Most helpful client reviews
199 of 242 people found the following review helpful.
Unoriginal and Entertaining! A Perfect Date Movie
By Russ Nickel
This is the amusement business, and you know, they try, but in all probability the most agreeably diverting thing in regards to this movie was how it came to be. There are a lot of outstanding films based on books, and even more great books deserving film adaptations, but rather than take a literary success and fetch it to the huge screen, Dreamworks decisive to buy the rights to, of all things, I Am Number Four. Oh yeah, and they purchased them a year before it was even published! All because James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces, decisive to commence a fiction franchise that pumps out books and movies that could be marketed to teens.
But hey, why not? It was bound to be a success. A young man escapes a planet just as it’s being destroyed, ending up in a quaint town in Kansas Ohio where he attempts to live a normal life, only to find that he possesses superpowers, which actually throw a kink in his small-town romance. That precise story has already worked out once — why not a second time? All you need to do is get the creators of Smallville to write the script, toss in numerous pretty people and a few Michael Bay explosions, and you’ve got yourself a hit.
I Am Number Four opens on a scene of said finelooking persons partying at the beach. Our hero, John Smith (Alex Pettyfer), is having a blast with all his buddies, and even gets invited to a sexy swim with the school hottie, where she delivers such lovely dialog as “The huge dipper. It’s my favorite.” I doubt she could even name another constellation, but that’s neither here nor there, because of a sudden a scar on John’s leg emits a blinding light, signaling that Number Three is dead. For numerous reason that may or may not be explained in the book but surely isn’t in the movie, the survivors of planet Lorien may only be killed in order, so it’s time for Number Four to go on the run. He and his protector, Henri (Timothy Olyphant, whose last name always reminds me of Lord of the Rings), burn all their belongings and hit the road, but an eeeeevil gecko sneaks onto their truck.
Their flight leads them to Paradise, Ohio, where the gecko turns into a cute puppy…of DEATH! At least, that’s what I held expecting. But when the puppy passed up a heap of prospects to transform into a horrid monster and slay everyone, I ended up just being beauteous confused with regards to why they built up so much suspense.
Puppies aren’t the only risk in Paradise, however. There’s likewise Sarah (Dianna Agron), the school sweetheart. There’s an alliterative joke in there somewhere. Something like “dogs are dangerous, but not one thing may match the peril of the…” I don’t know, a lot of word for cat.
Anyway, Sarah is an irresistible cliché, the blonde who dated the quarterback of the football team until she picked up photography, thence benefitting a lens into the soul and learning the unfeigned meaning of love. At least the quarterback is original, except for the fact that he beats up science nerds and can’t understand why Sarah doesn’t want him and hates John for moving in on his territory. And the science nerd isn’t just a science nerd. He happens to have a dad who was totally abducted by aliens so he’s obsessed with rooting out all extraterrestrials at the school. All this is not one thing at all like Smallville, because in that show, the blonde photographer is the same person who wants to root out the mystery behind the alien occurrences, and a dissimilar reputation is the love interest.
I feel bad bashing this formula so much, because I have to admit, the characters actually were hot, which is what actually matters. Dianna Agron of Glee fame is a girl next door of no compare, and Alex Pettyfer is, undeniably, a pretty piece of man. I mean, in his next movie, he in a literal sense plays a guy whose main reputation trait is that he’s actually genuinely ridiculously good looking. Based on that alone, I figured I’d be competent to receive pleasure from their romance, but man, was I wrong. This was supposed to be a superhero movie, darn it, and we end up sitting through more than an hour of plodding romance with no action whatsoever. And it’s not good romance either. It’s just like Twilight: all significant looks, lip biting, and a thirst for blood.
