Hypnotic

As a big fan of Burton-Depp collaboration, Dark Shadows is a must-watch film for me. However, I do not know anything about the original TV series. The trailer actually surprised me because I do not expect the comedic tone of the film. However, it's Johnny in another pale make-up show by Tim Burton. It also has that little cute boy from Hugo and Jackie Earle Haley!

The story is about Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp), a member of the successful and wealthy Collins family from England who moved to Maine, America. There they continued their business and built a town named Collinsport. All was well until jealousy steps in. A maid named Angelique (Eva Green) was enraged by Barnabas' love refusal to her. She was in fact a witch and she cursed Barnabas to a vampire and had him locked up in a chained coffin for 196 years. Cut to 196 years later, Barnabas returns to Collinsport to find their family on the verge of bankruptcy and the witch Angelique still lives and took over the business once dominated by the Collins.

That was very much the essence of the story. However, I find the film was unfocused with too much sub-plot to tell about and sometimes it comes out of nowhere and ends with no satisfying resolution. But the film was nice. And this is what should Marvel do, a film advertisement that doesn't give away the third act. It makes us surprised when watching it. The film was greatly acted. Johnny Depp as always although I think it's time to leave the eccentric make up. Eva Green is ravishing and amazing.  I also like Bella Heathcote and I wish she would star in many films after this. But Jackie Earle Haley here is underused. He's got so much potential. Chloe Moretz is annoying, I think her best role is only Hit-Girl. Helena Bonham Carter's makeup is her make up from Alice in Wonderland, I mean, really? The score by Danny Elfman is incredibly haunting. I shivered a lot everytime the score plays. It's basically what you would expect from a Tim Burton film. The darkness feel and also the absurdity. It is also sometimes funny too. Although some jokes are a bit pointless. It's still fun to watch though. Dark Shadows: rated 3 stars out of 4

It Burns You

How desperate am I that I leave this blog in order to wait for The Avengers? I'm not going to review it but I'm going to put my thoughts about that event film here in this post. I saw it on May 4 and it took me 4 days to come with this. Okay, so what do I think about that film directed by Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

- AWESOME. You would now be in a mental asylum if you thought otherwise.
- Hulk is badass. Mark Ruffalo is--yeah okay. But his different take on Bruce Banner makes you wonder how would Edward Norton fill that role. Ruffalo may stole a few scenes but the Hulk stole the film #BannerQuote "That's my secret Cap, I'm always angry"
- Iron Man is, as always, charming. And this film makes it legit that Robert Downey Jr. wasn't acting everytime he plays Tony Stark. Because he IS Tony Stark. #StarkQuote "I'm bringing the party to you"
- Captain America is plain. Like his solo film, a bit boring. No memorable quotes from him. Sorry.
- Thor is one of my favorite Avengers. The fact that he head-slammed Iron Man makes him cooler than ever. #ThorQuote "You people are so petty, and tiny!"
- Black Widow is less cooler than she was in Iron Man 2, and her reverse interrogation skills is not that amazing because she gave a lot of personal info too. But still, sexy [It's Scarlett! What do you expect?] I prefer the long hair like in Iron Man 2 though.
- Hawkeye is useless and a bit too fake. Not seeing a target when shooting? Unrealistic. Got turned by Loki? Stupid. However it's great to see this small character has his moment.
- Coulson? Take Natasha away but not Coulson. He's just so cute and I was hoping that his death was faked by Fury up until Thanos appears. Coulson, you'd be missed!
- Maria Hill? "Kids, it was Summer 2012 when Aunt Robin decided to join The Avengers", nuff said.
- Samuel L. Jackson always plays a badass. Although I'd love to see Fury involved in action too. Not stupidly trying to aim a fighter jet with a handgun.
- Loki is underdeveloped here. He's not mighty enough to be a villain that made The Avengers assemble in the first place. I would like to see Loki win for some time. I thought he would win when he threatened Black Widow. I thought he would dodged Hawkeye's arrow, not being blown by the bomb! However, Loki is cooler than all the Avengers except for Iron Man of course. Tom Hiddleston is the man, yo!
- The only thing I complained about The Avengers is that the humors. The humors are not in place sometimes. And for a movie like The Avengers, I didn't anticipate these kinds of humor: a SHIELD staff playing game and Loki being bashed up by the Hulk! It's takes the film to a wrong pace. Worse of all, it comes from the director's vision that did not want to include a scene where Steve Rogers to meet with Peggy Carter!
- Marvel should definitely re-plan their marketing strategy. It's not good when you actually give half of the film away by releasing revealing trailers and movie clips. I thought you learnt that when you release Iron Man 2. It makes the film less surprising. For example, we know that Iron Man would be caught by the Hulk: gone is the thrill. The only thing surprising in this film is [spoiler] Agent Coulson's death, that's to be honest.
- About The Avengers breaking records overseas and domestically, Marvel and Disney successfully made this film a must-watch for everyone. In my area, the cinema has 4 screens and all four screens plays The Avengers. So, people are forced to see this film because there's no other choice! Not that I'm rooting Harry Potter to maintain their record. I'm just saying, it's kinda unfair. It takes 2 weeks to collect 600++ million for this mega film, which means it needs 300++ million dollars to get to the 1 billion club. Amazing.

Anyways, it would be crazy for every human being to skip this film. This is the ultimate superhero team-up film guys. You should be watching this in cinemas not downloading illegal torrents with cam-quality or wait for the DVD. It's awesome and it's basically your dream comes true after 4 years of waiting. Don't forget to see the post-credits scene! The Avengers: rated 3.5 stars out of 4 stars

A tip for non-fans: Watching Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger prior to The Avengers would definitely help a lot in understanding the story and also the awesomeness.

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THE DARK KNIGHT RISES