ETHAN ROY'S REVIEW OF AVATAR: PERFECT CGI / IMPERFECT STORY

With Avatar, James Cameron finally perfects CGI, but does he perfect storytelling, NO. The story has been done thousands of times, Dances with Wolves, District 9, Last Samurai, and a little bit of Ferngully. James Cameron came out saying that this will be the greatest movie ever made; it’s far from it. Now is it a bad movie, no it is an incredible film, but the story is meh. The effects will obviously win an Academy Award, but James Cameron shouldn’t win any awards for this.

Already before the release the film got Golden Globes for best writing, Director, and best drama. No I feel that people shouldn’t let their experience take a hold of them saying that it is the greatest film ever, believe me I had an amazing experience, but I can tell the difference between what is awesome and what is a amazing story. Trust me it is one of my favorite sci-fi films but Mr. Cameron disappointed me with the story. It is no District 9 (which is my personal favorite sci-fi film), but it is better than Star Trek. The 3D wasn’t any thing special; Coraline’s was a 1,000 times better. The 3D bothered my eyes way too much. But the effects where unbelievable. I felt like I was actually there and the Na’vi felt real at times, like I couldn’t tell the actors apart from the Na’vi a few times.

The action was great, but again the story felt dull and unoriginal. Not the say I completely hated the story is that I’ve seen it done better. Cameron has done action with a great story I mean look at T-2, Arnold Schwarzenegger actually made people cry at the end of that movie, which is something we never saw coming. Avatar, yet having an amazing experience and effects, it still lacks in story, but it is still an amazing film. 7.5-8/10

ETHAN ROY: "FANTASTIC MR. FOX" REVIEW

If you’ve seen my list of my own anticipated films of the holiday I put this on the number 2 spot and what can I say it was, well, fantastic. It's nothing like the other animated films this year or any of the ones before. I thought UP was going to be my favorite animated film of the all time, but this takes its place. The only problem with the film is that I don’t think that it will do well because people especially may not find Anderson’s humor or style amusing. The animation was amazing though I felt nauseous at times through the panning shots. The real reason I love this movie a lot is because it stays true to the book. Roald Dahl is one of my favorite authors and they capture his creativity mixed with Anderson’s creativity. George Clooney was great as Mr. Fox. With animation it feels good to see stop-motion rather than CG, because Stop-motion captures the passion these people have to create a film and it is some of the best since Coraline and Life Aquatic. Plus it didn’t brother me that it wasn’t R like his other films in fact they mess around with that. If you want to see a funny, creative, family film, check this out.

BEN SPIEGEL: "ZOMBIELAND" REVIEW

Zombieland is the most fun film of the year with the exception of Star Trek. To briefly summarize this film, it is the American version of Shawn of the Dead, but in no way copies or replicates anything seen in Shawn of the Dead. It honored the classic tradition of gore and violence seen in horror films while bringing a whole new element of comedy not yet seen in this genre. The style and humor was fantastic. There are also some great surprises which I won't spoil, and I enjoyed every minute of this film. Seeing this movie with an audience heightens the experience, so be sure to see this before it leaves theaters.

"Zombieland" Official Site