Maybe not the last one so much, but when this movie wasn’t Smallville, it genuinely was Twilight. The main guy has a mystery that makes him an outsider at the school, but a beauteous girl is intrigued by his mystery and they fall for each other. And Loriens, different from humans, only fall in love once and it lasts. Isn’t it romantic? Blehck. Males everyplace will squirm in their seats. On the other hand, it’s a perfective date movie. The guys will be excessively affected emotionally to go, the girls will acquiesce, and then the girls will be so enjoyably astonished by the fact that the guy took them to a chick flick that they’re sure to sleep with them. Except studies show that scary movies are much more likely to get you laid, so oh well.
Although the whole initial hour had me teetering on the edge of boredom, what’s scary is how much I actually ended up liking the movie, because, you see, the last 20 minutes kick so much ass! The action sequence is the only place you feel like Michael Bay was attached to this, and it shows. Number Six (Teresa Palmer) arrives, and she’s this hot, sarcastic Aussie girl with wavy blonde hair who may kill the evil Mogadorians like nobody’s business and deliver one-liners right after. She slides on her knees, hamstringing baddies while Number Four deflects plasma gun blasts with his hands, shooting them back at his foes. Six may turn invisible and teleport and generate a fire shield and all this sick stuff. Which brings up the question, why is John’s main superpower the capacity to turn his hands into flashlights? I mean, like, I guess that would be sort of useful, but I’d way rather be competent to turn invisible. The movie has to find all these excuses to have the battles take place in dark places so that John’s power is useful, and it’s funny to see how often they work it in.
Number Six was so cool that she saved the movie.The fact that she arrived at the end meant that I left sentiment super stoked, which colored my whole experience with such a positive light that I couldn’t support but take delight in myself. I don’t recognise why she wasn’t in the movie the entire time. Having somebody fun and sarcastic was precisely what the plot necessitated to keep it from taking itself, and the romance, way too seriously.
So, way too much slow, clumsy romance (and don’t get me wrong. I love Titanic and The Notebook), and not almost sufficient action, but the premise is good sufficient (even if it’s stolen straight from Superman), and when the fighting genuinely starts, it’s astounding (explosions, fireballs, plasma guns, giant winged monsters). If they made a sequel, I would unquestionably see it. Therefore, I give I Am Number Four:
3/5 Stars
Why did John determine to disclose himself to so galore persons in Paradise? The film made it look like he’d had a ton of close friends at his old school, but the second they found out in regards to him, he fled. Within days of moving to Ohio, he was more than willing to confide in all sorts of people. Seems beauteous fickle for a Lorien who’s supposed to bond forever, but perchance that same fickleness will mean that Number Six is a love interest later. Who wouldn’t pick Number Six over Sarah? Honestly.
That in regards to sums it up. Check out more on thenickelscreen on wordpress
35 of 40 persons found the following review helpful.
Great mindless amusement when you just want to unwind in front of the tv
By M. Espinoza
I hesitated renting it online when I saw that the introductory review were horrible, but I rolled the dice and am glad I watched it. It’s not an Oscar-winning performance, and surely not going to inspire deep, intellectual speech afterwards….but if you’re looking for something agreeably diverting to watch just for fun– then you’ll love this movie.
Great action sequences towards the end, semi-intriguing story, you may answer your text messages and microwave numerous popcorn without losing track of what’s going on on-screen. Unless you’re in a film-snobbish mood, this is well worth getting.
13 of 13 persons found the following review helpful.
Good Characters and an actual story in a Science Fiction
By reviewer
I take delight in watching science fiction movies but find a lot of of them today so caught up with the CGI that the story line is totally lost in translation, as if the story no longer matters today. I found this movie both agreeably diverting and fun. It had good reputation buildup and did all of this with the fun of science fiction. A true gem amoung todays films. It was likewise nice not to have anything I found to be offensive in the movie.
I hope they carry on this and build upon the movie with sequals but since I didn’t recognise of this being a major blockbuster I am assuming this is not going to be the case.
See all 183 client reviews…
Quentin
Some say start with a credit card. But I totally disagree. Credit cards can be bad news if you are not disciplined with them. I would say go to a jewelry store and take out an account for something small and start that way. Or maybe a clothing store. You don’t have to charge thousands of dollars. Just a couple of hundred to get you started.
