Hairy Man Reviews

The Vow = I Don't

2012-02-10T16:03:00.000-06:00

The full review of this terrible film is up at insidestl.com

Safe House is Generic

2012-02-09T14:06:00.001-06:00

Safe House is the latest movie starring Denzel Washington playing Denzel Washington as only Denzel Washington can. Director Daniel Espinosa tries his best to impersonate frequent Denzel collaborator Tony Scott. In other words, this movie is not for the crowd that gets motion sick from shaky cam.

Safe House opens in Cape Town, South Africa, where Matt Weston (Reynolds) is a “housekeeper” for a CIA safe house. We are introduced to his mundane life and his hot exotic French girlfriend, Ana (Nora Arnezeder). He calls his CIA contact David Barlow (Brendan Gleeson) to inquire about a transfer to Paris. Barlow tells him to hold tight and that Weston needs more field experience.

Next up, we meet Tobin Frost (Washington) as he makes a pick-up from a crooked MI6 agent. Frost then injects what he picked up into his body for safe keeping. What he has is a file of corrupt government agents from many government agencies from many nations. When Frost leaves the drop point, a group of people try to kill him. As an escape tactic, Frost makes his way to the US Embassy.

Finally, we meet two other CIA agents who are alerted to Frost turning himself in. Agent Catherine Linklater (Vera Farmiga) is a counterpart to Agent Barlow, and Agent Harlan Whitford is their superior. From here, we find out that Frost is an ex-CIA agent who went rogue and sold government secrets to the highest bidder. He is highly trained in psychology and a great manipulator.

After an extraction team fails to get the information from Frost, and a firefight, Weston and Frost are on the run. Weston is a true blue American hero wannabe. Frost makes him question everything he believes in. Of course, Frost is trying to escape from West so that he is not tried for treason. Weston is then thought to be in cahoots with Frost because Weston does not obey his orders. So, your typical cat-and-mouse games follow as everyone is trying to get what they want.

To call Safe House generic would be a drastic understatement. David Guggenheim’s script has no original thoughts in it whatsoever. He even employs the dreaded “mole in the agency” schtick. It is set up early that either Barlow or Linklater is a bad guy. This is beat into your head repeatedly throughout the film.

Even Espinosa’s direction is generic and lame. He uses all the cliché shot compositions common to action sequences. His tight steady cam shots only telegraph action is about to happen. Then, these scenes are fast and furious, hard to tell what is even happening; then, it is back to boredom for another fifteen minutes.

None of the acting is anything extraordinary. Denzel is Denzel. Reynolds is out of his element in a dramatic role. Gleeson delivers a painful American accent. Shepard and Farmiga phone it in. Even Ramin Djawadi’s score seemed a bit generic. His work on HBO’s Game of Thrones is far better than this.

By not having a single bit of “wow factor” in it, Safe House is a slow, bland two hour spy film. I was entertained enough to not hate it, but I can hardly recommend paying the admission price to see this in theaters. This would be better suited for a Redbox rental when it hits the home market in a few months. As my buddy said, “Hey, at least it was better than Skyline.”

RATING: 4.5/10

Midnight in Paris

2012-02-03T14:47:00.003-06:00

There were many great movies snubbed by this year’s Academy Awards. I could go off on a rant for pages and pages. Instead, I thought I would rent Woody Allen’s four time nominated film, Midnight in Paris. It picked up nominations for Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, Best Director and Best Art Direction. Like many of Woody Allen’s films lately, Midnight in Paris has a cast as deep as any assembled by Soderbergh. This includes Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Adrien Brody, Alison Pill, Marion Cotillard, Tom Hiddleston and Kathy Bates.

Midnight in Paris follows Hollywood writer and wannabe novelist Gil (Wilson), as he accompanies his fiancée Ines (McAdams) and future in-laws on a trip to Paris. Gil is nostalgic about Paris in the 1920s, but Ines does not share his love. While at dinner, one of Ines’s old college friends shows up with his wife. Paul (Sheen) is a know-it-all, and is painfully obvious about it. Gil quickly finds ways to be at odds with Paul whenever he can. Equally as fast, he finds a way to avoid going dancing that night.

That evening, Gil stumbles upon a taxi that turns out to be a time machine (that couldn’t hit 88mph if was going downhill with a strong wind at its back). Gil winds up spending the evening with F. Scott Fitzgerald (Hiddleston) and his wife Zelda (Pill) at a party. Then, he finishes off the evening with a nightcap at a bar with Ernest Hemmingway (Corey Stoll). Once Gil leaves the bar, he reenters the here and now, and the bar returns to the Laundromat it is. Gil returns the next night and the next and he meets various other famous people from history, including Gertrude Stein (Bates), Salvador Dali (Brody) and Pablo Picasso.

Woody Allen’s writing is nominated for the fifteenth time and his directing receives a seventh nomination. What can I say? The Academy loves Woody Allen. Midnight in Paris is a fun, enchanting film. It is funny and entertaining. It is original in its screenplay, and is poised to take that trophy. The only competition in that category is Bridesmaids. If J.C. Chandor gets it for that horrific hunk of shit that was Margin Call, what little faith I have left in the Academy would be forever lost.

As a whole, I do not think that Midnight in Paris has a shot in the Best Picture race. I have a hard time believing that the best picture of the year would not have at least one of the sixteen acting nominations. I am not saying it has to win one, but Midnight in Paris did not even get nominated for one. The last Best Picture to win with no acting nominations was LOTR: The Return on the King. Ian McKellan got a token nod for the first of the trilogy, but that was the only acting one in the trilogy’s thirty nominations.

Even with such a deep and talented cast, only two actors gave standout performances. Midnight in Paris proved to me that Owen Wilson may actually not suck as an actor. He was quite enjoyable in this roll. If anyone was going to get a token nomination for this film it would be Corey Stoll. I wish that Stoll’s Hemmingway had more scenes. He was brilliant and hilarious. Kathy Bates was good, but nothing spectacular. Rachel McAdams was a loathsome character. That was a nice spin on her usual nice girl persona.

Midnight in Paris is well worth the $1.20 Redbox rental ($1.50 if you want the Blu-Ray). It is a well paced 95 minute film that will leave a smile on your face. Come Oscar night, it should win for one of its four nominations. It is the best Woody Allen film since Match Point back in 2005.

Rating: 8/10

Man on a Ledge

2012-01-27T16:07:00.000-06:00

The full review can be read at insidestl.

Haywire

2012-01-20T14:57:00.000-06:00

Soderbergh's lastest starring MMA star Gina Carano has been reviewed. It is up at insideSTL.

Contraband

2012-01-13T14:55:00.000-06:00

The full review of the Marky Mark remake is up at insideSTL.

