Reviews: "Hostage," "Robots," & "The Ring Two"

Another movie that opened a few weekends ago was "Hostage," starring Bruce Willis. As the title suggests, the film revolves around a hostage situation. It starts off in the middle of a hostage situation that leaves Willis's character devastated. It then becomes very artistic with beautiful mountain views. We meet three teenage boys that decide to steal an expensive vehicle. One thing leads to another and the teens are holding a family at gun-point. The first half of the movie is riviting and intense but later the writers choose to add a few too many storylines that complicate matters. The rest of the movie is still thrilling, but some logic is lost and the end leaves a few too many questions unanswered. It is still one of the best action-suspenses I have ever had the chance to see.


Perhaps the biggest release of recent weeks was "Robots," the new computer animated film from FOX. My favorite part of the movie was the short, "Ice Age 2," shown before the feature. It is all downhill from there. The beginning of the movie, featuring a baby robot, is fun, cute, and creative with a plethora of comical puns. But the baby robot grows up to become Rodney Copperbottom, a young inventor. He travels to Robot City and meets many new friends and has a less than exciting adventure. Simply put, it looks great but it has no personality. The animation is astounding but the story is simple and near nonexistant. To say it is a huge disappointment would be an understatement. Starring the voices of Ewan McGregor, Robin Williams, and Amanda Bynes (along with another dozen or so), the movie should have been a lot better. It is a little to boring for kids and a little too cartoonish for anyone else.


Finally, I have never been a fan of "The Ring." Now, "The Ring Two" is in theatres. In the film, the killer videotape makes a comeback. It all feels like dejavu, but it is a bit more interesting due to the fact that the story is more down to Earth and human. It is still not scary and still not good, though. Even my favorite scene in which a bunch of deer attack the main characters makes absolutely no sense. If you didn't like the first one, go ahead and avoid this. If you liked the first one, have at it.