Graham
It’s more difficult these days to get a retail credit card than a bank card.
If you don’t want to get a secured credit card, which would be the best and quickest way, go to a credit union (best) or bank (not so good) and buy a certificate of deposit, then take out a small loan against it. Make timely payments and that will be reported to the credit bureaus as a positive and help build a good score.
Raul
small loans, car payments, and pay on time.
Jeanine
Credit cards can be used as a tool to establish credit. There are other steps you can take as well, but sooner or later you will have to get a credit card. Be responsible with it (pay off your balances in full and on time) and you’ll establish a good credit history.
This is from an article written by Gail Vaz-Oxlade, a financial expert. It’s about how to re-build your credit rating, but the advice she gives can also be used to establish credit with no previous history.
The first thing you should do is get a copy of your credit report for free by writing to either of Canada’s two major credit reporting bureaus:
Equifax Canada Inc. Equifax Canada Inc. Consumer Relations Department, PO Box 190 Jean Talon Station, Montréal Quebec H1S 2Z2, Telephone: 514-493-2314, Toll-free: 1-800-465-7166, Fax: 514-355-8502,,
Trans Union TransUnion Canada – Consumer Relations, 709 Main Street West, PO Box 338, LCD 1, Hamilton Ontario L8L 7W2, Telephone: 905-525-0262, Toll-free: 1-800-663-9980,
If you ask to see your report by mail there is no charge. But you may be charged to view your info online.
TIP: Since it’s important to check your credit report at least once a year, but preferably twice, you can write to one and then the other credit bureau on a six-month basis and get two checks a year for free.
Next, you’ve got to get busy building your credit history. Start small and build a history that shows you are responsible by paying your bills in full and on time.
Since “assets” are a good indicator of your credit personality – if you have some you’re a better risk – set up a savings account and start stashing some money away. Since you need to be doing some long-term planning, both a retirement account and an emergency fund are a good idea. Remember, you can start small. Just START.
Setting up services in your name will also help re-establish your credit ID. Get telephone, cable and utility services in your name. Because you have a crappy credit history, you may need to provide a security deposit. Once you’ve proven your payment track record, you can ask for the deposit back and throw it in your emergency fund.
Now it’s time to apply for a secured credit card. Ask your bank how it works. Usually you need to leave on deposit one-and-a-half to two times the credit limit. So to get a credit card with a $500 limit, you will need to put $1,000 on deposit with the credit card company or bank. You can get your deposit back after between six months and a year. Make sure you know how long this is (it varies) so you can plan how you’ll reallocate that money (to retirement savings or your emergency fund).
Gas or department store credit cards are often easier to get and can be good ways to establish credit. You MUST pay your bills in full and on time because the interest rates on these cards are often astronomical. As long as you don’t miss a repayment – which you never will, right? – it makes no difference what the interest rate is. Use these cards wisely and they can be a great toe-hold into credit.
Once you’re on your way, it’s time to get your first new installment loan. A retirement savings loan is the perfect way to do this since this loan, while not officially collateralized, might as well be. What it does mean is the interest rate won’t be horrendous. Only borrow as much as you can afford to repay in six months. Don’t let them talk you into more. Then, once the six months are up, use the amount you were using to repay the loan as your month retirement savings contribution. Now you’ve gone from catching up to being proactive about saving and you’ve helped your credit history too.
I’m not sure I should have to remind anyone at this point, but you MUST BE LIVING ON A BALANCED BUDGET! All the work in creating a good credit history will be for naught if you start spending more money than you make. And you MUST build an emergency fund, so that when life happens – something like your car breaking down or an illness – it doesn’t push you to rely on credit.
Nicolas
Get a credit card from local bank and pay it in time. You also can use this service to avoid common mistakes while buiding credit and pre-estimate future scores for different scenarios of payments – credit-report-free.totalh.com