Lists for 2011 Films

2012-01-06T15:02:00.000-06:00

Justin wrote a "Top 10" for 2011 for insidestl.com. So, I wrote a "Bottom 5 for 2011" article. It is up at insideSTL.com.

But, I thought I would write a Top 10 here, for you really devoted readers (other than Drive and Warrior, the rest are really just thrown in, sorry for my laziness):

10. Horrible Bosses
9. Arthur Christmas
8. The Adventures of Tintin
7. Moneyball
6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
5. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
4. Win Win
3. Source Code
2. Warrior
1. Drive

War Horse

2011-12-30T16:11:00.000-06:00

The full review of this beautifully directed borefest is up at insidestl.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

2011-12-27T16:14:00.000-06:00

Spectacular film, read about it here.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2011-12-23T16:16:00.000-06:00

Read the review of the remake at insidestl.com

Here are the opening credits, with a killer cover of Immigrant Song.

The Battle of the Snow Whites

2011-11-25T12:29:00.004-06:00

Last week, two new trailers have caught my attention. They are for two new, vastly different, adaptations of the classic tale of Snow White. This reminds me of 1998 when we saw a handful of double-takes on the same type of film.

Back in 1998, Paramount released their asteroid destruction movie Deep Impact on May 8. Then, Touchstone unleashed Michael Bay’s Armageddon on July 1. Let’s break it down:

-Deep impact opened strong, finished with just north of $140 million domestic (good for 8th overall for the year) and $349 million worldwide on a budget of $75 million. It currently stands with an IMDB rating of 6.0.

-Armageddon opened stronger (likely due to a better release date), finished with a domestic take just over $201.5 million (2nd highest for the year) and a worldwide take of over $553 million on a $140 million dollar budget. Its IMDB rating is 6.2.

So, to give it to Armageddon is a lock, especially when you factor in its 4 Academy Award nominations (all technical nominations and Best Original Song) and a Criterion Collection DVD release.

Later in the year, Dreamworks went toe-to-toe with Pixar in the animated ant films, pitting Antz against the animation juggernaut’s A Bug’s Life. Here’s how it shook out:

-Antz had a decent opening on October 2, finished with a domestic take of $90 million (21st for the year) and worldwide gross of close to $172 million. It has an IMDB rating of 6.8.

-A Bug’s Life opened wide on November 27 strong and finished with $162 million domestic (4th for the year), and added an additional $200 million internationally. It also picked up an Oscar nod for Original Song. It stands with an IMDB rating of 7.2.

I think it is clear that Pixar’s ants were stronger than Dreamworks’. I, however, like Antz better. But then, who am I?

While this battle was raging on the animated insect front, Miramax and Gramercy both released Elizabethan films. Gramercy went in the historical drama direction with Elizabeth, opening November 6. Miramax went the romantic comedy route with Shakespeare in Love, opening in limited release on December 11, and then opened wide in January. Here’s how the Shakespeare battle panned out:

-Elizabeth finished just above its $30 million budget domestically (65th for 1998), and barely broke $50 million worldwide. It won one of its seven Oscar nominations and holds a 7.6 IMDB rating.

-Shakespeare in Love quadrupled its $25 million budget domestically (18th for the year), and almost doubled that worldwide, with a final tally just shy $190 million. Then, it went on to win seven of its thirteen nominations, picking up Best Actress and Best Picture. On the down side, it sits at only 7.3 on IMBD.

Shakespeare in Love wins this 16th century battle handily. Its win for Best Picture, however, still causes controversy every year at Oscar time. I love Shakespeare in Love, but Saving Private Ryan is by far a better film.

That brings us to the fourth war, pun intended, between Dreamworks’ World War II epic, Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan and Fox’s World War II “epic,” Terrence Malick’s The Thin Red Line. This war was not fought simultaneously as the first three were. Saving Private Ryan opened in July, while The Thin Red Line opened on Christmas. Let’s see how these two 170 minute films compare:

-Spielberg’s war drama opened strong and had the legs to carry to the top grossing spot of the year with $216 million, easily exceeding its $70 million budget. For good measure, it added in another $265 internationally. It picked up five of its eleven nominations at the Oscars, including the second Best Director statue for Spielberg. It has an amazing 8.5 IMDB rating, and is ranked 42nd in the Top 250 films on the site.

-Terrence Malick’s war drama focused on the effects of war on the human psyche. Its huge cast could not save its domestic gross from falling short of its $52 million budget. Its $36 million take was good for 59th on the year. It did add an additional $60 million internationally to help the film break even. The Thin Red Line batted zero for seven on awards night. Its IMDB rating stands at 7.6.

Winner: Saving Private Ryan. Its upset loss to Shakespeare in Love will live in infamy. Even though The Thin Red Line was not a box office sensation, it is worth noting that it is Malick’s highest grossing film by almost $40 million.

There you have it. These four similar film battles gave us four of the five Best Picture nominations, three of the top five grossing films, and made Hollywood look like they were just stealing ideas from each other all year long.

In 2012, Relativity Media will release its "Snow White" film, Mirror, Mirror on March 16. It boasts a large cast including Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman), Sean Bean (Game of Thrones), Lily Collins (The Blind Side), Nathan Lane (The Bird Cage), Armie Hammer (The Social Network) and actual midgets and dwarfs. It seems to be more of a fantasy picture in the same vein as Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. It is directed by Tarsem Singh (Immortals). The trailer does not make this film look very appetizing.

On the other side of the coin, Universal will release their own take on the classic fairy tale in the form of Snow White and the Huntsman on June 1. It, too, boasts a large cast. It includes Charlize Theron (Monster), Chirs Hemsworth (Thor), Kristin Sterwart (Twilight), Ian McShane (Deadwood) and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) among others. This version will be set against a medieval backdrop as opposed to the fantasy world. It is directed by Rupert Sanders, who will be making his directorial debut. While its trailer is better than Mirror, Mirror, I cannot say that I am completely sold on it either. A quick fact: Both Evil Queens are being played by Academy Awards winning Best Actresses.

If the parings of 1998 can be telling, the early bird does not usually get the worm. Only Saving Private Ryan opened first and won its battle. With a weaker release date, Mirror, Mirror may have a hard time trumping its successor. I do not see either of these Snow White adaptations picking up any Best Picture nominations come early 2013. I would be surprised if they picked up more than two combined. It would also be shocking to see either of them in the top five grossing films of 2012.

