21 and Vantage Point

I went to the theaters last night and caught the flick, 21, which I'm ready to review; but as I was preparing to do so I remembered that I had never reviewed the film Vantage Point which I saw a while ago. So, while it will not be the usual detailed review, I shall review it in this post as well. It's a two-fer, folks!! Enjoy!!

21

Based on a true story, 21 tells the story of six MIT students who are trained to be expert card counters and take Vegas casinos for millions.

Overall, I thought the movie was...."Alright." Worth watching at least once but maybe not for the 8 buck ticket price.

However, the movie was fantastically made, the characters were all different and equally enjoyable, and the story is one that surprises and entertains you-- while at the same time never jumping the shark.

The reason why I didn't enjoy it as much as the next guy is because it just isn't my style of film. As the plotline obviously shows, the movie is heavy on the math side. I was completely lost through the whole "counting cards" explanations and training. I just don't understand what it means for a deck to be "+16". However, if you enjoy mathematics, or you don't mind a more intellectual film, then you'll probably enjoy this film more than I did.

My puny mind just couldn't get past the fact that all the fuss was being made around a deck of cards, hahha.

The movie had this very interesting style to it. I can't quiet explain it, there was something with how all the scenes were handled, how the flashbacks where done, how the settings and colors were used. It was a very "attractive" film in the sense that I really enjoyed watching the screen.
All credit of that goes to the director, Robert Luketic. Thumbs up, Luketic.

The casting was fantastic. While I felt there were no "WOW" performances, I did enjoy watching all of them.

I am happy to say Jim Sturgess, who played the lead role of Ben Campbell, did just as well in this film as he did in The Other Boleyn Girl. He had to play a COMPLETELY different character and pulled it off just as easily. While I enjoyed his performance in Boleyn more than his performance in 21, he still did fantastic.

A familiar face that Superman Returns fans might recognize is the face of Kate Bosworth, a.k.a. Lois Lane. In this film, she played the role of Jill Taylor; a fellow card-couting team member and Jim's love interest. Bosworth is clearly in command of every emotion, and holds the ability to express any which one at the drop of a hat. Very impressive.

And guess what, Superman fans? There's yet another familiar, but not at all friendly, face you'll see in this film. Kevin Spacey, who will be most often recognized as the man who played Lex Luthor, also stars in this film playing the role of the self-appointed leader of the card-counting students, Micky Rosa. His performance was especially enjoyable to watch due to the many faces the character displays. Never a dull moment with Rosa.

Overall the movie was fantastic... It's just not my cup of tea. Although, I'd have to admit, I would love to have that movie poster. Just look at it! That is one spankin' image to have on your wall ;)

VANTAGE POINT

Vantage Point tells the story of an attempted assasination of the US President told from eight different perspectives.

This film blew me away. The only reason I had not reviewed on this sooner is due to heavy schoolwork at the time.

The director, Pete Travis, is a genius. No way could this film be done any better. Every time they switched to a new point of view, they gave you a huge cliffhanger to stress about.

I was at the edge of my seat throughout the whole film. It was amazing.

Fantastic job, Travis, amazing.

One actor I have to mention is Dennis Quaid. In this film he played the role of Thomas Barnes, the man trying to piece all the witnesses' stories together to find the man behind the shooting.

His performance was spectacular!! That role was not and easy role to do by a long shot. The fact that he was able to pull this role off so perfectly has really installed new respect from me.
Fantastic actor, I'll have to see more of his stuff soon.

The Other Boleyn Girl

Alright, I forgot to write this after I saw it Saturday and have been busy with school since then so this review might not be as long or detailed as I'd like, but I hope it gets the point across.The point? The movie is fantastic!

Based on the bestselling book by Philippa Gregory, The Other Boleyn Girl tells the story of the Boleyn sisters who fight for the heart of a king in hopes to please their father and raise the family's status in society.

This may sound like your typical chick-flick and, sure, you could see it that way, but the reality is that anyone can enjoy this film. To watch how everyone is manipulated for the betterment of another, then having every single plot slowly fall apart is something no one gets tired of.
It's a powerful story.

The entire cast was perfect in their performance. Not a single weak link in the bunch.

The role of the younger sister, Mary Boleyn, was played by Scarlett Johansson-- who you all might recognize from The Black Dahlia or The Prestige-- and the eldest son, George Boleyn, was played by Jim Sturgess-- 21 and Across the Universe.

Both were flawless in their performance. Every line, every expression, every emotion-- give them anything and they can do it, all the while tugging at your heart.

Awesome.

However, the actress who impressed me most was Natalie Portman, hands down. She played the role of the eldest daughter, Anne Boleyn, who fought to find her own way to make her name in society.

WOW!

That's all I can say for her performance: WOW!

This film revealed to me that Natalie Potman doesn't get anywhere near the amount of credit and respect as she should for her talent. My jaw dropped as I saw her on that screen. Every emotion was so raw, and her face showed such a wild variety of emotion with the slightest of change-- a talent I have only seen matched by Cillian Murphy.

And if you've seen Murphy in action before, and know what I'm talking about, then you know what I mean when I say she's phenominal.

She's the real deal, folks. We are definitely going to see a lot more from her, and I bet all my money she will never dissapoint.

I can not wait to see her in another film soon. She is now my favorite actress, no contest.

I strongly suggest you catch this flick in the theaters, it's well worth the money for food and tickets.