Pocahontas

The classic "Colors of the Wind" and "Just Around the River Bend" are the highlights of this classic Disney movie. Other than a few moments of triumph there are quite a few weak performances in this movie. It is understandable because it is a children's movie, but the rest of the movie simply does not stand up to the quality of those two songs which stand out as jewels! 

War Horse

This movie was simply beautiful! The bond between a young man and his animal is told in a new and wonderful way! It was very well written and directed so that little snippets of comedy broke up the tension of all the dark scenes without completely ruining the effect of those darker scenes! The animals in the movie were amazing creatures, and the costumes were fantastic! The only real complaint I have is that the effects with the flames and the machine guns firing were not as realistic, and well done as the rest of the movie. The characters were well developed and had the audience on the edge of their seat hoping wildly for the reunion of the boy and his horse. Overall it was a beautiful job well done; a great film!

Psycho

This film was simple brilliant; it is the best Hitchcock that I have watched so far. The music is perfectly timed to play with both the minds and emotions of the viewer. The fact that the whole story is based off of real/plausible events makes it all the more frightening. Hitchcock takes advantage of many tools in order to trick the viewers mind into being afraid. All the violence in the film is implied through various camera angles and movements, so all the fear essentially comes from the viewers own mind because everything is only implied. Every detail of this film built up to its dramatic ending! From the famous shower scene murder, to the symbolic use of stuffed birds at the hotel. The dialogue during the scene in the hotel was very well written, and had foreshadowing cleverly placed throughout it. Through this film Hitchcock truly earns his title as master of suspense. 

Little Women

Little Women is one of my favorite classic stories all time. Winona Ryder was an excellent Jo. In fact all the casting was very good for the film. The characters were well developed and the story was as heart warming and inspiring as ever. Nothing beats the book, but this was a very good adaptation of the story. 

Where the Red Fern Grows Part Two

I hate to say it but this movie was terrible in every way. The story was weak and underdeveloped, the characters were not very dynamic, and the love story between 'little sister' and Rainie was extremely cheesy. The soundtrack to this movie was even worse than the first one. The filmmakers had some interesting ideas, but they just didn't portray them well. For example the big train opening was a good idea, but it was slow and not used very purposefully so it made audiences disconnect before the movie even truly started. Also in the opening, the flashback was quite clever, but the music was mixed in rather loudly, and was therefore quite distracting. It didn't seem like the filmmakers trusted these dogs as much as they did in the first movie. They were nearly always on leash or locked up, and since it is supposed to be a movie about coon hunting dogs, that really took away from the story and slowed it down. The script prolonged  the protagonist's reluctance to accept the dogs as well, which also caused the movie to move REALLY slowly. There was one scene when Grandpa was talking to Billy after Old Dan died, and the way the scene was shot the viewers could see very little of the actors faces and expressions due to the lighting and the poor choice of camera angle. Also in this same scene, when Grandpa hugged Billy, he completely blocked Billy from the screen. This was very poor direction; in such a scene as that the protagonist's face is far more important for the viewer to see than Grandpa's back. The story was not very original either; the elements were all stolen from either the first movie, or other famous films (for example the opening train sequence is a classic film opening). Overall it certainly is not a movie I will ever find myself watching again; it was slow, and not well made at all. 

Where the Red Fern Grows

     This is a very family friendly movie that tells the classic tale of a boy and his dogs. The score of the movie was terrible, and often distracting, but the story is alive and full of emotion. As always, when working with younger actors, there was a lower standard of professionalism in the finished product, but besides that it was a nice film. Although it is quite sad, the best scene in the whole movie is when young Billy finds the symbolic red fern between the graves of his beloved dogs. This scene was shot in a specific way to emphasize the significance of the fern. As his family turned away to leave, there was a moment of pure symmetry on the screen. The two graves stood side by side and on either side of the boy was a parent and a little sister. Not only was this moment symmetrical, but it also formed a visual line drawing viewers eyes down to the fern. The tallest thing in the shot (the parents) were on the ends, and then the little girls standing (the next tallest), leading one's eyes to the little boy sitting before the grave. Billy's eyes turned downward towards the fern act as the final detail which influences the viewer to look at the fern. The meaning of this fern is told through a lovely bit of foreshadowing in the beginning of the film, when Billy's little sister tells the story behind her drawing. It is a beloved story, and a good film; it certainly isn't a masterpiece, but it has a great story!

Star Trek: Into Darkness

This film was very stunning on the big screen. I know very little about the original Star Trek movies, so I know very little about the fandom, but the movie was enjoyable even for one without such knowledge. Benedict Cumberbatch was brilliant as Khan. His portrayal of the already hated villein, from The Wrath of Khan, and others of the older movies, was very well done, there wasn't a moment when viewers didn't hate his guts. The reversal of the roles of Spock and Kirk near the end in the new movie verses The Wrath of Khan was a great tribute to the older movies! It was a fast paced adventure through space. The best things about the movie would have to be the interesting ties and parallels to The Wrath of Khan, and Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Khan. A great film exploring space, humanity, and emotions! Certainly a roller coaster of a film that is well worth viewing.