SLIFF: Goon

2011-11-22T09:30:00.000-06:00

When it comes to hockey movies, there is really only Slap Shot, Miracle, and The Mighty Ducks trilogy. Sure, there is also Youngblood, The Tooth Fairy and two direct-to-video Slap Shot sequels. Who wants to remember those? Who wants to remember the two Mighty Ducks sequels either? Hockey is not baseball, football, or basketball; it’s a fast paced sport without a ball. The rules are as hard to explain to a layman as soccer’s. Yet, hockey has one thing the other sports don’t: FIGHTING.

Goon celebrates the unsung enforcer: the guy on the team whose job is to protect his teammates. To fight for this team. To bleed for his team. The St. Louis Blues had Tony Twist back in the mid-to-late nineties in that role. I was disappointed that I didn’t see Twist at the St. Louis International Film Festival screening of Goon.

Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott, American Pie) is a simple minded bouncer at a local pub. His brother (David Paetkau, AVP: Requiem) and father (Eugene Levy, American Pie) are both respected surgeons, making Doug the black sheep of the family. Doug and his best friend Ryan (Jay Baruchel, Knocked Up) go watch the local amateur hockey team do what they do best: suck. While an opposing player is in the penalty box, Ryan makes rude gestures and yells vulgar things at him. The player climbs over the penalty box walls and makes his way to the scrawny and still taunting Ryan. Doug steps in and beats the living Hell out of the player. The coach notices and calls into Ryan’s hockey talk show the next day and he offers Doug a spot on the team.

Through the use of my favorite film device, a montage, Doug learns to skate and to fight while on skates. He is then unleashed on the ice to do what he does best: fight. And that he does. He becomes known for that. The coach’s brother coaches a minor league hockey team and Doug is offered a spot on that team. Doug accepts and is sent to play for the Halifax Highlanders. Coach Ronnie Hortense (Kim Coates, Sons of Anarchy) tells Doug that he is to protect the team protégé, Xavier Laflamme (Marc-Andre Grondin). Laflamme took a hit from the infamous enforcer Ross “The Boss” Rhea (Liev Schreiber, Wolverine) three years ago, and has not been the same since. So, Doug and his new team of misfits learn to play as a team, trust each other, and make a run at the playoffs.

In the meantime, Ross Rhea has been suspended and sent back down to finish his contract and career in the minor league. This pits the two most fearsome enforcers against each other. Along the way, Doug meets Eva (Alison Pill, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World). She is a very complicated, messed up woman and Doug can’t help but to fall in love with her. The movie then poses two questions: Will Doug beat Rhea in the inevitable showdown fight? Will Doug get the girl?

Jay Baruchel, who is a huge hockey fan, wrote the script with Evan Goldberg (Superbad). It is based on the exploits of Doug Smith which inspired a book titled Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey by Adam Frattasio and Doug Smith. I tried to find the book, but it is out of print. The script is solid, but according to the director Michael Dowse, in a Q & A following the screening at SLIFF, a lot of the lines became ad-libbed. Dowse is also a huge hockey fan and he wanted to make a movie about hockey for hockey fans. I believe he achieved this goal. He put the camera in the middle of the action. Heed that warning if you get sick from camera movement. I did have the pleasure of viewing this film at the St. Louis International Film Festival on Saturday, November 12. Magnet Releasing has Goon slated for a Video-On-Demand release in late February and a theatrical release in late March. This is one I’m looking forward to catching a second time – you shouldn’t miss it either.

RATING: 8/10

St. Louis International Film Festival

2011-11-15T10:04:00.000-06:00

A quick article about the Film Festival.

SLIFF: Coriolanus

2011-11-14T15:45:00.001-06:00

When it comes to Shakespeare, there is no equal. His plays have been adapted countless times since he wrote them. I am a huge fan of Shakespeare’s plays. During the summer, there is a program called “Shakespeare Festival” in Forest Park, where an acting troop puts on a stage production of a play. The Wife and I have attended the last two years, despite the heat and humidity. Earlier this year, Gnomeo & Juliet hit theaters, and I made sure to see that. I have dabbled in screenwriting, and have started work on an adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s lesser known plays. About three weeks into my work, I heard that Ralph Fiennes just finished directing and starring in a movie adaptation of a Shakespeare play. As it turns out, Voldemort made his directorial debut adapting the same play I was working on, Coriolanus.

Coriolanus tells the story of Caius Martius (Fiennes). He is a general in the Roman army, and a very good one at that. The people of Rome are mad at the Roman government for hording and rationing out the corn supply to the commoners and they blame Martius. In the meantime, the Volscian army, lead by Tullus Aufidius (Gerard Butler), prepares to attack Rome. When Martius learns of this attack, he leads his troops against the Volcians. They meet in the city of Corioles., where, Martius and Aufidius face each other again. Neither is killed, but the Romans win the battle.

Back in Rome, Martius’s mother Volumnia (Vanessa Redgrave) and his wife Virgilia (Jessica Chastain) learn of his return and heroics. For this, Martius receives the surname Coriolanus. The people or Rome turn against Coriolanus, and he is banished. Coriolanus finds shelter with the Volscian army and Aufidius, where he leads them to victories over the Roman Army. This makes Coriolanus popular among the Volsces, and Aufidius begins to get jealous. As the Volscians make their way to Rome, many are sent to try and plead with Coriolanus to not attack Rome.

Coriolanus is a tragedy, but I will not tell you who lives and who dies. For that, you will have to see the movie, or read the play. This is the first cinematic adaptation of Coriolanus. The writer John Logan (Gladiator) chose to keep the Elizabethan English from the original play and to stick with the dialog from the original play. In place of omitted scenes and lines of dialog, Logan cleverly used news reports with headlines that told the missing parts. I thought this move was genius device. Scenes that are not in the play, but added in the movie had no dialog. This added a lot to the characters but did not violate the original text.

As for the directing, Fiennes really has some growing to do. He handled some scenes perfectly, while others fell flat. The score by Ilan Eskeri (Kick-Ass, Layer Cake) was decent, and helped set the mood when the direction faltered. The acting is where Coriolanus shines. Ralph Fiennes was great as Caius Martius Coriolanus, and had no problems with the Elizabethan English. Jessica Chastain shines again this year. She was also great in The Help earlier this year. Vanessa Redgrave puts in a powerful performance as Volumnia. I would not be surprised to see her pick up a Supporting Actress nomination. Brian Cox, who I would never have guessed, really owns his role, and does a phenomenal job. Then, there is Gerard Butler, who seems to be was chewing his lines. Nothing sounded natural from him. It just seemed that he was fighting to spit out most of his lines. It could be that he was just out performed, but he was the weakest link in this film.

I have not given up hope for my adaptation of Coriolanus, but Logan and Fiennes have set the bar high. I saw this at the St. Louis International Film Festival, but it will not be released until January 20. If you are a fan of Shakespeare or great acting, this is a must see. I cannot wait to have the opportunity to see it again. Hopefully, the second time I see it, I will not have an annoying old lady talking through the whole movie next to me. Who does that?

