My Movie Reviews: Snow White and the Huntsman

Kristen Stewart as Snow White in Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

Snow White and the Huntsman is a remake of the classic German fairy tale Snow White by Brothers Grimm. The film was directed by Rupert Sanders and written by Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock, and Hossein Amini. It was released June 1, 2012.

THE CAST

Kristen Stewart as Snow White

Charlize Theron as Queen Ravenna

Chris Hemsworth as Eric

Sam Claflin as William

Lily Cole as Greta

Sam Spruell as Finn

Vincent Regan as Duke Hammond.

Noah Huntley as King Magnus

Liberty Ross as Queen Eleanor

Christopher Obi Ogugua as the voice of the Magic Mirror

MY THOUGHTS

OMG. This is hands down, the best Snow White installment I've seen so far. I was a fan of the 2001 Hallmark remake Snow White: The Fairest of Them All starring Kristin Kreuk and Miranda Richardson. Snow White has been one of my favorite fairy tales and I was excited to see this new spin on the story. I was a little skeptical when I found out that the role of Snow White was going to be played by Kristen Stewart (best known for her role as Bella Swan/Cullen in the Twilight Saga), only because she can sometimes seem a bit awkward. But I heart Charlize Theron and I am a fan of Kristen Stewart, so I decided that I would go and see the film when it came out. And I'm glad I did. Snow White and the Huntsman gives a different twist on the story, showing a more aggressive and head strong version of Snow White (which I liked). Kristen was excellent in the role as Snow White and I was so impressed with how she tackled the it (and her accent was pretty good too). And of course, Charlize Theron never disappoints me, I was also kind of cheering for her to win even though I knew in the end she wouldn't. SPOILERS: the only thing that I was a little upset about was the ending. Throughout the film you go wondering who Snow White will marry, the Prince or the Huntsman. When prince William kisses Snow after she eats the poison apple and she doesn't awake, its almost obvious that Eric is going to kiss her later and wake her, which he does. But after the evil queen is killed in the end, they crown Snow White as the new queen of the kingdom without allowing us the clarity on whether she will marry prince William or the Huntsman Eric. I mean... REALLY?!?!?! I think its imminent though that she will get with the huntsman though, but still... I would have liked to know. SPOILERS END. But over all, this was the best Snow White remake since the 2001 remake to me. And I commend Kristen Stewart for trying something new that she actually excelled in (And yes, I'm excluding The Runaways... um... yeah).

That said, Snow White and the Huntsman gets an outstanding: ★★★★★ 5 out of 5 Stars

"Mirror, mirror... on the wall... who is the fairest of them all?"

My Movie Reviews: Dark Shadows

Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins and Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard in Dark Shadows (2012)

Dark Shadows (2012) is a horror comedy that is a remake of the Gothic horror soap opera Dark Shadows by Dan Curtis the aired from 1966-1971. The screenplay was written by Seth Grahame-Smith while the film was directed by Tim Burton and was produced by Richard D. Zanuck, Graham King, Johnny Depp, Christi Dembrowski, and David Kennedy. The film was released May 11th, 2012.

THE CAST

Johnny Depp as Barnabas Collins

Michelle Pfeiffer as Elizabeth Collins Stoddard

Eva Green as Angelique Bouchard
Helena Bonham Carter as Dr. Julia Hoffman

Jackie Earle Haley as Willie Loomis

Jonny Lee Miller as Roger Collins

Bella Heathcote as Victoria Winters and Josette du Pres

Chloë Grace Moretz as Carolyn Stoddard

Gulliver McGrath as David Collins

MY THOUGHTS

I know that I am only twenty years old, but in a world were the Internet exists, it is highly possible that one so young could be exposed to the awesomeness of Dark Shadows. I watched several episodes of Dark Shadows online and I fell in love with it. I'm not a big fan of soap operas, but Dark Shadows was different. In 2010, it was my first time hearing that there would be a remake of Dark Shadows. I was very exited. Since the 2004 revival series created for the CW (for the WB at the time) fell through, I was hoping that this remake would actually make it to the big screen. My expectations for the film were high, due to the cast used for the characters. But to be quiet honest, I think my expectations were too high. The film was good, but it wasn't great. I was impressed with the way the cast portrayed the characters and brought them to life in the modern times. One back side was that the film is considered a "horror-comedy." This I wasn't aware of prior to watching the movie. It had it's moments that were dark and serious (which Tim Burton is good at), but the comical scenes take away the darkness that is and was Dark Shadows. It doesn't completely put a damper on the entire film, but it slightly tainted it. To top that off, some characters were combined (which causes confusion at first), and then they threw in a random werewolf (nope... not Quentin). SPOILERS: The movie does end with an interesting cliff hanger, showing Dr. Julia Hoffman in the lake that Barnabas threw her in opening her eyes before the credits roll (indicating a possible sequel). SPOILERS END. The film lacks a lot of what the series held, but then again, remakes of TV shows, books, or movies like Dark Shadows cannot always be made as well as we would like them to be. Despite its downfalls, Dark Shadows (2012) delivers just enough to have you a little scared and make you laugh, all while staying family oriented. This film will probably be great to those new to the series, but to most fans of the original, it will probably be considered a disappointment.

