Se7en

Let's see here... why don't we write a gut-wrenching serial killer script, and make Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman the cops out to catch him? Great idea!

As far as private-eye, catch-the-killer psychological thrillers go, Se7en didn't really swim out into any new waters, but it was definitely one of the more clever and thought-provoking ones I've seen. While utilizing the shock-value effect of seeing the aftermath of some of the most grotesque and bizarre murders in any movie I've watched, I still found the movie very well-filmed. It had just the right pace throughout, the acting was superb, and the story was really messed up! But I liked it!

Basically, this really really smart guy commits murder after murder, leaving clues, and even letters, for the feds. All of his kills are perpetrated on men and women who partake in what are said to be the '7 deadly sins'. For instance, an obese man is force-fed to the point of death, and then his stomach popped and he was left to die slowly and painfully. I hate to be a spoiler, but you deserve to know what you are getting yourself into if you are in the market.

Character building is a great sub-plot for movies like this. Somerset (Freeman), a soon-retiring detective, and Mills (Pitt), who will replace him, begin their quest for justice, they do not get along at all. Somerset just wants to escape from all the bad people in the world, but Mills is young, full of energy, and wants to catch the bad guy! As the two work diligently against the clock to catch this guy before he completes all seven deadly deeds, they slowly and reluctantly bond. I like this because I think that the best way for men to bond is to do wild, crazy, or life-threatening things together. Gwenyth Paltrow also gives a stellar performance as Mills' wife.

If you think you can handle some pretty disgusting, horrific imagery, by all means, check this one out! This is going to sound so 90s, but... from the (what I found) spellbinding, aboriginal opening credits, to the breathtaking, gripping last scene, Se7en will keep you biting your nails, sitting on the edge of your seat, and maybe even sweating in anticipation and excitement to find out what happens!

"Se7en"

Story: 9

Acting:9

Special Effects: 8.7

Cinematography: 9

Conclusion: 8.93

Honestly, these are some of my favorite kind of movies, whether that's a good thing or not, but as long as I am getting good things out of it, and those images aren't stuck in my mind after the movie's over, it can't be a bad thing, right? What I like about this movie is that it was really quite convicting about judging people. I mean, the killer wasn't just taking lives in some weird pattern because monkeys were dancing around in his head, he was judging these people, and giving them what they deserved. Right? I think so. I think we all deserve death, but we are not the ones who should judge, because we are no better, no matter how much less prideful or self-centered we are, we really can't do anything to make ourselves deserve more than the next person. This was definitely a very over-the-top depiction of human judgment, but it's a good message for those who are listening.

The Fringe: B+

Twilight: Eclipse

The plot thickens in this maddening third installment of the Twilight series!

Having not seen the first two movies completely, only bits and pieces, I may not know the full context and story in Eclipse, but it is really no mystery, and should hardly be considered a matter of opinion, that Eclipse was not a very good movie. While this has nothing to do with how much someone can like a movie (for example, a 13-year-old girl's fringe grade would be much higher than mine), the acting is quite possibly worse than that of 90s sitcoms, and the story... it's really not that great at all. I mean, you can defend it as much as you want, but basically, the reason that series has made so much money is that people are blown away by what love does to young people... and in context of the movies, very beautiful young people. Nevertheless, I went to the movie at the midnight showing just for fun with a bunch of friends who liked it about as much as me. I had a great time, and found much comic relief in watching it, but truth be told, the whole story revolves around Bella, a very much self-centered teenage girl who doesn't have a problem playing with people's hearts and is overly unappreciative of her loyal friends -- especially Edward, whose entire existence is for her. He would do anything for her, but in Eclipse, she decides to go back and forth between him and Jacob, a 'good friend' who has developed special feelings for her... and also has a thing for showing off his six-pack and almost CGI-looking biceps. In fact, I think there is only one or two scenes in the whole movie where he is actually wearing a shirt!

I think if any of the Edward and Jacob-crazy girls in the theater could stop thinking about the feeling they have in their heart for one second, they might see the one good thing I got from watching the movie: The importance, and underestimation, of trust. Bella treats Edward like a moldy crunch bar throughout the entire movie, but he continues to love her the same no matter what. Whether you look at it like trusting God, or trusting someone that loves you, whether it is romantic love or they really just care about you and want to be your friend, you have to trust people. The ones that aren't dangerous, of course. To forget about things that don't matter so that you can trust in love is such a beautiful thing. I'm sure Bella will trust Edward, and she will of course end up with him in the last movie, which is probably coming out in a couple of weeks...

