Keep It Reel Reviews

Reel People. Reel Reviews.


2 Comments

Pacific Rim

Rated: PG-13

2 hrs 11 min

Staff Writer: Nathaniel Brayton

Image

Giant robots and monsters as tall as skyscrapers tearing each other apart while leaving a mass of destruction in their wake, what’s not to love? Fortunately for Pacific Rim, its cheesy monster movie homage masks its lack of story and weak character interactions.  Continue reading


8 Comments

Man of Steel

Rated: PG-13

2 hrs 23 min

Staff Writer: Nathaniel Brayton

Man-Of-Steel-new-poster3

Man of Steel is better than The Avengers, and so far my favorite film of the year, hands down. It has a huge amount of heart and more morality/philosophical dilemas in the first ten minutes, than all of Into Darkness. And, I can not believe the amount of negativity it is receiving. Stop the hating; Man of Steel is the Superman movie we have been waiting for.  Continue reading


Leave a comment

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)

Rated: PG-13

1 hr 39 min

Staff Writer: Nathaniel Brayton

?????????????????????

Hollywood knows the role of Dwayne Johnson and its in every big-budget blockbuster. And like the Hydra in Greek mythology, when one Rock movie exits the theater, two more take its place. But full disclosure, I am a huge Rock fan; however, even I think that the saturation point for the amount of Rock films in a year might be near. Continue reading


3 Comments

The Bourne Legacy (2012)

Rated: PG-13

2 hrs 15 min

Staff Writer: Nathaniel Brayton

the-bourne-legacy-poster-2-410x600

The Bourne Legacy, staring Jeremy Renner, is one of 2012’s most underrated films. Continuing parallel to the events of the previous Bourne movies, Legacy follows a different, genetically enhanced agent, Aaron Cross. However, these enhancements come with a price, as Cross is quickly running out his Chems, which keep his body stable. Meanwhile, back at the CIA, the recent exposure of the Blackbriar and Treadstone programs have forced Eric Byer’s (Edward Norton) hand; he decides to eliminate all of his agents including Cross, so no more information can be revealed. Continue reading


2 Comments

Law Abiding Citizen (2009) – Archive

*Originally Posted on June 23, 2011*

Rated: R

1 hr 48 min

Budget: $50 mil

Worldwide Gross: $126,690,726

Totally implausible? Probably. Tons of Gerard Butler kicking ass and taking names? Defiantly. If you are one of those people who tears movies apart for being unrealistic, Law Abiding Citizen is not for you.  Continue reading


Leave a comment

Tron: Legacy (2010) – Archive

*Originally Posted on June 22, 2011*

Rated: PG

2hr 5min

Budget: $170 mil

Worldwide gross: $400,062,763

I’ll admit, it’s been a while since I’ve seen the original, which in my opinion was just an okay movie. I don’t know why but I was really excited to see this. I guess we’ll call it a reboot/sequel to the cult classic. Garret Headlum is one of the best you and rising actors in Hollywood, shown in movies like Friday Night Lights and Four Brothers. Granted, the script for Tron: Legacy was just mediocre and some of the lines were cheesy and lame (I’m looking at you Jeff Bridges). However, Headlum does a great job portraying the stereotypical bitter abandoned child who acts out to cover his pain. What’s really good about this movie are the visuals. In 2D you get this sleek modern world with light used to extenuate certain aspects. Now, 3D in my opinion is completely overused and unnecessary. There are only a few films in which I found that the 3D actually contributed to the experience, which include UP and Toy Story 3. However, I will now add Tron to that list. In Legacy Sam Flynn, Jeff Bridges son is sucked into the grid, where he finds his dad has been trapped the twenty years he has been missing. Inside the grid, KLU, a program Flynn made to make the perfect system has taken his mission to the extreme by tying to eliminate all the users (humans) and expand to the real world by escaping the grid. Legacy subtly incorporates themes such as man vs. machine and the definition of perfection without laying it on too thick. On the surface Legacy may just seem like an action blockbuster but what people will find is that it’s a smart, well-planned homage to the original that fans and new audiences can enjoy. This is one of my favorite films of 2010.

★★★★


1 Comment

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010) – Archive

Rated: PG-13

2 hr 30 min

Production Budget: N/A

Worldwide Gross: $955,001,070

“Dear Pinocchio,

So all I have to do is lie?

-Lord Voldemort”

I’m writing this review after seeing part 2.

First off, I think stylistically, this film nailed it. I’ve been waiting for the Harry Potter series to return to the dark and gritty feeling it had in the POA. Also, with less/minimal music, DHpt1, really gives the audience the sense of isolation and loneliness the three main characters are experiencing.  Continue reading


Leave a comment

Surrogates (2009) – Archive

Rated: PG-13

1 hr 29 min

Budget: $80 mil

Worldwide Gross: $122,444,772

If you could chose what you would and who you are, would you change?

Recently, Surrogates (2009), starting Bruce Willis, found its way into my DVD player. Bruce plays, Tom Greer, a believable cop (not un-familiar territory) torn up between his son’s death and his wife’s depression. In the future, all everyday interactions take place using surrogates, robot bodies which can be made to look like anyone. Surrogates are controlled entirely by the user’s mind after they sit in a chair that Dr. Frankenstein would be proud to own. Continue reading


Leave a comment

Surrogates (2009) “Archive”

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MAY 3, 2011

Rated: PG-13

1 hr 29 min

Budget: $80 mil

Worldwide Gross: $122,444,772

If you could chose what you would and who you are, would you change?

Recently, Surrogates (2009), starting Bruce Willis, found its way into my DVD player. Bruce plays, Tom Greer, a believable cop (not un-familiar territory) torn up between his son’s death and his wife’s depression. In the future, all everyday interactions take place using surrogates, robot bodies which can be made to look like anyone. Surrogates are controlled entirely by the user’s mind after they sit in a chair that Dr. Frankenstein would be proud to own. Continue reading