RATING 8.5/10

J. Edgar

2011-11-11T15:43:00.001-06:00

The review is up at InsideSTL.com

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

2011-11-04T11:30:00.002-05:00

Read the full review at InsideSTL

In Time

2011-11-01T08:23:00.000-05:00

Review is posted at InsideSTL.

Puss in Boots

2011-10-28T08:22:00.000-05:00

Review is posted on InsideSTL.com

Batman: Year One (Blu Ray)

2011-10-23T09:15:00.006-05:00

Batman: Year One is a fan favorite series of comics written by Frank Miller. The comics were originally printed by DC Comics issues of Batman #404-407 from February through May. I have read this four issue storyline a few times, like ten. The issues have since been complied and printed in a graphic novel binding.

Year One is a great story that centers of the first appearance of Batman in Gotham City and his interaction and relationship with Lieutenant James Gordon. The miniseries works well in comic form. Yet, DC Universe Animation screwed it up. How bad? Completely. The main reason for this problem stems from making it frame for frame from the comics. While this may seem like a good idea, it makes the story excruciatingly boring. There is very little action, and tons of dialogue. This is not fun to watch. It felt more like I was watching an audio book rendition.

It opens on Gordon (Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad) arriving in Gotham ahead of his pregnant wife, Barbara. He knows that the Gotham City Police Department is corrupt. He is a clean cop that has no problem taking down dirty cops. This does not fly with fellow office Flass and the current Commissioner Loeb (Jon Polito, The Big Lebowski).

In the mean time, billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne (Ben McKenzie, Southland) makes his return to Gotham after a long absence. He decides that he is going to start cleaning up the streets of Gotham to help avenge the murder of his parents. After some trial and error, Bruce decides to go with a bat costume.

While out on patrol one night, Bruce runs into a pimp. After a brief altercation with him, a woman working for him jumps down to confront Bruce in disguise. This woman is Selena Kyle (Eliza Dushku, Buffy/Angel). She later leaves the pimp to take down some crime lord Falcone and runs across Batman trying to do the same thing.

As time passes, Batman becomes hunted by the corrupt police. Gordon becomes a local celebrity due to his crime fighting. Selena Kyle becomes Catwoman. And the movie keeps getting more and more boring. In the end, it works out and all is well.

Batman: Year One has influenced the Batman franchise in many ways. As you can tell, some of the stories have been used in Nolan’s Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. Some of it can even been seen in 1993’s Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. It is a very important story to the Batman mythology.

It has been destroyed in this short 64 minute film. This was the first Blu Ray that I have purchased new in a very long time. Needless to say, I was very disappointed. If you are a Batman fan like I am, you are going to watch this anyway. If you aren’t, and you want to know if you should spend your hour watching this, I cannot recommend doing so. I can, however, recommend renting the vastly superior Batman: Under the Red Hood.

Blackthorn (aka Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid II)

2011-10-21T10:33:00.001-05:00

I love westerns. They are few and far between. Lately, they have been worth the wait. Each of the last few years has had a decent entry into this dying genre. Blackthorn is the latest theatrical release, but it pales in comparison to other recent movies such as 3:10 to Yuma, Appaloosa, and True Grit.

Blackthorn tells the fictional story of what happened to Butch Cassidy after he faked his own death against the Bolivian Police in the shootout famously portrayed at the end of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. There are conspiracy theories supporting the idea that he did not die in the gunfight. This concept was explored in Young Guns II, with the possible survival of Billy the Kid.

Blackthorn picks up in Bolivia in 1927, 19 years after the shootout. Butch Cassidy, now using the name James Blackthorn (Sam Shepard), is a farmer and horse breeder. Blackthorn decides it is time for him to return to the U.S. of A. and meet Ryan, who is the child of either Cassidy or Sundance, and a woman that rode with them as an outlaw, Etta Place (Dominique McElligot).

As Blackthorn makes preparations to leave South America and return the States, he comes across a Spaniard mining engineer, Eduardo (Eduardo Noriega). Eduardo mistakenly thinks that Blackthorn is chasing him, and accidentally scares off Blackthorn’s horse. Unfortunately, all of Blackthorn’s money was on the horse. Eduardo then explains that he has stolen money from a wealthy mine owner, and for Blackthorn’s help, he will split the money fifty-fifty, coming out to about $25,000 each. Since his money rode off into the sunset, Blackthorn agrees to help Eduardo retrieve his money, and cross the border into America. Hot on their heels rides a posse of bounty hunters.

Throughout the film, flashbacks tell the story of what happened to young Sundance (Padraic Delaney) and Butch (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) after heading to South America in 1907. These flashbacks are really the only aspect that this film has going for it. It is no secret to the viewers that Blackthorn is Butch Cassidy, but they withhold that information from the rest of the characters until very late in the story. This scene is one of the best scenes in the film. An old Pinkerton (Stephen Rea) that chased Cassidy and Sundance is summoned by a doctor to identify Blackthorn as Cassidy. The interaction between the two aged men is some of the only touching dialog and acting in the entire film.

The biggest downfall of Blackthorn is its feel. It feels like a TNT Original movie made back in the late nineties similar to Dollar for the Dead and Purgatory. It does not feel like a theatrical release. The acting is what you would expect from a TV movie. The directing is what you would expect from a TV movie. This is Mateo Gil’s second feature-length, non-TV movie. This is Miguel Barros’s first feature length screenplay. Sam Shepard’s acting feels over the top and forced at times. Eduardo Noriega’s acting feels like he came off the set of a Telemundo soap opera.

I was hoping for a good old fashioned western. What I got was a glorified TV movie that will be forgotten before it even opens. If I had recorded Blackthorn on my DVR off of TNT, and watched in the comfort of my own home, I think I would have enjoyed it. Sadly, I saw this in theaters. I am not saying that Blackthorn is necessarily a bad movie, it’s just not a great one by any stretch of the imagnation. It will most likely be dead on arrival. It seems I will just have to wait until next year’s Django Unchained by Tarantino for a decent western.

RATING: 4/10

Margin Call: Worst Movie I Have Sat Through This Year

2011-10-21T08:32:00.002-05:00

I thought I knew what I was getting into with J.C. Chandor’s directorial debut, Margin Call. The trailer looked like a cross between Glengarry Glen Ross and Wall Street. I am a fan of both of those classic films. Margin Call is not on the same level as those. It is not even on the same ladder. Margin Call is 105 minutes of my life that will never get back.