That being said, I give Dark Shadows (2012): ★★★★★ 3 out of 5 Stars

Nice try... but try again.

"If I can't have you... No one can!!"

Do You Miss Me?

Hey Bloggers!

Do you guys miss me? Well I apologize for being very tardy lately, but with the potential release of 12 (A Novel) - Part I creeping up on me, I've been buckling down on getting it finished. But trust and believe that once I'm done with it, I will be back in full force doing movie reviews and telling you about my other ideas and new ideas that I've come up with since I've been off. So don't fret, I'll be back soon.

MindOfACreator91

My Movie Reviews: The Hunger Games (2012)

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson) from The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games is a 2012 American dystopian science fiction action-drama filmdirected by Gary Ross and based on the novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins.

The film was directed by Gary Ross and the screenplay was written by Gary Ross, Billy Ray, and the novel's author Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games was released March 21, 2012 in Europe and March 23, 2012 in the US.

THE CAST

Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss Everdeen

Josh Hutcherson as Peeta Mellark

Woody Harrelson as Haymitch Abernathy

Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket

Liam Hemsworth as Gale Hawthorne
Lenny Kravitz as Cinna

Stanley Tucci as Caesar Flickerman

Donald Sutherland as President Coriolanus Snow

Wes Bentley as Seneca Crane

Toby Jones as Claudius Templesmith

SYNOPSIS

The nation of Panem has risen out of the ruins of what was once known as North America. After an unsuccessful uprising by the thirteen districts of Panem, a reaping is held to pick one boy and girl from each of the twelve remaining districts to participate in a televised event known as the Hunger Games. This event is a competition where each "tribute" battles to the death until only one is left, resulting in the winner receiving fame and fortune. Katniss Everdeen volunteers herself in place of her younger sister Prim who was originally chosen to battle in the Hunger Games. Peeta Mellark, a baker's son, is the chosen young man to attend the Hunger Games. The two form a bond as their memories of each other come to their remembrance, forming a team in hopes that they will together show that they are not owned.

MY THOUGHTS

Oh my God... this has got to be the best movie I've seen so far this year. I am so glad that I went to see this because it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I became interested in The Hunger Games when the film was announced for an early 2012 release. And since other series of interest have ended or are coming to an end (i.e. Harry Potter and the Twilight Saga), I figured I might as well give this series a shot. By the time I had purchased the first novel I was nowhere near finishing it when I watched the film. I loved the book when I had started reading it and the suspense was amazingly real. I went to watch the film and was blown away by the amazing cast and the way the film was put together. Of course, like all films that become movies, there were some slight changes in the film from the novel, but it wasn't damaging to the film whatsoever. I was amazed by the performance of Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson as Katniss and Peeta. And their cemestry was incredibly believable. I feel no need to spoil a great movie, so I'm going to end this review by telling you all if you wanna see something epic, The Hunger Games delievers.

That being said, I give The Hunger Games: ★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars

"May the odds be ever in your favor!"

My Movie Reviews: Future Movie Reviews

Hey Readers!!

I hope you have enjoyed my movie reviews for the year (I know some were added and then taken away but I will do more next year). 2012 is gonna be a big year for films and  I will be doing movie reviews for several new upcoming films. And as I said before, if you'd like me to do a review on a certain movie (with the exception of a series if I haven't seen it before) let me know. Here are some movies I will be doing reviews for in 2012:

The Hunger Games (2012)

Dark Shadows (2012)

Snow White & the Huntsman (2012)

Red Dawn (2012)

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012)

If you'd like to see more, leave a comment and tell me!

