"Tonight we are cancelling the apocalypse!"

Pacific Rim, released July 2013, is a whole new spin on the alien apocalypse. The story follows the idea that an alien species called the Kaiju, are trying to take over our world. The movie does have some good action scenes and some intense moments. However, the writing, in my opinion is not the best. This movie is predictable in many cases and the acting was decent at best. Overall I would give this film a C. The action was good and I would probably see it again but I wouldn't actually buy it.

The special effects in this film were the best part of this movie. The Kaiju look real and are designed in a cool way. They are neon sea creatures that are actually pretty frightening. This film does present a new way to look at aliens and that is refreshing considering all the apocalyptic films that have been coming out lately. The robots in this film are cool as well. The robots, which are called Jaegers, are the soul of this film. They way they operate is that two pilots are connected in one robot and together, with their minds linked, they control the Jaegers. With the mix of the Jaegers and giant sea aliens, some pretty awesome fight scenes are created.

To me this movie was just okay because I was not very impressed with the writing. It was easy for me to figure out exactly what was going to happen. I prefer when movies have some twist and turns that catch me off guard. Or the film at least has really good writing that help the actors shine, so that even if I can figure out whats going to happen next, I am still impressed with the performance. The acting was okay, nobody was a bad actor but the script didn't really give many opportunities for them to shine. I must say though, I do like Charlie Hunnam. I do see some potential in his acting skills. I have never watched Sons of Anarchy but I hear he is pretty good, plus, he isn't bad to look at either. Also there is some romance in this movie, so guys if you thought you could escape that, well you're wrong. Honestly, I kinda wish there was no love interest in this film because I don't think the movie really needed it. I think that the character Marko, played by Rinko Kikuchi, should still be in the movie, but she didn't necessarily need to be a love interest.

This movie did have some funny moments, however. I found myself laughing more then I expected. Granted, sometimes I was laughing because some of it was so cheesy, and I love cheesy things. Most of the funny moments were due to Charlie Day, one of the stars from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He is just a really funny guy so most of the time when he was on screen, he was cracking me up, even if he wasn't trying to. I actually really enjoyed the funny moments because I wasn't expecting them.

Overall, this movie is a total "Dude Flick". And I love action and "guy" movies as much as the next person, but this one was not one of my favorites. But that being said, I know that many guys will enjoy this movie. I mean robots fighting aliens; those are two of guys favorite things. Honestly, if it were me I would wait for this movie to hit the dollar theater or rent it. But if you want to have an action movie night, this movie isn't a total waste. Enjoy the movies, until next time...

 - Megan O'Neal

"Danger is very real. But fear is a choice"

After Earth was released this May and it actually wasn't a bad film. It was pretty easy to figure out, and the acting performance by Jaden Smith wasn't overly impressive, but the movie wasn't that bad. Overall I would give it a solid C.

Now I love Will Smith. He is an exceptional actor and he is just a good guy. He was pretty good in this movie. I think it is hard for Will to completely fail at any role. He played a non-expressive and distant father. Based on what I know about Will, he is not like that at all and he played the part very convincing so I think he played the role well. His son, however, still has a lot of work to do. I believe he could be a decent actor but he is in that awkward middle school stage, or his voice sounds like it. Basically whenever he gets mad he screams; then comes his squeaky voice . His weird puberty voice causes the audience to laugh taking us out of the moment. I'm still holding out hope for Jaden, I think he has a bright future, I just hope his acting skills catch up to the huge expectations that lie in front of him.

The movie was unpredictable at times. I caught myself short of breath wondering what was going to happen next. Yet, the overall plot and the ending itself is very predicable. Somehow this movie is very predictable with very few moments of unpredictability. I will say that there is one monologue in this film that is very good. The monologue focused on the idea of fear and how it is a choice. I fully believe in this idea. The rest of the speech discusses how fear is not real, instead it is something we form in our heads. It's a great speech. Honestly, if you don't wanna watch the movie, at least look up the speech on Youtube or something, its really good.

This movie is a B. I would not see it in theaters unless it was dollar theater. Definitely save it for RedBox. But if you wanna see it on the big screen it won't be a complete waste. But lastly I will say again, look up the speech because it is very true. We need to stop letting fear stop us from accomplishing things and becoming the people we want to be. After Earth will be in theaters a little while longer, until it hits dollar theaters and then the DVD racks.

- Megan O'Neal