Margin Call opens with a corporate firing squad arriving to clear house at a large fictional investment banking firm called MSB. They fire a large percentage of employees, including Eric Dale (Stanley Tucci), the head of the risk management department. He leaves his work in the capable hands of his junior analyst Peter Sullivan (Zachary Quinto). Peter finishes the work that Eric started to find out that the company is about to go ass-up. He calls his co-worker Seth Bregman (Penn Badgely) to get their new boss Will Emerson (Paul Bettany) back to the office to see his findings. They call Will’s boss Sam Rogers (Kevin Spacey) who in turn calls his boss Jared Cohen (Simon Baker) who then calls his boss and President of the firm, John Tuld (Jeremy Irons).

The whole time, we are not let in on what they do, or really what the problem actually is. All we know is that it is not good, and it affects everyone, even us poor common folk. Somewhere in all this mess, Sarah Robertson (Demi Moore) and Ramesh Shah (Aasif Mandvi) are brought in to double check the numbers, which are confirmed true. When John Tuld appears, we are finally let in on what is going on. The firm has a lot of money invested in mortgages, and the bottom fell out on the housing market, making them the proud owners of lots of dog shit worth less than dog shit.

On the most basic level, Margin Call is a movie about rich people who lose money and how it will affect their rich lifestyles. They talk about how they spend their hundreds of thousands of dollars and how much money the boss at each level of the company made in prior years, and if they will still have a job when all this mess is over. No one ever stops to wonder how it will affect the middle class. This is a film made by rich people about rich people. The biggest douche character in recent film comes in the likes of Seth. What a whiney little bitch. Throughout the movie, he whines that he made over a quarter of a million last year, and that he is only twenty-three -- What is supposed to do now? Who gives a shit?

The script, written by Chandor, is one of the worst I have ever heard. If I had known, I would have kept tally marks for how many times the phrase “Fuck me” was uttered. It has to be about fifty. FIFTY TIMES! Who wrote this? An angry angst-ridden teenager? Margin Call suffers from a lack of plot. By forty-five minutes in, I was bored. By just over an hour, I spotted the first viewer who was actually sleeping in the theater. I am sure she wasn’t the only one.

When we were finally released from this torture, a friend and I decided that we would rather watch all of Michael Bay’s films twice than watch this hunk of junk again. I cannot believe the magnitude of the lifeless acting, terrible script, and uninspiring directing. If you cannot tell, I did not like this movie in the least. Margin Call will be the first film since Skyline that I will bestow the “zero” rating on. There is just no redeeming this pompous pretentious film. Here’s hoping that Chandor never makes another film.

RATING: 0/10

Johnny English Reborn

2011-10-21T08:23:00.004-05:00

Review is up at InsideSTL.com
And because I can: Johnny English Trailer

Real Steel

2011-10-20T16:12:00.001-05:00

Real Steel sets a new high for boxing tropes. If you take every Rocky film and roll in Over the Top, you will have some idea of what to expect from Shawn Levy’s latest film. The only difference? This movie features robots. Underdog story? Check. Down on his luck protagonist? Check. Has bad debt from gambling? Check. Bad father? Check. Old love interest? Check. Entertaining anyway? Indeed.

Real Steel opens with Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman), a former pro boxer, waking up to a phone call from his bookie about a debt he owes. He then proceeds to take his robot boxer Ambush out to a fair to fight a bull. As it turns out, the fair is run by Ricky (Kevin Durand, Lost), a former boxing champ that once defended his title against Charlie. Charlie and Ricky up the stakes by making a winner-take-all bet that of course Charlie loses when the bull tears Ambush to shreds.

Now, even farther down on his luck, Charlie finds out that his ex-flame has passed away, and that their son Max (Dakota Goyo) needs a place to live. Charlie makes a deal with his former lover’s sister, Debra (Hope Davis), and her husband, Marvin (James Rebhorn), to give them custody for $100,000. Like all good movie deals, there is a catch; Charlie will get $50,000 now while he watches Max while Marvin and Debra go on vacation for the summer. The other half will be paid in August when Max moves in with Marvin and Debra.

With his new found money, Charlie buys a second robot boxer, Noisy Boy and returns to his old training gym run by his previous trainer’s daughter Bailey (Evangeline Lily, Lost, The Hurt Locker) with his son in tow. It turns out that Max is a fan of robot boxing, so Charlie takes him to an underground boxing fight. The fights are run by Finn (Anthony Mackie, The Hurt Locker), an old friend of Charlie. Despite young Max’s advice, Charlie takes the main fight against local favorite Midas. As you can guess, this fight does not go well for Charlie.

That night, Charlie and Max break into a junkyard to find parts to rebuild a robot. Max comes across Atom, an old training robot built to take abuse without giving out a lot of abuse in return. Now we have an underdog. The rest of the film plays out as cliché as possible. The film culminates in an epic-wannabe boxing match pitting the proverbial David against Goliath.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite the lame the premise. As I mentioned, there is nothing new in Real Steel, but it is clear that writer John Gatins is a fan of sports films. He has written a few second-tier sports films like Summer Catch, Hardball, Coach Carter, and Dreamer. The script is not as tight as it could have been since a lot of the prophetic thoughts are nothing more than obvious drivel. The score by Danny Elfman keeps the movie moving nicely. The soundtrack is made up of old songs, Eminem’s “Till I Collapse”, and new Bad Meets Evil’s “Fastlane.”

Despite offering nothing new and hitting every cliché on the way, I still found Real Steel worth the watch. I got to this movie late, but it has already topped the US Box Office two weeks in a row. It will not accomplish the three-pete because Paranormal Activity 3 will be opening this weekend.

RATING: 7/10

The Thing That Shouldn't Have Been Made

2011-10-14T08:30:00.000-05:00

The review is up at InsideSTL.com

John Carpenter's The Thing

2011-10-14T08:18:00.002-05:00

John Carpenter’s films are always a blast. I say always, and I know that people are going to disagree. That is what is so great about film. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, even if it is wrong. Carpenter is also a multi-talented man of film. He writes, directs, composes, and sometimes even acts. His roles are usually small like when Hitchcock puts himself in his own films. His creative mind has given us such classic characters as Michael Myers and Snake Plissken. He directed Halloween and its first sequel as well as Escape from New York and its sequel. Carpenter also scored both. Halloween has that haunting theme that if you hear it, you know it.

In 1982, John Carpenter reteamed with Kurt Russell to make The Thing. It is based on a 1951 film The Thing From Another World. The Thing is a staple in horror films. The killer is not a psycho, a slasher, or even human. The plot is very reminiscent of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi classic Alien. A group of people are isolated from the outside world and have to deal with a killing machine. The stakes are a bit higher in The Thing, but I do not want to take anything away from Alien.