"Eclipse"

Story: 4

Acting: 3

Special Effects: 8 (the wolves were actually pretty cool!)

Cinematography: 6

Conclusion: 5.25

The Fringe: D+

The Green Mile

The Green Mile is yet another great Stephen King story delivered to the big screen (and my little twenty-inch screen in my room). With some of the usual key plot points of a movie, including one of the biggest, most intimidating men on the face of the earth, a most deplorable crime, a tremendously clever mouse, a man far more cruel than those he judges, and electric chair nick-named 'old sparky', and, of course, starring Tom Hanks as the lead role, the Mile is just another good Stephen King story. Many people have seen this movie by now, seeing as it released in nineteen ninety-nine, but how many of them realized what I did about the movie? It's hard to forget the eclectic, yet spectacular variety of characters and sub-plots, however, all King really did was grab some random characters, not too hard to imagine, and plugged them into a very thought-provoking and mind-blowing story. For example, Mr. Jingles could've just been a mouse, but he is the smartest mouse who ever lived. You'll just have to see the movie to see what I'm getting at.

Basically, I loved it, and would recommend to anyone who has a lot of extra time on their hands and an open mind. It is Stephen King, after all. The Green Mile will hopefully leave you in a different state of mind than before.

"The Green Mile"

Story: 9

Acting: 9

Special FX: 7.5

Cinematography: 7.5 (I lowered it for being so unoriginal, even though it was shot pretty well, all the camera angles and the whole way the movie is filmed is totally predicable and that made the slow story slightly less tolerable.)

Conclusion: 8.25

The Fringe: B

The Book of Eli

It starts out slow, and maintains mostly the same speed for the entire show. Nothing really exceeds standards, but watching the story unfold makes The Book of Eli totally worth it.

I've definitely seen better performances from Denzel Washington, the star of this blood-bath drama about a man on one of the most spiritual journeys in fictional media. But it's kind of hard to give a performance people will praise when you're an action hero. Set somewhere in the near future, after a ill-discussed 'flash' that wiped out most of the world, handing the survivors to cannibalism, rape, robbery and above all, inevitable obsolescence. Eli (Washington) has a book that could change everything, and he's going West until he finds where the book belongs. It is no mystery or spoiler that he kills a lot of people throughout the movie, not letting anyone stop him from completing his deadly deed. Eli really isn't set apart from the typical action hero in a movie, but like I said, the story is just great. Even if you don't believe in God, it's another great story on the shelf of the 'being willing to die for what you believe in' category. The movie could appear to be very unrealistic and unbelievable, but watching with different perspectives, including my faith, I learned pretty fast that Eli is receiving some sort of supernatural assistance on his quest. It's not like other cheesy, unrealistic movies. Eli is simply on a mission from God.

The Book of Eli has quickly been written off by many as 'christian propaganda'. I really don't think the people who made this movie are trying to bring the world to a better understanding of God. In fact, if the book Eli carried didn't happen to be a bible, God would hardly be an issue and the movie would probably have sold twice as many tickets in the box office. Nevertheless, it is a bold thing to profess what you really think is possible, and what you believe to be true, and it's another thing to be successful with it. Book of Eli didn't exactly sell as many tickets as Avatar, but it's sold the most copies on iTunes this week...

As far as the components other than the story, the movie is pretty average. I found the cinematography to be pretty appealing visually, while I maintain there are some pretty obvious green screen parts. The acting isn't too impressive either, but not too much can be expected of action-drama this slow, especially one with so little in-depth dialogue. There just aren't that many emotions to act out. I suppose everyone does a good job of portraying their part though, so to make a long story short (too late for that), the acting is good.

"The Book of Eli"

Story: 6.5

Acting: 7.5

Special Effects: 7

Cinematography: 6

Conclusion: 6.75

So it's been concluded... the movie really isn't above average in any way. The movie touched me on personal levels and really struck home, at least with myself, but that is different than the talent applied to the construction of the whole thing. For example, 'Yellow' by Coldplay wasn't really the hardest song to write, but it touches so many people, and whether hours and hours of hard work and sacrifice went into making the song impressive musically or not doesn't even matter after you've sold 6.9 billion copies. What matters is that Chris Martin was messing around on his guitar or his piano, and he stumbled upon something beautiful, a great idea, and his heart was in the music.

