[Reviews]Top 10 Box Office Hits of the Year

Merry Christmas!! A little bit late, but hey, what do you expect from a guy who never looked forward to the Yuletide Season? Not that I hate Christmas, this year was just different.

Either way, here I am back to blogging again since I pretty much have a lot of free time. Plus, New Year is coming!! Somehow, I don’t feel all that excited, why? No idea. But, do you care? Don’t worry I’m not going to put you through a half-assed melodramatic speech of my New Year and Christmas BS. You’ve suffered enough. New Year means a lot of things, and one of them is wrapping up the past year with a best of the best list. Recently, Yahoo! released the TOP 10 Box Office Movies of the Year; basically, the movie that earned the most insane amounts of money throughout the year. Now you might be going, “So what?” My answer: I don’t know and since I’ve mostly been talking about movies on my blog, so here I am and allow me to take you through the list, to see what made these movies a Box Office hit and whether any of these movies was actually “that good”. And we shall prove that if “High Grossing Movie = Great Movie” is indeed true.

So, let’s get started!

TOP 10: Blind Side
Total Gross: $184,387,000

Honestly, this is a bit of a surprise. Yeah, I heard about the “good word-of-mouth” about this movie, but did not expect it to have this much of an impact. Frankly, I thought it was just going to be “one of those drama films that almost made me cry” things. It seems though, there may be more to this. Having been release only recently during the holiday weekend, to rise through the ranks and make the list is indeed remarkable. I haven’t watched the film, but I definitely want to now. Why? How? What made it so… memorable?? Expect a movie review folks. (Verdict: undecided…)


TOP 9: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Total Gross: $196,573,705

Worldwide Gross: $883.7 million (Number 2)
You may be seeing a lot of animated movies in this list (…or will you?). This however was not a surprise at all, the third sequel to this adorable and funny tale of prehistoric creatures surely hits home. It’s kinda like “A Land Before Time” but a lot less of the “emo” dinosaurs. Not only do kids enjoy it, but also appeals to adults, just like every what animated film should be. How else would it make such a shitload of money worldwide? Good job Buck. (Verdict: GREAT MOVIE)

TOP 8: Monsters VS Aliens
Total Gross: $198,351,526

You might be going like me right now saying “Eh?! Seriously?” or you might not be. Either way, I don’t get how this made the list. Other than it had one of the biggest opening week of the year, yeah but, seriously. This movie was so bad. Ok ok, I’ll try to be nicer. This movie gave quite a few laughs, but after watching it, “Meh. OK.” That’s it. No particular impact whatsoever. It was pretty much mediocre. But hey, like I said, especially with the overwhelming titles of animated films today, this did well I guess. (Verdict: JUST A HIGH GROSSING MOVIE)

TOP 7: Avatar
Total Gross: $212,268,000

*Ehem ehem* Let me clear my throat. I wrote a review about this movie recently and had nothing but praise and good things to say about it. However, boys and girls, hear me out. “THIS WAS NOT A FAIR FIGHT!!” Well actually neither you nor I can say that, but the point I am trying to make is that if this movie was indeed released earlier in the year, I can bet my arse it will have reached past the $500m-mark. Like Blind Side, this was released during the Christmas Holiday, so yeah, the year is about to end, but people it still made the list! “ALL HAIL JAMES!” (Actually, not too much he’s kind of a douche.) I cannot stress more and express any more how badly all of you must watch this epic film. (Verdict: EFFIN’ GREAT MOVIE!)

TOP 6: Star Trek
Total Gross: $257,730,019

First may I congratulate Zoe Saldana for making it to two great movies in this list, Avatar and Star Trek. However, this was one of the movies I actually regretted to see. Because I wished I had seen it on widescreen! This movie gave me what I did not expect and more, it had the action, the drama the comedy and all that shit. Only I was able to watch it on DVD on a 17-inch TV screen, realizing thereafter how great of an experience it would have been to watch it on widescreen and even on 3D, damn! Either way, screens don’t change how great a movie is, so yes, well deserved. (Verdict: GREAT MOVIE, be sure to watch it on widescreen)

(Tired yet?? Keep going!! Your halfway there.)