The Thing opens with a mysterious spacecraft entering Earth’s atmosphere. It then cuts to a husky running through the Antarctic tundra. Hot on its tail is a Norwegian helicopter with a rifleman shooting at the dog. The dog makes his way to an American camp, where it finds refuge and the Norwegians find death. The lovable characters of misfits in the American camp include MacReady (Kurt Russell), Childs (David Keith), Blaine (Wilford Brimley), XXXXX. It quickly becomes obvious that the dog is possessed, and now some of the people in the camp could be, too.

The Thing focuses heavily on the paranoia. Everyone in the camp suspects everyone else of being the “thing.” A brief expedition to the remains of the Norwegian camp does not provide the answers they were hoping and looking for. Tension mounts as people are killed by each other and the alien. Tests are made. Tests are given. In the end, a final plan and last ditch effort is conceived.

John Carpenter does a wonderful job making you feel trapped with them. The shots that are outdoors are short, and full of wind and snow. A few shots even have the entire frame in focus, giving them an eerie feel. The score does a good job in heightening the feeling. The visual effects were top notch, for 1982. The hold up well enough. The scene of the head falling off and climbing under the desk is priceless and my favorite scene in the whole film. The movie is completely 1980’s. There are no doubts about it. The computers are reminiscent of my family’s old Commodore 64. The computerized chess match is a nice touch.

The “prelude” comes out this weekend. It fills gap of what happened at the Norwegian camp after they discover the alien entombed in ice. I do not understand why they are making the film, let alone letting it be helmed by a nobody. The trend lately to remake movies with cult followings need to come to an end before they really piss off the wrong crowd. What is the line that they shouldn't cross? I am not a huge fan of The Thing, but I would advise renting this one again before spending the price of admission to watch a shitty “prelude.”

Rope

2011-10-13T08:20:00.003-05:00

Alfred Hitchcock is a genius filmmaker. That fact is irrefutable. The only thing he never achieved was taking home the coveted golden Oscar on awards night. He had five nominations in his lifetime, but not a single win. This seems like an absolute travesty. Hitchcock was a film pioneer, and his 1948 film Rope was no exception.

Rope opens with a high outdoor shot of a New York street for the duration of the opening credits. According to some, Hitchcock himself is the man that walks through the scene. The camera then pans over to a window, where the serenity of the outdoors is broken with a jarring scream by David Kentley (Dick Hogan) as he is strangled to death by his two boyhood friends Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and Phillip Morgan (Farley Granger) with a rope. They then conceal the body in a chest.

After they hide the body, Brandon and Phillip discuss what it means to murder someone. They talk about how killing is an art - how many people talk about it, but only a few actually do it. From the get go, it is obvious that Brandon is more confident and pleased with what they have accomplished. Phillip, on the other hand, feels guilty and nervous. Brandon’s confidence and brazenness leads him to move the focal point of the dinner party that he throwing from the dinner table to the chest.

While they are moving the tablecloth, candelabras, silverware, and napkins, Brandon’s housekeeper, Mrs. Wilson (Edith Evanson), returns to the apartment. She promptly complains about the change of venue for the dinner party. As preparations come to an end, the first dinner guest arrives. Kenneth (Douglas Dick), a boyhood friend of David, Brandon and Phillip, asks why they are celebrating with champagne. Brandon simply explains that it is a going away party.

Next to arrive is the beautiful Janet Walker (Joan Chandler). She is the ex-girlfriend of both Brandon and Kenneth, though the latter still wants to be with her. She is also the current girlfriend of David. Following her arrival, David’s father Mr. Kentley (Cedric Hardwicke) comes with his sister, Mrs. Atwater (Constance Collier), instead of Mrs. Kentley, who was unable able to attend due to illness. Mr. Kentley has come to see some first edition books that Brandon owns. With four of the five guests present, the discussion turns to the whereabouts of David. He is never late. No one has heard from him. He told some that he would meet them there.

Finally, the last party attendee, Rupert Cadell (Jimmy Stewart), arrives. Rupert was the head master at the school that all four of the boyhood friends attended. He relays stories from their boyhood days. Apparently, while they were in his school, they discussed death and murder. They believed that the superior people of the world could and should kill the inferior people. This discussion leads to some comedic relief by talking about how long lines would be eliminated if society created “Cut Her Throat Week” and “Strangulation Day.” In the end, the discussion came back to David and the peculiarity of his absence. As the party continues, Rupert starts to suspect Brandon and Phillip are hiding something leading to the apex.

Rope is based on a play by Patrick Hamilton titled “Rope’s End.” It was adapted by Hume Cronyn and the screenplay was written by Arthur Laurents. I could very easily see this being performed on a stage. Sadly, that is also why the movie did not work that well. The suspense was not as palpable as one would expect from a Hitchcock film. Vertigo, Psycho, North by Northwest and Notorious are all very suspenseful. I did not find myself on the edge of my seat while watching Rope. With the long takes, I would have expected to feel uncomfortable, but I actually felt more like I was watching a stage play instead of a motion picture.

Back in 1948, the most film that a camera could hold was ten minutes. So, Hitchcock shot Rope in ten minute continuous shots. In total, there are only ten cuts in the film, and a lot of them are hidden. I watched intently to see if I could catch all of the cuts, and I only missed one. A lot of them were hidden by crossing behind a character or object blacking out the screen. A few were pan shots. After consulting Wikipedia, I realized the only one I missed was a still shot of the hallway with no movement in the scene.

By filming it this way, the story is told linearly and in real time. The real time aspect is rarely done, and I quite enjoyed it here. It did have a High Noon feel to it. Filming in ten minute segments also put a lot of pressure on the mise-en-scene and keeping everything in focus. I was amazed at the smoothness and flawlessness achieved in the zooming. The actors also impressed me, specifically Dall and Granger. They had the most lines, and had to deliver them all flawlessly for minutes at a time. Most actors today do not have to memorize more than a few seconds of dialog and movement. While Rope is not on par with his other classics, Hitchcock’s first color film and first collaboration with Jimmy Stewart still finds a way to impress.

Ides of March

2011-10-07T16:19:00.000-05:00

Review is up at InsideSTL.com

50/50: Better Than the Odds

2011-09-30T09:03:00.000-05:00

InsideSTL has posted this review.

Moneyball

2011-09-23T09:02:00.000-05:00

InsideSTL has the review

Straw Dogs: Another Remake

2011-09-16T08:59:00.000-05:00

Review is available for your reading at InsideSTL

Original trailer:

I Don't Know [why they made this]

2011-09-16T08:58:00.000-05:00

Review is up at InsideSTL

DRIVE: Worth Every Mile

2011-09-16T08:57:00.000-05:00

Review can be read at InsideSTL

WARRIOR: Yes, in all caps.