The Fringe: A

A Knight's Tale

Though it was a box office failure, A Knight's Tale has been a favorite of the Fifield family for a number of years. The movie is historically inaccurate, realistically inaccurate, and the plot is totally unbelievable, but we need movies like this sometimes (actually more often than not), and if all of the inaccuracy and abstract plot are crafted together with enough elegance and suave, then it is enjoyable. This statement probably applies to two thirds of film ever made, but if you watch the aforementioned story play out, you'll hopefully understand what I am going on about for a whole paragraph. If you still don't understand after watching it, you might be what my brother calls a 'disbelieving punk'.

So we have the protagonist, William Thatcher (Heath Ledger, 10 Things I Hate About You). He is but a peasant squire, helping a knight-by-blood tour around Great Britain, running full-speed at other knights-by-blood and trying to ram each other with heavy sticks called Lances (it's called a Lance... hellooowww!!!!). The sport is definitely jousting. But when mr. I-can-joust-anybody doesn't do so hot one day, William makes a choice that will forever change the lives of him and his fellow peasants, Roland and... I forgot the other one. William, not ready to take his two coins and head home, assumes the knight's position for the remainder of the tournament. And so begins the adventure of their lives! William starts training every single day, and becomes Sir Ulrich Vonlicktenstein, a real-life knight.

The plot, for the most part, doesn't differ from other 'period pieces' (if you can call it a period piece). There's a girl, plenty of witty humor, and there's a bad guy, the high-and-mighty Count Adhemar, who poses a real threat to William's rising-up in the... jousting community? It is a good story because the character wants something, and works against all odds (re-writes the stars), to get it -- it's not so different from what Nacho Libre wanted. "Let's get a little taste of the glory... see what it taaaste like!"

But honestly, the reason A Knight's Tale is so great is because it does not play out like other movies, though keeping many of the same components. It's so quirky, I can't help but laugh every time! I mean, the movie starts out with a knight in shining armor taking a Lance to the face in slow-motion with everyone in the crowd singing and clapping in unison to 'We Will Rock You' by Queen! And then... what? People dressed up for a ball, dancing to David Bowie? I wouldn't really give away my favorite scene...

"A Knight's Tale"

Story: 8.5

Acting: 7

Special Effects: NGF (not grade factorable)

Cinematography: 8

Conclusion: 7.83

When William's friends agree to his crazy idea, in the beginning, it is more than just the beginning of the plot to me. It is William believing in something, and stepping out into the unknown, the crazy, unbelievable, mystical realm of adventure that every man should enter. That being said...

The Fringe: B+

How to use this blog

In this blog, I plan to review movies and give them a sort of rating. But I don't grade like regular critics or like a school teacher; when I watch a movie, I am entertained by many different components of it. If I like a movie and I give it an A-, then you might decide to watch it, but that doesn't mean that you will like it. I want everyone to know why I like the movie, and from there, you know if you are interested or not. This will make a lot more sense after I begin reviewing movies, but here's a key to help you understand.

The first conclusion I make about the movie is called the "Census." I will grade several components of the movie on a scale of 1 to 10 (obviously, 1 being the worst and 10 being the best). The Census looks like this:

"James Cameron's Avatar"

Story: 6

Acting: 5

Special Effects: 9

Cinematography: 9

Conclusion: 7.25

Everything is rated for different reasons. Does the story pull you in, does it captivate the mind? Is the acting very good? Are the characters' roles pretty believable? Is the movie filmed very well, or do you feel like you are watching a play in your backyard with a giant painting of another planet behind you? The "Conclusion" grade at the end is an average, or overall score of all the components of the movie. Note, it is important to look at each specific grade, because all movies are different. For example, most people will go to see Avatar because of all the special effects and CGI rather than a good story. Even though it could be debated that the story of Avatar is just as good as the special effects... That's another conversation for another time.

The other grade I give is my own personal grade. It's how much I like the movie personally, even if I gave it a very low census score. This grade is called the Fringe.

Since you're all probably wondering, I give Avatar a Fringe grade of C-.

So, that's pretty much what to look for in the future. Remember that these are simply my opinions and do not apply to everybody. I decided to write about movies because I love movies and I love writing about them.