My Movie Reviews: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn: Part I (2011)

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 (2011) is a thriller starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner and covers the first half of the novel Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. Part 1 covers the long awaited wedding of Bella and Edward and also covers the Quileute closing in on newlyweds when they find out Bella is pregnant with a possible vampire/human hybrid, which poses a threat to the wolf pack.

The script was written by Melissa Rosenberg while the film was produced by Wyck Godfrey and Karen Rosenfelt, along with the series author Stephanie Meyer. The film was directed by Bill Condon.

THE CAST

Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan/Cullen

Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen

Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black

Nikki Reed as Rosalie Hale

Peter Facinelli as Carlisle Cullen

Elizabeth Reaser as Esme Cullen

Ashley Greene as Alice Cullen

Kellan Lutz as Emmett Cullen

Jackson Rathbone as Jasper Hale

Julia Jones as Leah Clearwater

Booboo Stewart as Seth Clearwater

Billy Burke as Charlie Swan

Sarah Clarke as Renée Dwyer

Chaske Spencer as Sam Uley

SYNOPSIS

Bella Swan and Edward Cullen prepare for their wedding sending out invitations to family and friends. After the wedding, the to have there honeymoon on Isle Esme and make love for the first time. Subsequently, Bella becomes pregnant (much to Edward and the Cullen's surprise) with a fetus that is harming her body. Once the Quileute wolves here of this, Jacob takes a stand with the help of Seth and Leah to protect Bella and the Cullens from the wrath of Sam's pack.

TRAILER

 MY THOUGHTS

OMG... I am actually pretty impressed with the way Summit has tackled The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1. Of course I have my swift remarks but I'll add those in later (and when I say swift I don't mean Taylor Swift... see, ha ha... never mind). Anyway, this film did to some extent keep me going and a little on edge, despite the fact that I already knew what was going to happen. But I must mention the films down side. There were several unnecessary points at which one will probably ask themselves "what the h*** am I watching" and become bored until something jumps out to get your attention. SPOILERS: There was a particular part in the film when I absolutely felt lost and I just sat there wondering "how long will this last" was the scene where Bella tells Jacob and Edward the baby names. This boring scene gets interesting when Bella's back bends backwards and she begins going into labor. The Birth of Renesmee scene was pretty epic and I loved the flashing in and out (the music was pretty epic too, and on that note I will be getting the score in December). It was pretty sad when Bella died, but it was really sad that everyone in the theater began to cry... I was like "really people!? Y'all do know she's coming back to life right?" Any who, then the scene were Jacob imprinted on Renesmee... It was pretty tight. And of course the cliff hanger. I was sitting in my set wondering how they were going to pull it off by letting the audience know Bella was still alive but not show her new graceful vampire look. The film closes with the Cullens and Jacob in the room with Bella as her natural beauties switch from dead to stunningly beautiful. The screen scrolls over Bella's eyes and they open newborn red. I have to say It was pretty sexy... oh, my bad. SPOILERS END. I have to be honest and say that the Twilight stars have definitely stepped their game up and did their best to bring Breaking Dawn to life.

That being said, The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 gets: ★★★★★ 3 out of 5 Stars

"If you kill her, you kill me!!"

Revenge of the Countess (A Dark Romance Novel)

Copyright © 2011 of James Pettis, III

Revenge of the Countess is a dark romance novel about a young man who is being sadistically tortured in his sleep by a young woman from his past life.

Jamie Ciumak is a young man attending Heavy's College in Paterson, New Jersey. He is Romanian American and is about to celebrate his twenty third birthday. For years Jamie has had a recurring dream of a young woman sadistically torturing him and he can't seem to figure out why. His Uncle Gaius explains to him that his dreams are just his imagination and a way of him expressing his sexual desires. But Jamie disagrees. Things turn worst when he meets a young woman identical to the one in his dreams and his nightmares suddenly become more violent. Jamie eventually figures out that the woman is from his past life and that she has returned from the dead to kill him, due to a mutual sin they committed together that he somehow escaped. Will she get her revenge or will Jamie put a stop to her evil ways?

This novel has been interesting coming up with, although it was difficult to put my finger on exactly what I wanted it to be about. But I managed to put together a great plot and I am hoping that others will be interested in it as well. Stay posted for more info about Revenge of the Countess.


BTW, here is an alternate cover for the novel.