TOP 5: The Hangover
Total Gross: $277,322,503

Funniest movie of the year, anyone?? Hhhmm, maybe not. Although, despite its tough competition inside the comedy genre, The Hangover still claimed the crown of the highest grossing comedy of the year. And it indeed is funny, one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long, long time. It had one of the best endings ever and a great cast that blasted these stars into even more stardom. Even regarded as the Funniest Movie of the Year but is it? Frankly, I don’t agree. I still found Zombieland a much funnier comedy movie. However, with The Hangover raking in more than $200m it did not do bad at all. (Verdict: GREAT MOVIE)

TOP 4: The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Total Gross: $280,924,000

*Sigh* *Sigh* I don’t know how many sighs it takes to express my dismay on this one. Oh well, my taste is not everyone’s taste, but it does worry me though. This world may soon be overrun by emo girls and cheesy adults that are convinced vampires exist. OK, that sucked. But so did this movie! It does not help that it is the 4th highest grossing movie of the year; it was still so …so …so bad. I could care less if this broke the record of highest movie opening day earnings of all time (which it did). This was still as bad as it gets. A clear example, that High Gross does not equal to Great Movie. (Verdict: Nothing! but A HIGH GROSSING FILM)

TOP 3: Up
Total Gross: $293,004,164

You surprised? Neither am I. This movie was the most adorable, funny, and entertaining animated movie of the year (did I just say adorable again?!). Dubbed as “The best animated film since Wall-E and Nemo”. And I agree completely just as Wall-E captured everbody’s heart, Up delivered the same entertainment and a level of emotion that we all will never forget. If you haven’t seen this movie, see it. You are missing so much! (Verdict: GREAT MOVIE)


TOP 2: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Total Gross: $301,959,197

This is perhaps the most successful book-turn-to-movie series of all time, along the likes of Lord of the Rings. I would normally never compare this to the LotR series but because this 6th installation of the series was nothing short of the best movie that stayed 98% true to the original book. Not like other mediocre series lurking in the industry today (*twilight cough cough*). However, before all the Harry Potter haters out there violently react. If you all must know, this movie was the highest grossing film of 2009, worldwide …earning a staggering $929.4 million, almost $1billion. Now tell me, can your emo Twilight vampires beat that?? Team Edward or Team Cullen? Fuck it, I’ll choose Team Voldemort over those two any time of the day. This movie is worth the 2nd the 3rd even the 10th view. (Verdict: GREAT MOVIE, none of the cheesy wolves and vampires’ hearts were broken during the making of this review)

(drum roll please… dr drd rdr!… nvm)

TOP 1: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
Total Gross: $402,111,870

Congratulations!! Ok, stop clapping. You probably would think that the TOP 1 film would great rave reviews and flying colors from me, eh? It didn’t even get a drumroll. Ok, hear me out on this one. The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a freakishly awesome movie. The effects are unbelievable, the actions breathtaking, the actress smoking hot! …but the plot, no effin’ sense at all. I have not seen a movie this huge and so successful that had such a meaningless, confusing plot, ever. But hey, I’m not having the last laugh here, and neither do I want to laugh at this film. I’m a huge Micheal Bay and Shia LaBeouf fan, but this was just a clear out disappointment, although not completely. It did deliver on the box-office, no doubt, making it the number 9 highest grossing film of all time. Unfortunately, on quality it did not. (Verdict: Unfortunately, JUST A HIGH GROSSING FILM *sigh*).

And the score is… BOX OFFICE HIT DUD 3 GREAT MOVIE 6 Undecided 1

Not such a bad year for the Movie Industry after all. It’s been a great year folks and avid moviegoers. Now, we face 2010, a new year of fresh start, fresh new films, and of course fresh new reviews and critics. It will only get nastier and wilder from here on out, the bar has been raised and the stakes are higher, and we’re all in for the ride. Happy New Year everyone!~

Source List: http://movies.yahoo.com/photos/celebrities/gallery/2284/top-10-box-office-movies-of-2009#photo0

[Movie Review] Avatar

Missed me? Neither did I.

