Even though I cant figure out if I love or hate it...I cant stop watching it.

Rating: 6/10 (4 July 2011)

Things I like: 1. The story. Theoretically a good plot. Part drama, part horror, part RPG, and part super hero movie. 2. The visuals. Each shot is stunning. The art direction is spectacular. From costumes, to sets, and special effects....all of it was fantastic. 3. The music. Each song serves as a narration and fuels the story and emotion for each scene. Covers can easily become over the top, cheesy, and outright awful (especially if done by the lead actress in attempt to spark a music career), however this was not the case. Emily Browning is actually a great singer, and manages to nail these songs beautifully. However, I don't know about the musical number during the credits. That came out of left field for me, especially after that ending. It was weird.
Things I don't like: 1. The plot. I know...its the first thing on my list of likes...but its here too. I get the whole girl power aspect that they keep preaching ...but, realistically...its not. I mean, she WAS lobotomized and WAS being taken advantage of, right? Being so effed up that you create alternate realities in your mind to survive it is NOT a thing of empowerment. It's sad and tragic. You can dress her like Sailor Moon all you want, but at the end of the day, shes locked away in a mental institution and lobotomized. 2. The acting. This is partly due to the ridiculous dialogue. Emily Browning wasn't too bad...although very one note and had the same expression on her face no matter what was happening. The rest of the cast was just awful. Usually, I like Jenna Malone. However in this movie, I think I laughed every time she delivered a line. Vanessa Hudgens was just a meh of nothing with Snooki hair. Jamie Chung and Vanessa Hudgens' characters didn't even need to exist really. I had higher hopes for Abbie Cornish since I've liked her in other movies and think she's a decent actress, but here...she was flat and again, I pretty much laughed at every one of her lines. Again, I think it was just bad writing....but it almost seems as if it was intentional. 3. The every-other-shot-is-slow-mo craziness. If it were a drinking game...you'd be dead by the end of the movie. Do not try it please. It was over kill by the end. It was so much slow-mo that it was absurd. I almost felt like I was being "sucker punched" every time it happened. There was slow-mo when it wasn't even necessary. The movie is 10 minutes short of 2 hrs. With that much slow-mo, it felt like 4. And lastly, number 4. I actually rooted for the dragon. When she nudges her dead baby.....that moment was the most emotionaly invested I felt through the whole movie. That shouldn't have been the case. Zack Snyder, you have to make people care if your characters live or die. A hint of empathy or consideration at the very least....not have your audience root for the characters to be eaten by the dragon so they'd stfu!!!
So there it is. I like it and I don't. I don't regret buying it. So that says something, I guess.