Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer (movie)

 Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer is a movie about Judy Moody, a third grader who is trying to have the most "thrilladelic" (I think I spelled that right) summer ever. She is going to compete with her friends for "thrill points" and see who has the most at the end of summer. But things go wrong for her when most of her friends go away for the summer, her parents go on a trip to California, and she and her brother have to stay with her Aunt Opal.

My first problem with this "film" is that the plot is STUPID! It insults my intelligence. Now I'm going to rant some more, so readers, proceed with caution. My second problem with the movie is that the jokes aren't well executed. They aren't even remotely funny; in fact, they might as well be cueing me to groan. My third problem is the annoying, computer generated imagery (CGI). The only thing that is okay about this movie is the cast. The actors seemed quite capable but weren't given a good enough script.

So, please, I beg of you, don't waste your time and watch this farce.




1.5/10

Halo 3 (video game)

Here's a guest review written by my classmate Will Locke:

Halo 3 is a vital part of the Halo series. The graphics are pretty good for the year it was made (2007). It continues the fight for the human race against the Covenant. Some of the enemies you might run in to are grunts, brutes, elites, jackels, hunters, and chiefdons.

The game starts when you wake up in the middle of a jungle near new Mambasa. You get tested by marines and something happens to one of them. If you want to know what happens, get the game.

If you have played any other Halo game, you need to play this one. I recommend this game to anyone who loves sci-fi adventures, but you should play them in order: Halo Wars, Halo Reach, Halo 1, Halo 2, Halo 3, and last Halo ODST. I have asked a few people their opinion, and the top rating would be 8.5 out of 10.

8.5/10

Win Win (movie)

Win-Win is about Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti), an attorney/high-school wrestling coach who is having a hard time providing for his family. When we meet him, he is working on a case that involves an elderly man who wants to stay home and live by himself. But he is not physically able to do so. Since Mike needs the extra cash, he decides to take care of the man. But instead of really taking care of him, he dumps him off at a retirement home. Things take an unexpected turn when the grandson of the elderly 

man is found on his doorstep without a place to stay. When the kid goes to workout with the wrestling team, they find out he is an amazing wrestler.

This film stars Giamatti (Saving Private Ryan, Big Fat Liar), Alex Shaffer, Bobby Cannavale ( Paul Blart: Mall Cop, The Other Guys). I rented this from a Blockbuster Express for 2 bucks.

This movie is rated R, which means this is one I watched with my dad while my mom was in a different state. Seriously, though, my dad is progressively allowing me to watch select R-rated movies. Select meaning ones with heavy language--not violence and other disturbing or inappropriate images.

One of my favorite parts of the movie was when Mike would go to a gas station, buy a pack of cigarettes, smoke one, then throw the rest away. I don't know why he does this, but it is kind of funny.

The dialogue is smartly written. Sure there are some well placed f-bombs to give it that R rating.
But come on, you've seen a PG-13 movie, right? They sometimes have a couple of f-bombs.

Now here is what I think of this film. This movie was really entertaining. But it is by no means a full-on comedy; it also has a serious side. When I rented it I thought it was going to be full of slapstick. While it was funny, it was also one of the most dramatic movies I have ever seen.

I know I am a little behind on my reviews, but I will try and work on that. I think my next review will be on the game Halo Wars, but don't count on it.

9/10

Intro/Batman Begins (video game)

Welcome to my first blog. My name is Casey, and I love video games and movies. I hope to use this blog platform to write about my experiences playing video games and watching feature films.

You may agree or disagree with me, and regardless, I welcome your comments. But keep it relatively clean. I'm almost in middle school.

I've decided to kick off this column with a review of the video game Batman Begins. Based on the movie with the same title, Batman Begins was released in 2005. Last year, I bought it used from Gamestop for 15 bucks. This game was released on the original Xbox, Playstation 2, Nintendo Gamecube, and Gameboy Advanced.

First off, this game did not take me a year to finish, but it did take me two weeks. It is a really fun action game, but it does not use straightforward action all of the time--sometimes you have to be stealthy. For example, you can't always just bust into a room and start beating up the bad guys. You have to crouch, grapple up, crawl, and even hang from ceilings.

We first see Batman in a burning building with thugs and the Scarecrow. After that scene, it cuts to one year earlier when Batman was getting his training at the League of Shadows (LOS). He completes his training, but does not join the ninja/warrior group.

You then become the character we know as Batman. After a time of fighting crime, you (as Bruce Wayne) meet the head of the LOS, Ra's Al Ghul, while at a party at Wayne Manor. Ghul says that the League of Shadows is going to infect Gotham with a deadly toxin, and there's nothing Batman can do to stop him. Ghul promptly sets Wayne Manor on fire. You must then escape the mansion and stop the League of Shadows.

Now here's what I think of the game. It has VERY good graphics and is self-explanatory such that you will only have to look up a walkthrough every now and then. But, it's not as good as Batman: Arkham Asylum or Batman Arkham City. That means the makers of this game are constantly improving and upgrading the franchise. I am in the middle of both of these games and will have reviews for them later.

7.5/10