Been busy (and lazy) this past week, so I haven’t blogged as much as I want. Not that it mattered since I don’t have that many followers/readers but hey, I’m here to rant all I want and that I will do. The holidays or coming though and a vacation time for all of us. So, what does that mean? I don’t know. All I know is, I have more time to do all the stuff I want. Work more on this blog, and my photoshop digital gallery I have been working on, one that I plan to “launch” here on my blog, so look out for that. For now, allow me to torture you with randomness and my never-ending rants, don’t worry I can be very nice sometimes. I’m in good spirit right now, still psyched about this movie I’m about to review, so I give you my Avatar review. (Note: You may acquire symptoms of Repetition Syndrome, mentioning “revolutionary” too many times after reading post.)

Enjoy and comment if you like. Thanks.


Avatar
Whoever said the “King of the World” would never deliver. Almost a decade ago director James Cameron created what is known today the biggest mega-blockbuster movie to ever hit the screens, theaters, and the film industry. He directed the “gigantor” of a movie (literally and figuratively) that we all know as ‘Titanic’. Perhaps the biggest film of the decade or maybe even the century, raking in more than $1 billion, and no one has ever broken it. James Cameron has not directed a film since, although he produced big movies such as Terminator 2: Judgment Day, he has never actually been hands on directing. Why? He’s busy with something. And this would be the movie “Avatar”.

So, how did the self-proclaimed (yeah, exactly…) “King of the World” do? And how did this movie fair?

Let’s start off with the actors. Sam Worthington is a star on the rise. Literally, he will soon become a household name, and his name will be one to remember in the long line of great action stars. Sure, he seems to always have one face for every expression at times, but hey it’s better than Keanu’s lifeless face. Starring in the latest Terminator installment, Terminator 3: Salvation alongside huge action star Christian Bale, Sam began to rise into stardom. Not that he needed it, since longtime friend, James was going to take him along this ride, and I truly believe this will be Sam’s biggest break. And how about Zoe Saldana, the woman who plays the Na’vi princess, Neyteri. To be honest, I didn’t think she would come up with that good of a performance, seriously this girl starred in Drumline, Vantage Point and Star Trek, and do we remember her? Yeah, I didn’t think so. But this, my friends, this is a great performance from Ms. Saldana. I could not stop admiring the persona she portrayed as Neytiri, a ferocious hunter but a loving, emotional princess and fragile at times. Like Sam, there will be more projects for her, other than the upcoming Star Strek sequel in 2010. Congratulations Ms. Saldana, keep it up.

Now, onto the “King of the World”. Here’s the thing, I don’t think Avatar will live up to ‘Titanic’, I don’t think so. I believe, if there would be a film that would topple Titanic it would be another huge drama flick, because drama as we all know lasts more than any other films and perhaps has more impact, since it soothes the emotions and fantasy on the other hand, only arouses the imagination, quite a huge difference. But, what Cameron did with this film, is far from what Titanic could probably accomplish. Now, before I contradict myself, hear me out. Titanic was the biggest grossing film, but Avatar my friends, is an epic, revolutionary film of the century. I’m telling you now, and I’m willing to say it over and over again, “You have not seen anything like this before”. This is the work of a brilliant mind (perhaps the most), a creative revolutionary mind. Just to give you a hint, or a little idea just how much James Cameron’s mind is friggin’ twisted (but in a good way) and so brilliant. He came up with the concept of Avatar more than a decade ago, in 1995; he only waited for technology to catch up. Seriously, wait for technology to catch up? Mr. Cameron, keep calling yourself “King of the World”, I’m sure no one is going to argue with that.

The world that James Cameron created was literally breathtaking. I found myself really awed and amazed at most times. I even find myself trying to focus out, widening my range to capture every detail he put. Pretty stupid I know, but the world of Pandora was literally like the real world. It’s nothing like any CGI effects have accomplished, or can ever accomplish, without the mind of James. He grabbed all those dreams and imaginations in our heads, took it and placed it on a TV screen, so no longer do we need to dream. This is as real as it could get my friends. James took Peter Jackson’s motion capture play technique, the technology used for Donkey Kong and Gollum in Lord of the Rings. He took Robert Zemeckis’ sensor capture in Beowulf, that make the actors look exactly like their CGI characters. All facial expressions are dramatically captured. He took these two revolutionary techniques and developed his very own technology, bundled all these three together. And the result was Avatar. This is a revolution ladies and gentlemen; there has been no film like this, ever. And this will forever define what CGI is, and no CGI film will ever be the same again. I cannot stress more, how great this film is, and how much more brilliant the “King of the World” is. This is EPIC. 5/5.

