Student Film Reviews

Film reviews from theaters, couches, and film festivals

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1. Byron Potau 04.20.10 / 11pm

   I didn’t realize Lawrence Kasdan was involved. I’m a big fan of his work. However, I’ve already seen two bad Sam Worthington films so I think I’ll wait for the DVD. Bravo for resisting the 3D fad. From what I’ve heard you didn’t miss much. By the way, I love the original!
2. Kathleen Ratcliff 04.22.10 / 7pm

   I viewed Clash of the Titans in 3-D at the Arlington Theater and was greatly disappointed. The 3-d resulted in a blurry unclear screen from me and quite frankly lacked in any 3-d. This film I felt had a lot of potential but fell short, the journey was way too long and I found myself bored. The ending scenes showed the capabilities of the film makers and how exciting the film could have been if they included more action packed scenes. The mad rush to release the next big 3-d films are resulting in boring films that lack 3-d.
3. Sara Dinari 04.27.10 / 1pm

   I have not yet seen this film but have heard nothing but good things about it. After seeing this review I am curious to see what this film is all about myself. This review has absolutely convinced me to see this film. I think that films with mixed reviews in which you either love it or hate it are the films I most want to see just so that I could judge for myself. Although some may not have enjoyed this film and thought that it fell short of their expectations I want to go into this film with no expectations and hope for a bit of entertainment and perhaps a few cool 3-D shots. Thank you for this review, it was informative and fascinating and I am happy to see that some enjoyed this film.
4. Hunter Matos 05.01.10 / 5pm

   Firstly there were some things I liked about this film; the effects were pretty good and there were one or two bits of humour and there was one character I really liked. Unfortunately I can’t remember his name because the film didn’t introduce him properly. That’s my main problem with this film. The secondary characters were so thinly written they didn’t seem like characters more like cannon fodder. I realize that it was Persues’s story but still at least give us a scene were we find out more about them. Secondly the monster hunters, they show up a third of the way in have maybe five lines of dialogue don’t do anything impressive then leave only to come back for two seconds at the end, these characters served no purpose and their screen time should have been given to the soldiers with names. Thirdly, at the end Zeus rewards Perseus by restoring the woman he (apparently) loves, yet Perseus does not even ask Zeus to bring his family, who took him in when he was an orphan and he loved deeply, back from the dead. I also feel this film gained nothing by being in 3D, but to be honest I don’t like 3-d movie to begin with.
5. George Geddes 05.07.10 / 8pm

   When I saw this film I was not “pleasantly surprised.” The film much similar to other hollywood action blockbusters was eye candy. The components of mise-en-scene were intact and in full force. Each scene created a new reality into which the viewer could fall, from the ocean sequences to Medusa’s Lair, all were done extremely well. The acting was not horrible either. Why then was I not satisfied with the film? Firstly, I was dissappointed in the content; secondly I was dissappointed in the characters. The script did not allow for any real connection with the characters and the audience. As Perseus’ family died the view cannot help but think well that sucks for him, but we do not feel the loss. The character development might have well been a musical montage. But I guess this is to be expected in an action film: Something has to be cut in order to depict the action sequences. But, the content also was lacking. When dealing with a concept such as greek mythology you have the oppurtunity for so much allusion that can strengthen content. This the movie lacked. Then as the film winds down we hear Zeus suggest that he did not want to save his followers if he had to sacrafice a son. Now, I may be reading into this a little too much but I would suggest that this was simply saying “see how much more the Christian God” loves you. Was that quote needed in a movie rooted in Greek Mythology? No.
6. Gregory Vanderburg 05.09.10 / 11am

   I also decided to see this movie in 2-D and save a bad headache for another night. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the remake of Clash of the Titans. I was really hoping that they could make the original look a lot better with todays new CGI, but at the same time I didn’t want it to ruin the great story line with tons of action. It was cool to see parts of the old movie like the metal owl even though they make a joke and decide not to bring it along. I was a little thrown off when Perseus falls in love with Io or whatever because I remember him being in love with the princess Andromeda in the original.
7. Chris Friend 06.27.10 / 10pm

   I’m going to have to disagree with you on this one. It seems that you went into this movie looking for a heavy dose of CG and essentially a creature-feature. While that was only partially delivered in the film, it left no room for the basic elements that make movies watchable. There is hardly any character development, the acting is shallow at best, and the kraken seems wholly disappointing for the 5 minutes of its screen time. Sam Worthington, though he seems to be the same guy in every major role so far, is barely convincing as a demi-god and he and his band of followers lack depth. If you were unlucky enough to have paid anything more than matinee pricing for this movie, I apologize, but if you want to get drunk and scream at the screen while Perseus slashes his way through a shallow narrative, add this to the top of your Netflix queue.
8. Wendy Cruz 08.30.10 / 6pm

