Ghost Rider
Cineblog Rating: 5/10
So Pretty Much: Ghost Rider isn't great by any means, but it's incredibly fun and showcases Nicolas Cage's full acting range: stoic, insane, and head-on-fire-insane.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Cineblog Rating: 6/10
So Pretty Much: Journey 2 is a roller coaster ride of a movie that even adults won't be able to help but enjoy. Also, who can deny Dwayne Johnson's smile?
Act of Valor
Cineblog Rating: 5/10
So Pretty Much: Act of Valor pits Navy Seals against Bond-villainesque Chechen terrorists in a movie that is both action-packed and touching, despite somewhat lackluster performances.
John Carter
Cineblog Rating: 4/10
So Pretty Much: John Carter was average. Pretty much everything it brings to the table has been seen before in one way or another, and it makes for a very forgettable movie.
Silent House
Cineblog Rating: 5/10
So Pretty Much: Silent House features a brilliant performance from Elizabeth Olsen, younger sister of the infamous twins, and also has some incredible camerawork, but it suffers from its predictable story.
21 Jump Street
Cineblog Rating: 6/10
So Pretty Much: 21 Jump Street is fantastic, a loving homage to both buddy-cop and teenage comedy films that isn't afraid to be itself when it has to be. It's still in theaters, go see it.
The Hunger Games
Cineblog Rating: 5/10
The Hunger Games was okay. It's getting tons of hype because it's based on a teen novel with a dedicated fan base, but it honestly doesn't stack up. The Hunger Games builds up such an intricate and fascinating universe, filled with sociopolitical commentary on today's world, but then completely abandons it once we're in the Arena. The movie seemed so focused on cramming in the details of the book that it misses the big ideas completely. Where I wanted to see audience reactions to the Games and how everyone at home felt about watching their Tributes brutally hunt and kill each other, I was left unsatisfied. And, because of The Hunger Games' inclusion of most of the book, the audience has no chance to foster relationships with its characters, leading some of the events to seem unrealistic, making the viewers feel almost cheated.
The Hunger Games is a great example of how sticking too close to the source material can actually harm rather than help a movie. The only thing left for me to do is hope the sequels answer the questions that the first movie didn't.
So Pretty Much: The Hunger Games has some great performances and okay action, but overall left me starving for more, and definitely not in a good way.