2011-09-09T09:27:00.002-05:00

Review is up at InsideSTL.com

Contagion: Find a Vaccine

2011-09-09T08:55:00.000-05:00

Read the review at InsideSTL

The Debt

2011-09-02T09:34:00.000-05:00

Review is up at InsideST.com

Fright Night (1985)

2011-08-28T09:22:00.000-05:00

I just finished watching the original 1985 cult classic that is Fright Night. I can see the appeal of it. It is quite an enjoyable and entertaining film. It was written and directed by Tom Holland, who was making his directorial debut. Looking into his filmography, Holland liked the horror genre. He was responsible for Psycho II, Child’s Play, and two Stephen King adaptations, the Langoliers and Thinner.

The plot is very “boy who cried wolf.” Only this time, Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) cries “vampire” with similar results. Jerry (Chris Sarandon) moves in next door to Charley. Charley quickly deduces that the missing people are meeting their doom in his neighbor’s house. Charley goes to the police, but they do not believe him. His own girlfriend Amy (Amanda Peterson) and his best friend Evil Ed (Stephen Geoffreys) do not believe him.

Left with no choice, Charley goes to late night movie host Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall) for help in how to slay a vampire. Only Vincent himself does not believe in vampires. When it becomes obvious that Charley is not lying, it is too late for some of the cast. With nothing to lose, Peter and Charley go for it all and try to kill Jerry.

Each of the actors put in a solid performance. William Ragsdale makes for a great scared teenager. It was nice to Roddy McDowall not in an ape costume. Chris Sarandon plays a great charismatic vampire. Chris is also the only one to make a cameo in the remake, and what a hilarious cameo it was. Granted, Roddy McDowall passed away back in 1998, but what was Ragsdale doing?

I had the feeling of being late to the party. Fright Night would have been a great addition to my collection back when I first saw the Evil Dead movies back in high school. Fright Night has all the appeal of a cult classic. I think that after I see it a few more times, I will have that feeling. Ronnies is showing it at midnight one weekend in October. I might have to attend. If they were smart, they would do a double-feature. All the visuals are top-notch for 1985 and very reminiscent of Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead. If you weren’t sure what decade Fright Night was made in, Brad Fiedel’s synthesizer score would be a dead giveaway.

The only problem with the original Fright Night is, I, unfortunately, have already seen the remake. I appreciate the original, but the remake takes a broad stroke approach to the plot and really takes it to the next level. Each part of the plot is taken to the max. The original was limited more by its era than by its ambitions. I truly believe that if Tom Holland was to make Fright Night now, it would be very close to the remake.

Yet, in twenty-five years, the remake could only hope to have the following of the original. Too often, the term cult classic is used too early and lightly. The original is well deserving of this tag, but the remake will most likely be forgotten after its dismal box office performance. Maybe I will see you at the midnight show in October.

Our Idiot Brother

2011-08-26T09:55:00.000-05:00

Review is posted at InsideSTL

Fright Night

2011-08-20T10:35:00.000-05:00

Go to http://www.insidestl.com/ for full review.

Final Destination 5

2011-08-13T10:39:00.000-05:00

Go to insidestl.com for the full review.

30 Minutes or Less

2011-08-12T10:42:00.000-05:00

Full review at insidestl.com.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2011-08-05T10:43:00.001-05:00

Review is up at insidestl.com!

The Change-Up

2011-08-05T08:00:00.003-05:00

Have you ever wondered what an R-rated version of Freaky Friday might be like? Me neither. Yet, that didn’t stop Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the writers behind The Hangover, from penning a script or David Dobkin (Wedding Crashers) from directing that scenario. Nor did it deter Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman from signing on. The result: the fifth R-rated comedy of the summer, The Change-Up.

Body-switching is not a new concept. The Change-Up is just the first time they have gone “R” with it. The story centers on Dave Lockwood (Bateman), a successful lawyer, a happily married (Leslie Mann) father of three and his slacker, pot smoking, porn star wannabe friend Mitch Planko (Reynolds). Each thinks that the other has the easy life. While taking a drunken urination in a public fountain, they wish they had each other’s lives. So, they awake to see that they do.

Everything from here is by the book formulaic. There is nothing new here. The Change-Up offers nothing new or surprising in the way of plot. Both the leads realize how much they miss their own lives, find out stuff about the real them while “disguised” as the other, and come to their senses. What is offered is crude humor at every turn and gratuitous fake nudity on a large scale along with baby poop, a pregnant lady looking to score, more poop jokes, cheesy crude one-liners, and lots and lots of sexual innuendoes.

The supporting cast consists of Academy Award winner Alan Arkin, who had to be looking for a pay day, Olivia Wilde, who was looking to remind us all how attractive she is not chasing stupid aliens, and Gregory Itzin, who just wants you to remember he was President Logan only a few years ago. Each has their moment. Each helps push the lead actor to where they are going, whether they like it or not. Also, Craig Bierko makes a quick cameo as a “lorno,” a “light porno,” director.

Sadly, I will admit that I laughed. Not as much as the manchild next to me, but I did laugh. Reynolds and Bateman played to their strengths in comedic timing and awkward faces. The balance of story and joke telling was heavily skewed to the joke telling. That is why they chose such an easy story to tell. I did not hate this movie as much as I thought I was going to. It did have a few scenes that really worked. Two are my favorites are involve a dance recital and a tattoo parlor.

If you have to see this movie, then go. If you think you want to see this potty-mouthed version of a Disney movie, rent it. If you would rather watch Vice Versa, I don’t blame you. What is Judge Reinhold up these days? Waiting on Beverly Hills Cop IV? The Change-Up is the fifth R-rated comedy to come out this summer, and I think that its box office numbers will reflect the market overload.

Rating: 4/10

Crazy, Stupid, Movie

2011-07-30T14:16:00.000-05:00

Read my prophetic thoughts at InsideSTL

Cowboy & Aliens & Stupidity

2011-07-29T14:17:00.000-05:00

Read the review at InsideSTL

Captain America: The 4th, but not final Comic Book Film

2011-07-22T14:21:00.000-05:00

Read my thoughts at InsideSTL

The trailer for the Matt Salinger/Ronny Cox = Hilarious!

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

2011-07-16T14:29:00.000-05:00

The first movie, Transformers, was a fantastic film. It was entertaining and full of heart. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was one of the blandest movies I have ever seen. All the heart was gone. The story and plot were nonexistent. The gaps left by these were filled with robot fight sequences. It was as if a child sat down and played with action figures and Michael Bay filmed it and then remade it on screen with a shit-ton of CGI. The movie concluded with an open non-ending setting up the inevitable conclusion film. I cannot stress how much I hate this tactic. This only means that your second film cannot stand alone, and really doesn’t need to be. I hated Revenge of the Fallen with every ounce of my being, and therefore dreaded the third.

