Movie Review: The Expendables 2

Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), Lee Christmas (Jason Statham), Yin Yang (Jet Li), Gunnar Jensen (Dolph Lundgren), Toll Road (Randy Couture) and Hale Caesar (Terry Crews) -- with newest members Billy the Kid (Liam Hemsworth) and Maggie (Yu Nan) aboard -- are reunited when Mr. Church (Bruce Willis) enlists the Expendables to take on a seemingly simple job. The task looks like an easy paycheck for Barney and his band of old-school mercenaries.

But when things go wrong and one of their own is viciously killed, the Expendables are compelled to seek revenge in hostile territory where the odds are stacked against them. Hell-bent on payback, the crew cuts a swath of destruction through opposing forces, wreaking havoc and shutting down an unexpected threat in the nick of time -- six pounds of weapons-grade plutonium; enough to change the balance of power in the world. But that's nothing compared to the justice they serve against the villainous adversary who savagely murdered their brother.

The Expendables 2
Released: 2012
Runtime: 103 mins
Rating: 4/5 stars
Buy: Not Available Yet

REVIEW:
I have to  admit that i was expecting the movie to be shitty. I mean Expendables 1 was really bad for me, and i was crying laughing. Instead i was surprised on how much i enjoyed it.

This time they brought even more of the old action actors in but they just make it more awesome. For starters the story actually made sense, the acting was decent and the whole movie in general was exciting.
The dialogue was quite clever, with references on old movies of each actor, if you payed attention. For us where we saw it in Greek, if you were just reading the subtitles you were missing those lines (okay, sometimes the subs were even wrong but anyway).

Of course the best thing of all is the action. The movie is more violent and bloody than the first one. But also more real. It didn't have those huge errors the first movie had. The hand-to-hand combat scenes were simple amazing. Can i say how completely perfect is Statham's scene in the church?! LOVE!
The gun shooting scenes were impressive to say the least, but it surely didn't bring me the excitement of the hand to hand ones even though they were way more.

It's important to say that even if you don't like some of the actors (because i don't like Stalone for exaple) those guys are the action films. There is a reason why they are legends in that kind of filmas. They know what they are doing and with a good director (not Stalone in this one) on board they made a REALLY good movie.

In case you girls wondering if you will like it, we were 3 girls in the company of boys and we all enjoyed it. I mean if you are into action scenes, i don't see how you will not (and you can always love it just for Liam Hemsworth :P). The boys obviously will enjoy it..i mean dah!

P.S: And yes i just gave it a half star more than Batman :p

Starring: Sylvester Stalone (Rocky, Rambo), Jason Statham (Transporter), Jet Li (Hero), Dolph Lundgran (Expendables), Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terry Crews (Terminator Salvation), Randy Couture (Expendables), Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games), Scott Adkins (The Bourne Ultimatum), Nan Yu, Charisma Carpenter (Buffy)

We Watch This Fall - 2012

The shows are in the order they premiere. You can find all the Fall 2012 Premiere Dates at the end of the post. Also check out a great site to keep track of what you are watching: Next-Episode

ALREADY AIRING

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13

 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17

 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 (FINAL SEASON)

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

 

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 3

MONDAY, OCTOBER 8

MONDAY, OCTOBER 8

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 10

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 11

 NIKITA FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19

Are you planning to watch any of those shows? Any recommendations?

P.S: Some TV Series reviews of the previous seasons are awaiting. I promise i will keep up with them!

Promotional Post: Betrayal

 Now available!

 Buy paperback here from Amazon.

 Buy Kindle version here.

 Buy Nook version here.

Life as a mermaid can be suffocating.Eviana Dumahl has returned home as a clan leader, an orphan, and a heartbroken teenage girl. Her parents are dead and her boyfriend, Brendan, has decided that he needs some time away. While battling her inner turmoil, Eviana is forced into the war that Lucian Sutherland has incited amongst her own kind. With the help of Kain, her friend and formally betrothed, the two work together to prove that they deserve their birthrights as young merfolk leaders.