You know what… ‘eff it. 6/5. Go watch the movie.

[Movie Reviews] Twilight Saga: New Moon & Paranormal Activity

As I promised, I will be including my own movie reviews on this blog. Both full movie reviews and capsule reviews (short reviews). For my first review, I’ll be including the latest vampire flick, New Moon the second installment of the popular Twilight Saga series by Stephanie Meyer. The other movie would be the small-budgeted mockumentary horror flick that is Paranormal Activity. I wanted to release my review before those movies were off the theaters. So, if you haven’t watched any of these films you may want to read my reviews first. Keep in mind though; I don’t say what people want to hear.

On to the reviews.

Twilight Saga: New Moon

Here’s the thing. First of all, I might not be the target audience for this movie. This movie is for screaming, bellowing teenage pubescent girls, and adults that are easily swept away by unadulterated cheesy “pickup” lines. No problem, that’s their thing. I’m pretty sure if reviewed by a hardcore fan (most likely a female), this movie would more likely receive rave reviews, with flying colors. That being said, I’m reviewing this as an ‘outsider’ if you would, a film enthusiast, scouring the industry with great movies. This however was not.

The movie’s pace moved like it was trying to figure out what to do next while continuing to move through a senseless plot, but on the other end it seemed to move too fast as the story jumped all over the place. Basically, the plot was a boring mess. Fans would love this, I’m sure. They probably wouldn’t even care if it was too far from the book, but then again, movie fans are different from the avid book reader. To people who would consider watching this film without knowing just a little about the series, they’d be lost in the middle of all the teenage adolescent angst, wolf transforming bodybuilders, and shining emotive metrosexual vampires. Because if a paper cut, bike riding adrenaline junkie shit and a silly phone call does not sum up this film, I don’t know what would.

However, the acting couldn’t be all that worse. After all, they only had to take their shirts off. Watching through the whole film felt like it was bordering to turn into a half-assed pseudo porn flick. It seemed to feed off the craze of its stars rather than concentrating on the actual talent that they have. Leaving us innocent viewers suffer through more than 30 minutes of shirtless bonanza, yay! But again, the performance was not all that bad. Most people would probably see Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of Bella Swan quite dull and lost. I believe the dullness and awkwardness seemed charming, especially for a well written character like Bella. Stephanie Meyer created one of the most unique personas in literature and Kristen hit the character right on the mark. That was what saddened me most about this movie; they have an unbelievable set of talent but would rather feed off the ‘hot bod’ in-thing and leave the movie’s success to that. Retarded.

Don’t get me wrong though. Twilight was tolerable. I did enjoy the first movie quite a bit. The scenery was well captured by director Catherine. This one however went too overboard. Clearly showing that bigger budget, better effects does not make a great movie. So, do I recommend this?? If you’re a fan drooling over buffed up bodies and palpitating veins then go ahead, knock yourself out. However, this would go down as one of the most shallow vampire flicks in history and I’m not talking about those screaming emo girls. 2/5.

Paranormal Activity

Let me start off by saying, “Yes. I believe the hype.”
Long before this movie was widely released, much hype and anxiety came along with it. The smart promotion strategy came with the release of the movie’s trailer, where instead of showing a lot of parts from the movie, they showed the audience’s crazed and delirious reaction at the movie’s first private screening. The result, I highly anticipated mockumentary film that received so much rave, it was said to be the scariest horror film since “The Blair Witch Project”, a movie that scared hundreds people off their seats almost a decade ago. So, should you believe the hype? Or, is it another trailer trash budget film that isn’t worth your money?

Well, you should. Paranormal Activity will scare the shit out of you. Sure, it’s not as good as the ever so epic Cloverfield, but the movie lived up to the standards of its genre and exceeded far more than what people expected. Now, for people who don’t know what a ‘mockumentary’ is, it is a film taken and shot a-la-documentary style, but everything about it is scripted, thus the ‘mock’ (duh…). The documentary feel gives a subtle illusion of reality, making it seem that the film was actually ‘inspired by a true story’. This quickly became both an advantage and a disadvantage for the film. People came with a high expectancy without little knowledge of what a mockumentary is, or not even knowing it was one in the first place. Leaving them bored and saying, "wtf was that?". However, the film’s shots were what every mockumentary should be clear and simple but very effective. They gave a feeling of vulnerability as if you’re almost the one stuck in the midst of all the suspense. Peli's movie put a blindfold over our eyes and pushed us into that 'horror house' we didn't even dream of going into. Every part of this movie was a suspense fest, not ever knowing what was coming. Who needs cutting-edge graphics and a whopping Hollywood budget, this shit is for real.

