"HelloHerman" (Starring Norman Reedus) -- Trailer REVIEW

http://www.impawards.com/2012/
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We all know Norman Reedus from The Walking Dead but will he be the same character that everyone falls in love with in this movie? Judging by the trailer... its seems pretty likely.

HelloHerman is a movie that tells the story of how bullied kid Herman Howards goes from being a student to a murderer of 39 students, two teachers and a police officer. When Herman reaches out to Journalist Lax Morales asking to tell his story on his show, Lax must "explore Herman's demon's while at the same time his own." (Apple Trailers). Basically, the movie looks to be focusing on less of the actual event and more on why he went on a shooting spree and why people (specifically kids) become murderers.

Two words: Emotionally. Draining. The entire premise; a bullied kid goes on a shooting spree with hopes to explain his story to a journalist who has undergone his own personal challenges... like his wife dying... seems pretty dark (an understatement) to me. Just from the trailer I was drained, but a two hour movie? There may be some sort of grind involved here and I personally will not watch this unless I can fully invest myself into it.

There also seemed to be some cheesy acting wrapped up in it. Don't take my word for it since it was just a trailer and could be due to the person cutting the clips did not do it in a way that complimented the acting. But the first part of the trailer seemed like the actors were trying too hard to be extreme jerks and exaggerated their words a little too much, where the second part seemed underacted and anti-climactic.

And was I the only one that didn't find the soundtrack to this trailer appealing? When I watch a trailer to a movie I want the soundtrack to flow and have meaning, and this just didn't do that for me. The breaks in the track didn't overpower me the way a song in a trailer should, affecting the overall tone of the trailer.

Some things seemed a little bit over-the-top as well: like execution of the boy live on TV. Oh, and when the reporter stated that if Morales lets Herman give his story to the public that he should have to watch Herman's execution while standing next to him. I get it, he's a murderer, he can quite obviously be seen as a crazy psychopath, but the way the trailer (and most likely movie) presented itself makes the victims seem almost like the bad guys. Sure, Herman was the one who went on the killing spree, but the reason he did that was because of all the bullies that tormented him day in and day out.

Norman Reedus looks to be playing a likable character once again; the character that we are rooting for and want to win. For that person, he seems to be the right fit. I love him in The Walking Dead and this role seems like it will be great for him. As for the actor who plays the kid (Garrett Backstrom) I didn't really see anything great from him, I don't know maybe he'll surprise but I doubt that anything of that sort will happen.

All I have got to say is that I am really rooting for Norman Reedus to pull this off, but that it is not looking so bright. I chose to review the trailer because I thought that it was an interesting concept; show how an innocent kid can become a murderer. But after watching the trailer, I was not very impressed.

Trailer Rate: Wait for DVD Release


Trailer Rating System (worst to best):
-No Hope
-Won't buy
-Wait for DVD release
-Watch in theater
-The Next Hit

P.S I realize that this movie was already released so many people have seen it, but it hits theaters on the 7th of June so I figured that I would review the trailer to it.

"Captain Phillips" (Starring Tom Hanks) -- Trailer REVIEW

(http://bit.ly/10EA6Et)

Directed by Paul Greengrass (TheBourne films) and starring Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips tells "the true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years. (IMdB)."

What do you see when you look atCaptain Phillips? A modern day "Pirate" movie with a talented director and a very good Actor. From the guy who brought us the Bourne movies, I expect that this film will be filled to the brim with moments that stop your heart, freeze it, then force you to thaw it out as you try and return back to the world of reality; and with Tom Hanks starring, you should expect to be waiting for a while.

I watched this trailer on the edge of my seat while knowing full well that nothing major would be revealed and at the same time being able to predict everything that was going to happen; which to be is just a testament to how well-directed this movie is going to be. Now, obviously that made is sound like the movie is predictable, which is not what I am trying to say at all. This is just the trailer, and therefore it should almost be predictable. The fact that even though I was able to guess what was going to happen next and it still kept me intrigued shows how well done this movie will be. Everything that Greengrass wanted me to feel, I was feeling. The excitement, tension, helplessness; the whole nine yards. And if he is able to keep that up for the entire movie, well then we will be in for a treat.

Bates Motel Pilot Review

When a show is based off of a classic movie (an Alfred Hitchcock movie in specific) it has some pretty high standards to live up to. Did Bates Motel do this in the pilot episode? Almost.

http://bit.ly/ZdyJG1

Bates Motel stars Freddie Highmore (Norman Bates) and Vera Farmiga 

(Norma Louise Bates) and it is about: "After the death of her husband, Norma purchases a motel located in the coastal town of White Pine Bay so she and Norman can start a new life" (Wikipedia). 

Not going to lie, I had some pretty high expectations when watching this TV show, and although I did not find it particularly worthy of all the hype that it was getting, I still think that the show has potential of achieving what it hopes to be.

The acting in this TV show is not to be compared to the best. At times I was taken out of the world of Bates Motel and back to reality due to the ineffective execution of dialogue; though it was not something that happened often. That's not to say that the acting is terrible; even though the acting is not top of the line, it never got to the point that I was unable to take the show seriously. Highmore was able to deliver his lines the way they were intended (for better or worse) and Farmiga was the devilish, creepy mom that she should be.