   Unfortunately I saw it in 3D and was disappointed at the lack of 3D effect. I was so excited for this film that I went to the midnight show, but I was left feeling somewhat disappointed. I really liked Terminator Salvation, but that’s the thing I felt I was watching that film. I felt Sam Worthington wasn’t even trying. In comparison to the original, the re-make was better. The one thing I can say about this film is that I really enjoyed the way Medusa looked and Gemma Arterton was really good. I’m not saying don’t see it, but don’t waste your money on it.
9. Alex Hollowell 10.14.10 / 6pm

   I have to respectfully disagree. Unlike you who approached the remake with trepidation, and was pleasantly surprised; I was completely psyched for this movie and immensely disappointed. I have not seen the original, but was excited because of the story. I am a huge fan of Greek mythology and when I heard they were making a movie about the story of Perseus my excitement started to grow. With each new piece of information on the casting, characters, etc. my excitement grew stronger and stronger. I will admit that my high expectation could have played a role in my dissapoinment of the film. However, I firmly believe that it was not the only reason. I felt the movie was lacking in every way. The plot moved too quickly that there was no time for any kind of character development. All the characters lacked depth, and the relationships between the characters were either rushed or underdeveloped. Perseus, is the protagonist, but I felt like when the movie was over, there was no real reason to like him. The CGI made the film look completely fake and took away from the movie. Today, the technology is so amazing that I kind of expect everything to look amazing. When I compare this film to movies like The Chronicles of Narnia or The Lord of the Rings, the special effects are severely lacking. Overall I found nothing I liked in the movie; however I still hopeful that the sequels will be better.
10. Thomas Reynolds 10.28.10 / 6pm

    I was hoping to be one of the few people to comment on this modern day travesty, but I will have to settle for the most agitated commenter. This was one of the most disappointing film I have seen in the last decade.

    Ray Harryhausen is indeed a genius, thanks for mentioning that Kathleen, but there was no stop motion in this film. I feel like the hard work that stop motion takes may be reflected in CG efforts somewhat, yet the distribution team forced the image of the Kraken rising out of the sea three hundred times before and after anyone ever saw the movie.

    As many of the comments before me have denoted, there was absolutely no character development. My friend, an avid monster flick fan, stated that Perseus could have died from Hep C and he would have cared less because there was no development. The specialized hunters who were brought it did not have enough time to turn into something more than two short laughs and some confusion.

    One of the strangest parts of the film was the addition of the character Lo played by Gemma Arterton. She seems like a wonderful actress but this additional romantic interest seemed superfluous to the plot line and distracting to the story. I miss the good old days when Perseus wanted to be with Andromeda. Also the scene in the bowels of the “boatman’s” boat were half witted. Why would anyone feel like complicating a love interest in death’s boat.

    The special effects were good but they were by no standards as ground breaking as the original with its stop motion. I even think that the original Calibos was more interesting in claymation.

    There was the camio of the clockwork owl named, Bubo, which was entertaining. Also I do like the main actor, San Worthington, who starred in the latest Terminator. He needed some direction towards subtlety but the American audience seems to dislike that quality of late.

    Basically if you saw this film and you did enjoy it there is a chance that you fell asleep or are simply easily captivated by high budget film making. The scorpions were too obviously cg, the witches scene was too brief, but I will admit that Medusa was amazing both in her design and movement/ action.

    PS… why does low key lighting always represent divinity, it seems to come off as corny most of the time and why in the heck did they choose Tron to inspire the God’s costumes??!
11. Caleb Davis 03.25.11 / 1pm

    I viewed this film at home and wished i had seen it in theatres. At the same time i’m glad i did not pay money to watch it, although the special effects and battle sequences required surround sound and a projected image i found the movie at least watchable. The acting was sub-par but only because the dialogue and characters written for the film were more mythological heroes and villians rather than human beings. There was little or no emotion aside from anger and revenge throughout the film. I expected exactly what i saw in the trailer before deciding to watch this film. It made a good activity before bed but did not leave me feeling more connected to humanity or impressed with what the filmmakers had done. It felt like a pointless mythological romp as opposed to a story or a work of art. Did not expect any more than that though from another remake in hollywood’s endless bland production of recycled films.

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