The acting though, well like how we cut some slack to the Blair Witch cast (and perhaps Cloverfield as well) maybe we could say the same for this cast. At least? Ok, this is not me being nice, or because I just love the film too much. The acting was as mediocre as it could get, but it somehow fit so well into the film, perhaps like how Ozzy’s terrible vocals always worked for Black Sabbath (eh?). Seriously though, this is little complaint for a film that lived up to that much hype. The thing about this is people come to expect too much, and some people come just to shoot it down, because of the rave it has received. That’s their problem not mine. Although, this will not go down as one of the best, 'classic'-potential horror films but for a film budgeted at around $15,000 and rake in more than $100 million dollars, tell me, can you argue with that? Recommended? Hell yes! You're in for a thrill ride. ‘Nuff said. 4/5.

[Insert clever "first blog post" name here]

In spirit and in practice of a long age internet ‘blogging’ tradition (if one such thing exists), this is my first blog post and I would like to say, “Hello World!” …but I’m not going to. As a first post to a blog two years in the making, I shall present to you *drum roll* …my first post. My online journal *slash* movie review blog *slash* photography “stuff” *slash* literary entries and several random stuff, (wasn’t the slash thing just irritating, but don’t tell me you don’t do that when your typing ‘/’).

So let’s keep this shit short. I don’t want to be a jerk for taking too much of your time.

“Diyosh”

So, this is my blog. Allow me to welcome you first and foremost. I am Josh. At least that’s what most people call me. Diyosh, was a clever (?) name I came up with a few years ago. How? My friend kept calling me “diyos”, “diyos”, “diyos”. It started to get irritating really. But I found myself getting used to it. Other than, the fact that it was a pretty funny wordplay for my name, the word “Diyos” (pronounced differently) meant God in some languages. So, being the semi-egocentric jerk that I am, I decided to adopt it as a nickname, or an online pen-name if you would, as a reference to my “oh so godly” self (or at least I think I am). Thus the name, Diyosh, with an added ‘h’ for a good ring in accordance to my name.

“Teh Shiznit”

Moving on. After torturing you with my self-centered rant about myself, we now turn to a similar kind of post. This time, about my blog name. Much scrutiny and analysis, and tons of hours of discernment and consideration came about my choice of blog name. Tons of other blogs, both inactive and active have probably used this blog name, and I wasn’t going to be one of them. I have used the term “The Shiznit” in reference to both myself and well, myself. Why? Because I’m that damn good, or at least I forcefully claim that I am. Kidding aside, though. It was a hard choice, since it wasn’t as unique or clever as it might sound, and I really couldn’t think of shit. So I say, (or rather my friend said) “F it, screw those guys who used it first.” So, my solution: In practice of the widely used and the ever growing use of the language “L33t speak” (or 7331 for bigger geeks than I). I simply and intentionally misspell, “the”. With that I have come up with a unique blog name, hooray! *pats himself at the back*. And so, I give you, without much ado (further rants and irrelevant information) …Teh Shiznit. Enjoy.

“Why am I reading this?”

Good question. I’m afraid I can’t answer that though.

What I can promise you though is that you will find what I say very interesting. You’re probably going, “Who cares ‘wtf’ this guy thinks?.” Trust me, I say that to almost every blog I see. Exactly right? Why? I mean we all could care less, but here we are reading posts of other people because we feel that these people know what they’re saying and know about a great deal to what they’re talking about. And that, ladies and gentlemen, readers and bloggers, that I can promise you. What I talk about isn’t going to bore you. What I have in mind is going to ‘jog’ or for lack of a better word, rattle you. It will make you think, because I can assure that my opinions are not like the stagnant opinions of people going about everyday as if they’re checking the daily papers on what’s the latest trend, allowing the mainstream of society think for them. No, this will be a thrill for you. If not, either way we both haven’t lost anything, but for that I thank you for reading my first blog post. You will be back… you will.