Copyright © 2011 of James Pettis, III

My Movie Reviews: Abduction (2011)

Nathan Price (Taylor Lautner) in Abduction

Abduction (2011) is a thriller starring Taylor Lautner as Nathan Price, a young man who finds out his parents aren't really his parents when he finds his baby picture on a missing person's website. He becomes determined to find out the truth and uncover his past.

The Script was written by Shawn Christensen and Jeffery Nachmanoff and the film was release September 23, 2011.

Apparently, the script was bought from Shawn Christensen by Lionsgate in 2010 with Taylor Lautner attached to the film. The film is being directed by John Singleton. When a more detailed synopsis is released I will post more info. The film stars the following cast:

THE CAST

Taylor Lautner as Nathan Price

Sigourney Weaver as Dr. Bennett

Maria Bello as Mara

Lily Collins as Karen Lowell

Alfred Molina as Frank Burton

Micheal Nyqvist as Viktor Kozlow

Jason Isaacs as Kevin

SYNOPSIS

What would you do if you found your own picture on a missing persons website? Teen Nathan (Taylor Lautner) finds himself facing this very dilemma. Setting out to uncover his real identity, Nathan quickly learns his parents are far from who they say they are. When the police, government agents and shadowy figures start to pursue him, Nathan’s quest for the truth erupts into a full-blown “Bourne”-like man-on-the-run thriller.

TRAILER

MY THOUGHTS

OK... I guess I shouldn't have expected an extremely awesome action film that I'd want to watch over and over again because of it's awesomeness (like Bourne Identity), but still, I expected better. It wasn't so much the acting, but how the story unfolded and how so many questions were left unanswered (not like there's gonna be an Abduction sequel... I hope not). I do have to commend Taylor Lautner for venturing away from The Twilight Saga to prevent from forever being labeled the "half naked shirtless werewolf hottie from Twilight." I actually really like Taylor Lautner as an actor, it's just some of the movies he's been in haven't done him justice. Abduction was one of those movies where you are sitting on edge of your set the entire movie until it reaches it's climax... then you retract and become disappointed. As I said early, this movie leaves several questions unanswered that should have been as the plot unfold. SPOILERS: Like did anyone ever get why Nathan's dad took the cell phone with encrypted codes from Viktor Kozlow?............... anybody?............. chime in anytime.............. somebody?............ nobody?................. forget it. Or the cropped picture... they never figured that out or mentioned it again. And why would a picture of him be cropped at age six if by that time he was with Mara and Kevin? He was put under their care when he was like two right? RIGHT? Anyway, the other thing I was totally disappointed about was Nathan and Karen's almost sex scene. Not that I'm a pervert... cause I'm not, but why did they stop and Karen say "We should get some food"... really? OK... you about to have sex on a train and all of a sudden, you realize you haven't eaten in forever and you're hungry? Alright, sure. But maybe they are waiting for Taylor Lautner to turn twenty one before his first REAL sex scene in a movie... he's still a teenager. SPOILERS END. Any who, like I said the movie wasn't all bad, it had it's moments, but it wasn't amazing either. Abduction was just... OK. Taylor Lautner, I have faith someday you will make an amazing Action thriller that will knock people's socks off, but for now... um, yeah.

Anyway, Abduction is getting a bias review from me because I like Taylor Lautner, but it's not that bias because I'm still rating the film accordingly. 

That being said, I give Abduction: ★★★★★ 3 out of 5 stars

"If I was adopted, why would my picture show up on a missing persons website?"

The Doll Master (A Horror Novel)

Copyright © 2011 of James Pettis, III

The Doll Master is a horror novel I just recently came up a few weeks ago. To be honest, this idea was not originally going to be a novel, let alone have its on series. It was originally titled "Child's Play" and was episode 16 in season 1 of The Beginning of Vampire Chronicles (TV Series). The episode was going to be about a man named Roger Smith who created dolls and toys to harm children and in return he was executed. But he would soon return to finish his evil deeds on the now adult children that were going to include Richard, Aaron, Rebecca, Olivia, Ingus, and Sapphire. Then there was going to be a sequel to that episode titled "Child's Play II" which was episode 20 in season 2 of The Beginning of Vampire Chronicles (TV Series). This episode would mark Roger's revenge and his second return. The final installment of the Doll Saga was going to conclude in season 3 of The Beginning of Vampire Chronicles (TV Series) titled "The Doll Master" (which is where the book title came from). But after these ideas came to me, so did the thought of making "The Doll Master" a series of its own. So I basically took concepts from the episodes and combined them creating The Doll Master (A Horror Novel).