When The Council requests a demonstration of Eviana’s mermaid powers, she finds herself with an opportunity to win back Brendan’s heart. But her orders to train with a repulsive merman and the presence of an attractive new suitor challenges Eviana to embrace her leadership and resist temptation. Lucian is after her, and no one seems to understand why. Loyalties are tested as the casualties increase, showing Eviana that sometimes it is impossible to delineate between friends and enemies.

Betrayal is the second book of The Syrenka Series trilogy following Eviana and her friends as they navigate through the challenges of existing in a secret world. February 2012.

Cover by Phat Puppy Art.

Read the entire first chapter here.

 

also Check out these cool team banners for Brendan, Kain and Graham from Sarah Elizabeth's bookshelf. 

About the author:

 

Amber Garr spends her days conducting scientific experiments and wondering if her next door neighbor is secretly a vampire.  Born in Pennsylvania, she lives in Florida with her husband and their furry kids.  Her childhood imaginary friend was a witch, Halloween is sacred, and she is certain that she has a supernatural sense of smell.  She writes both adult and young adult urban fantasies and when not obsessing over the unknown, she can be found dancing, reading, or enjoying a good movie.

 

Movie Review: The Dark Knight Rises

Warner Bros. Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' The Dark Knight Rises is the epic conclusion to filmmaker Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy.

It has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act.

But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane.

The Dark Knight Rises
Released: 2012
Runtime: 163 mins
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Buy: Not Available Yet

REVIEW:
Only some nights ago we went to watch Dark Knight Rises (obviously)! I was a little late with my review mostly because i was researching and trying to decide my feelings about the movie. You see i haven't read any of the comics, haven't played the game and while i have watched 3-4 of the previous Batman movies in general it's been some time and i can't remember clearly. So now that i know what i  wanna say let's begin...

To start with the story and Batman, as i understood Nolan tries to show how Batman was beat up after the 2nd movie of the trilogy and how did manage to change. I have to say the change was not that obvious, but if you came to think about it, Batman's story was mostly psychological. The change was fast, but was there. It's supposed to be around 3 months to get over his problems but we mostly watch it to happen in around a week or so? I'm not entirely sure how good or bad is that. I mean Thor changes literally in 1-2 days in his movie so i guess it's an improvement on the super hero movies.

Easily the best character is Bane. He is one of the most amazing villains i've ever seen. The thing is that when someone says part of the truth it's easier to believe him and follow him. So Bane was exactly that. His speech at the end of the movie, was surprisingly scary. He hit Gotham exactly where it had the problem. On the opposite Batman's speech was cheesy and lame :p

Catwoman was surprisingly good. I remember everyone saying that Anne Hathaway wasn't the right choice. For me she was perfect. I totally loved her, for both appearance and character. (And she was sexy without being blonde :p). Something that we really discussed after the movie was her appearance. She doesn't have the usual catwoman suit, neither her whip. So after searching and searching i can't seem to find a catwoman without a whip. So we got Nolan there. On the other hand Catwoman has indeed a costume like the one in the movie but in green instead of black. Can't say i'm mad about the color change.

I can't say anything about the acting, because i'm really satisfied with all of the actors. At some point at the movie there are some surprises on the story and some mix ups that i wasn't fan of, along with some big holes in the story. As i found out though, Nolan took parts of many Batman/Catwoman comics and combined them. Still, i'm not planning to read all the Batman comics just to find out how accurate the movie is.
Special effects and music were really really good. No question there. Now, the action scenes weren't as exciting but they were good enough. It was clear that Nolan was taking a less action way to present the movie. The final battle with Bane was way too fast. At least, how Bane was kicking Batman's ass was normal.

Overall, i enjoyed the movie and i can easily re-watch it too once or twice. I always liked Batman, but his movies never really made me excited as of other super heroes. Still the movie was good and satisfying. But, it didn't really seem as a "final" movie. More just, one more Batman movie. It was missing something. But hey! Go watch it at the cinemas! You won't regret it!