Review; How to Train Your Dragon, by Kristin Manter

Review by: Kristin Manter

A Dreamworks Animated Film

In Theaters Now (both 3D and 2D)

Rated: PG

Rating: Ten (out of ten)

Summary of movie:

From the studio that brought you “Shrek,” “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda” comes “How to Train Your Dragon.” Set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, and based on the book by Cressida Cowell, the action comedy tells the story of Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn’t exactly fit in with his tribe’s longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup’s world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges he and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view

Review:

How to Train Your Dragon was an animated film that will capture the hearts and imaginations of movie watchers of all ages. The underlying lessons of being confident in yourself and your abilities, being true to the desires of your heart, and standing up for what you believe in come across clearly without being preachy. From the opening scene to the ending, it is easy imagine yourself a viking living in Hiccup's village. There is enough action to keep the attention of even the most distractable audiences. Each character has distinctive personality traits that make them relateable and loveable. The stunning 3D graphics further enable the viewer to completely become enveloped in the film. This film had a great balance of comedy, adventure, and warmth and is most definitely a must see. Not only did this reviewer (as well as each member of my family) thoroughly enjoy the movie at the theater, but looks forward to adding it to my home collection once it is available on DVD.

Review; The Stepfather

The Stepfather

Horror

Length: 102 minutes

Cast: Penn Badgley, Dylan Walsh, Amber Heard, Sela Ward, Jon Tenney

Rating: (Out Of Ten) 7

Review:

A sociopath sets his sights on the unassuming Harding family. He is a man with a history of trying to find that perfect “family”, and slaughtering them when they don’t meet the high standards he, himself sets, and is the only one who knows them.

Michael Harding comes home from a correctional military facility to find his mother, Susan was engaged to a man he’d never met. On sight, he isn’t sure of him; some deep instinct telling him there was something wrong with the man.

He confides his fears to his girlfriend Kelly, who only sees Michael’s ticket out of military school for their senior year, begging him to put an end to his wondering, and stop looking a gift horse in the mouth. She refuses to see the small tells, showing that David really isn’t who he says he is.

I haven’t seen the original version of this movie, so I can’t make comparisons to say if it was better or worse, but the most recent was an okay psychological thriller. While it made me wonder about what would happen next, it was rather predictable. Overall, I thought it was watchable the first time, but I doubt I’d watch it again.

Cheers,

Kayden

Review of; Couples Retreat

Couples Retreat

Comedy

Length: 1 hr 54 minutes

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell and Makin Akerman

Rating: (Out of ten) 6.5

Review:

The two lead characters Dave and Ronnie are surrounded by their five friends, and a young woman who is dating a recent divorcee among the group, lending comic relief throughout the movie.

Jason and Cynthia propose to their friends to take a trip to Eden West Resort, a paradise hideaway with promises of jet-skies and relaxing hot beaches. The two persuade the rest into helping with a martial problem they’d been having, by going together and obtaining the cheaper group-rate. But little do they know the visionary of this place, Marcel, has plans for the stay there that dramatically differ from theirs.

They find a beautiful beach hotel, with private patios one could jump right into the ocean from, or unwind in their own hot tub. But in a series of comical sessions with therapists, and couples skill-building exercises, the four sets of people learn a whole new side to themselves and that of their significant others.

But it isn’t long before they find out that Eden West isn’t the only place on the island. While it was geared for couples, Eden East is a utopia submerged in a young and carefree culture, luring them with its seductive call; this among many other quirks and mishaps, cause strife between the friends.

Like most movies with Vince in them, there was a lot of sarcastic, sometimes twisted humour that pushed the mark just a little, but still made me laugh at some of the stuff they pulled off. It was an overall a decent movie, but it could have been better.

The setting was perfect, the cast an interesting array of characters that set each other off nicely.

Cheers,

Kayden