Anyway, The Doll Master is about a man named Roger Smith whose toy creations continue to be rejected by Great Toys Incorporated. In retaliation, Roger taps into Black magic and begins seeking revenge on children.

PART I

Roger Smith is a twenty seven year old man who has been trying to make it big as a toy maker in Newark, New Jersey. He continues to create works and present them to Great Toys Inc., but every time he's told that they aren't good enough. Finally fed up with rejection, Roger somehow taps into Black Magic and begins creating toys that attack children, which is his revenge on the toy company for rejecting him. In the end he is caught and sentenced to death by lethal injection.

_____________________________________________________________

Part II takes place sixteen years after the events of Part I.

PART II

Juilian Beckmann is a twenty year old young man who attends Rutgers University in Newark, New Jersey. Juilian attends the school with his friends Henry Stallord and Ashley Frederickson and their other friends. The gang loves living in the small town of Newark, that is until strange killings among the youth in Newark begin to spread like wild fire. Fearing for his life and his friends, Juilian seeks the help of a young man named Zeke Baxter, a student at the university, after he witnesses Zeke using supernatural skills to protect himself. But when the killings get worse, it is almost certain that the culprit is none other than Roger Smith himself. Will the help of Zeke and the will to survive be enough to save them?

The novel will consist of 16 chapters (excluding the preface and a special chapter). The Table of Contents is as follows:

Preface: What Could Be Upstairs?

Part I

Chapter 1: Just Not Good Enough

Chapter 2: Sweetness of Revenge

Chapter 3: The End of His Wrath

Part II

Chapter 1: Roger's Revival

Chapter 2: Dummy In the Street

Chapter 3: The Doll

Chapter 4: Unacceptable Circumstances

Chapter 5: Zeke Baker

Chapter 6: Karma

Chapter 7: 183 Cliffwood Avenue

Chapter 8: The Realm of the Dollhouse

Chapter 9: The Ventriloquist

Chapter 10: The Dollhouses

Chapter 11: Escape the Dollhouse

Chapter 12: The Greatest Work of Art

Chapter 13: A Regular Day

MADNESS

This novel has been fun coming up with and I hope others will enjoy it. Stay posted for more info about The Doll Master.

By the way, here's an alternate cover for the book.

Copyright © 2011 of James Pettis, III

My Movie Reviews: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (2011)

Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part II (2011) is Part II of the closing chapter in the multimillion series Harry Potter. It covers Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger destroying Voldemort's last Horcuxes and the final battle between Voldemort and Harry Potter.

The Script was written by Steve Kloves and the film was directed by David Yates. The film is based on the book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling. The film was released on July 15th, 2011.

THE CAST

Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter

Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley

Emma Watson as Hermione Granger

Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort

Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange

Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy

Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy

Alan Rickman as Severus Snape

SYNOPSIS

Voldemort's power is growing stronger. He now has control over the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger decide to finish Dumbledore's work and find the rest of the Horcruxes to defeat the Dark Lord. It is up to the trio to find the Horcruxes and stop Voldemort once and for all.

TRAILER

MY THOUGHTS

Oh my gosh. As I anticipated, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was indeed an epic conclusion to the film series. I have to commend the graphic arts team that design the scenery and buildings. Although this was the film were Hogwarts gets blown up, it was amazing how realistic they made it. Again the acting was incredible as always (the entire Harry Potter cast can act their little butts off). I know when I read the book a lot of things shocked me leading to the climax of the novel. SPOILERS: Like for one, I couldn't believe that Severus Snape had such a love for Lily Potter as he did. For a second... I thought the book was gonna get all Star Wars like and be like "'Harry... I am your father,' Snape said as he took his last breath"... but it didn't. But to find out how much Snape really was good and that he really did care about Harry was intriguingly interesting. I gained a whole new respect for Snape *tears up*, lol.  The epic battle between Harry and Voldemort was also another fav of mine in the book. It was also well executed in the film I was very pleased. And to be quite honest, the "19 years later..." scene was probably the one I anticipated the most, and it was also done greatly of course. Harry and Ginny married with their three children, Hermione and Ron with their daughter and son. It was all wonderful. SPOILERS END. And I can't complete the this review without giving a big round of applause to Alexandre Desplat. His score for the film was absolutely phenomenal!

OK, I hate to do it again... but Harry Potter is never getting a bad review from me.

That being said, I give Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part I: ★★★★★ 5 out of 5 stars

The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.