down the drains toward the sewer, he hits corner after corner in an old-fashioned kind of comic humor, catches an orange fish who asks, “Have you seen my dad?” and finally falls into a river of sewer water where he encounters sewer slugs. Originally the slugs only had the bit part during Roddy’s intro to the sewer but because of their popularity and laugh-out-loud visual and audible humor, the slugs appear again and again through out the movie. The movie is outr ... " [More]

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

The Best Film Of All Time
By CinemaLeviathan in CinemaLeviathan Blog
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"There's little chance you'll find anything bad about this film, unless you count the E.T.-fans who shunned the 20th anniversary digital additions to the classic tale of friendship in 2002, therefore, you probably shouldn't even bother reading this; It truly is one movie everyone must see.Spielberg has said, "E.T. is my most personal film," and with good reason, too. The 1982 film depicts Elliot's longing for friendship during the stark realties of his parent's divorce, and a stranded alien from outer-space who's attracted to the bright lights of the city. Naturally, the two meet and the adventure begins. With this movie, audiences are able to escape the realities of every-day life, and take a ride into the fantastic. The discovery in the corn, the frogs at school, and saying goodbye are just a few of the classic and memorable scenes from this film, which lost the Academy Award to Gandhi, but ultimately brought the world together with a thematic mes ... " [More]

Beowulf

Immortal Tale
By CinemaLeviathan in CinemaLeviathan Blog
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"As one of the oldest tales, this story still lives on and evokes emotion from modern day audiences! The first, of many to come, Digital 3D films to hit the screens from Paramount and DreamWorks, Beowulf surprises the audience with eye-popping special effects and 3D moments hidden within the storyline. Grendel is terribly horrific, as the original tale intended, and forces the beads of sweat to form as he reeks fatal havoc on the townspeople. Beowulf is the classic arch-hero, both strong and wise, and the audience feels comforted after his arrival following the first attack in the Mead Hall. Beowulf's tragedy is spawned from his victory over Grendel, just as the previous King's tragic ending started, and he must face a whole new creature torturing the town, Grendel's mother. Needless to say, this story hosts one of the most primal thematic morals of all time, and resonates to this day. The VFX department behind this film really delivered what the trailer promises, and mo ... " [More]

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Visionary Look of Magic
By CinemaLeviathan in CinemaLeviathan Blog
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"This fifth installment to the movie-franchise of the popular Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling is by far one of the best since Christopher Columbus' first adaptation, The Philosopher's Stone/The Sorcerer's Stone (US Title). The imaginative creation of what magic actually looks like is an excellent combination of J.K.'s vision and the VFX team behind the film. Unlike the popular connotation of magic, appearing to be invisible or instantaneous, the magic in The Order of the Phoenix is quite messy and incalculable. The highly visual stage for this chapter of the wizard saga takes place over a year, as they all have in the past, though the characters grow more independent as they create a small army in secret in order to learn the defense of the dark arts lessons the Ministry refuses to teach. These new character developments include Harry's first kiss, the relationship between Harry and his Godfather, Sirius, and an uncomfortable closeness to "He who must n ... " [More]

August Rush

Music to the Eyes
By CinemaLeviathan in CinemaLeviathan Blog
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"This modern day yarn weaves its tale through the world of music and the people that not only play it, but listen as well. Freddie Highmore plays the lost son, and musical prodigy, of two musicians who were forced apart by their families, and delivers an excellent performance portraying the orphaned child in search for his long-lost parents. Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys-Meyers are a match made in heaven, and the audience is absolutely thrilled to experience their brief night of coming together in New York city due to the genuine love that expands from their first meeting. Furthermore, Robin Williams reveals a new side of his acting abilities as his character evolves from a cool, sleek, street-musician to a cut-throat, abusive, street-agent. All in all, the acting is great.The story winds through the dangerous street of New York City, which to August, is a whole new world compared to the small orphanage in the countryside. This new world presents new friends, foes, and challenges ... " [More]

The Golden Compass

Entertaining as Small Epic
By CinemaLeviathan in CinemaLeviathan Blog
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"Like Narnia, The Golden Compass is an allegory tale exploring a world not of our own full of fantastic friends and foes ranging from humans, witches, and animals, and revealing the dramatic fulcrum whom goes by the name of Lyra Belacqua. Though these similarities are evident, The Golden Compass is as far from a Christian Allegory as you can get. In fact, the original book’s author, Phillip Pullman, a famous atheist, posed this question when asked about the atheism in his books: “I think what I would say to the people who criticize me for besmirching their religion and telling children that they should all go out and be Satanists is simply this: What qualities in human beings does the story celebrate and what qualities does it condemn? And an honest reading of the story would have to admit that the qualities that the story celebrates and praises are love, kindness, tolerance, courage, open-heartedness; and the qualities that the story condemns are cruelty, int ... " [More]