TRAVIS BYRAM'S MOVIE REVIEWS

When I was young, and had no friends, and wrote comics as a kid ripping off Spider-Man, I always took a huge delight in figuring out who my villain would be that issue (issue meaning two pieces of looseleaf paper I stapled together and only I read). 90% of them would be plagiarized, but I still enjoyed adding the little quirks or potential powers from my villains who would be introduced with little backstory, then about a page of crudely-drawn action, then they would usually get killed. I guess I had a very black and white sense of justice in those days. But while my protagonists stayed fairly static, it was always a blast thinking up villains when I sat down to write and draw. Antagonists can be the most memorable part of your movie (take note, Marvel), but can a whole movie full of them come off as too bloated? David Ayer answers that question in Suicide Squad , a definitely flawed but firecracker time in the theaters. When you go to college you take a lot of personality tests, and...

Here's a sad thought: We haven't seen Will Smith on the big screen for three and a half years!  That's insane!  For me, though, Smith is omnipresent in the media world, what with his son starring in a decent karate remake, his daughter winning over the world by whipping her hair around, and those "Fresh Prince" reruns you see on TBS all the time.  The last time I saw Smith was on New Year's Day of 2009 , (don't ask me how I remember) when I went to go see him in "Seven Pounds," which was critically bashed but I thought was pleasantly mediocre. But that still isn't fair, Will!  Don't be so selfish, share yourself with the rest of the world! Welcome back, Will! I kid, but the movie season has seemed a little more lonelier with the absence of critic/audience pleasers like "I Am Legend" and "The Pursuit of Happyness," both of which are classics by teenage standards.  You can't blame Smith; however, he's a fam...

I can't tell you low my expectations were for this film. Sure, who doesn't like Jackie Chan? And Jaden Smith was OK in "Pursuit of Happyness ," but it was is father who got the Oscar nomination after all. So why should this movie blow me away? There are 2 things I got to confess: 1. I haven't seen the original or any of its sequels. 2. If I was 6 years younger, this would probably be my favorite movie EVER. The first thing to love about this film is its excellent cinematography broadcasting the brilliant scenery of Chinese culture without being too stereotypical. I think it deserves an Oscar for it. Next we take into consideration Jaden Smith is 12. His acting skills haven't fully developed, but he makes the most of his underdog character's gawky attitude . His mother, Teraji P. Henson was great and Oscar-nominated in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and also good in the drama "Baby Boy;" this movie plays her strengths to th...