Thank whatever Heavenly being that you believe in that this is the last movie in the Transformers franchise by Michael Bay. Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the most bloated movie in recent memory. You could cut out most of the first half of the 157 minute film and not miss anything other than John Malkovich’s pointless character and the reason why Patrick Dempsey is even a factor. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley replaces Megan Fox after she made an unfortunate comment involving Bay and Hitler. This is a step back in both looks and acting ability, not that Fox added much in the latter category.

To save time, the plot is simple, the Decepticons are still bad, and try to turn Earth into a new Cybertron. The Autobots are still good, and try to stop the Decepticons. That’s it. That is the whole plot. Not only is it simple, it is damn near so easy a caveman could have written it in stick-robot drawings on a cave wall. Ehren Kruger has “written” the last two CGI laden films. This time around he attempts to show us how creative he can be by trying to interlace the actual history of the space race and moonlanding of the sixties with, well, Transformers. I applaud his idea but not his final product.

All the series regulars are back: Shia LaBeouf, Josh Duhamel, John Turturro, Tyrese Gibson, Kevin Dunn, Julie White, and Peter Cullen. This time around, Ken Jeong (Community, The Hangover), Alan Tudyk (Death at a Funeral, Firefly) and Academy Award winner Frances McDormand (Fargo, Almost Famous) join the party in various throw away roles.

With Michael Bay behind the camera, explosions and CGI fill the screen. The final hour is nothing more than one long action sequence. Steve Jablonski turns in yet another generic score that sounds no different than the first two films. Linkin Park lends their “talents” to another song for the soundtrack. The whole movie truly felt stale and long.

My friends and I sat watched this video right before leaving for the theater. This helped the enjoyment factor of the film immensely. Dark of the Moon hits almost every point made in this video. Despite all its problems, Dark of the Moon is still a better film than its predecessor, but still leagues behind the first. I paid the extra $$ to see this in 3D, and it was worth it. I think that it has a lot to do with the amount of CGI in the movie. I have yet to see a life action movie that utilizes the third dimension well, and that looks good. Other than Avatar, of course.

Rating: 4/10

Harry Potter and the Finale

2011-07-15T14:23:00.000-05:00

All good things must come to an end. Read about it at InsideSTL

Horrible Bosses

2011-07-08T14:33:00.000-05:00

Find out what happens when three idiots plan to kill their bosses at InsideSTL

Everything Must Go

2011-05-16T10:55:00.001-05:00

Review is up at insidestl.com

Something Borrowed is Something Boring

2011-05-10T13:37:00.000-05:00

Read the review at insidestl.com

Water for Elephants: Better than the book?

2011-05-09T09:51:00.001-05:00

The book Water for Elephants suffered from being trite, having too many “supporting” characters, and switching from the present and seventy years ago. I did enjoy the insight into the old circus days that the book offered. To say was hesitant to see this adaptation, might be a bit of an understatement. I am also not a fan of Robert Pattinson. I don’t think he is a good actor, in the least. If the role is a statue comes to life, and the lines are to be read with little to no emotion, almost robotic, then he is your guy. Then there is Reese. Poor Reese. She hasn’t had a lot of success since winning her Oscar back in 2005. She did have a moderate hit with Four Christmases, and Monsters vs. Aliens, but that was just voice work. Finally, rounding out the three main actors, you have Christoph Waltz. He is coming off his Oscar win in 2009, and in his third American film. The poor guy is just typecast as a villain. I did enjoy his last film, more than I should have. So, this movie, with its odd casting, and subpar source material, was not high on my list to see.

The film streamlined the story. It kept what I liked about the book, and cut the crap out. This made an enjoyable film. Not a great film. But an enjoyable film. Water for Elephants brought to life the circus life of the 1930’s. It opens in the present with an elderly Jacob Jankowski (Hal Holbrook) talking with a circus owner (Paul Schnieder, Parks and recreation). Jacob tells the owner his story. We see the story in the past. It starts with a young Jacob (Pattinson), a veterinarian student who recently loses his parents, his house, and his nerve to finish his degree. He finds himself train hopping. The train just happens to be owned by August (Waltz) and his traveling circus. He ends up getting on with the circus because of his veterinarian background.

Jacob’s first day on the circus payroll, he sees Marlena (Witherspoon), and he is instantly infatuated with her. This makes August jealous, angry, and rash. August’s true intention is to become the biggest and best circus. He will stop at nothing to achieve this. He purchases Rosie, an elephant, from a defunct circus. He charges Jacob with developing an act for Rosie and Marlena. The rest of the film follows these three characters and their interaction with each other. It shows August getting angry at a love that, he is convinced, exists between Marlena and Jacob. Jacob figures out the secret to Rosie, and develops an act, but does fall in love with Marlena. Marlena decides that she needs to get away from the tyranny that is August, and run away with Jacob.

Set in the depression era, the bad economy also begins to pay a toll on the circus along with the conflict and tension between its star performer, owner and vet. This all reaches a head, and chaos ensues. In the end, we are left where we started, with an old Jacob talking to the owner. We are left with what should have been an emotional moment, but it fell flat. I blame a lot of the problems with this film on the inability to act by Pattinson. He is wooden. Reese did not really return to her better performances. On the other hand, Chistoph Waltz is an amazing psycho. He was absolutely amazing in Inglourious Basterds. He played an excellent villain in The Green Hornet. And, again, in Water for Elephants, he stole every scene he was in. Is this worth watching? Sure. As a rental.

The Avengers: Origins - Thor

2011-05-06T13:35:00.000-05:00

Read the review at insidestl.com

Fast Five: Vin Diesel vs. The Rock

2011-04-29T13:28:00.000-05:00

Read the Review at insidestl.com

Fast and Furious: A Retrospective Look

2011-04-27T09:30:00.010-05:00

With Fast Five opening this Friday, I decided to re-watch the first four films The first film is the only one that I saw I theaters. The others were all rented or borrowed from friends. As I went through them, some were still fun, others were not. One was downright terrible. So, without further ado, let's begin our journey through the Fast and Furious Franchise.

The Fast and the Furious came out in the summer of 2001. I remember this fondly for many reasons. This was Vin Diesel's big break. He had a minor hit with the underrated Pitch Black the year before, but this put him on the map as an action hero. Paul Walker was coming off of two mid-level hits with his high school sports drama Varsity Blues and college fraternity thriller The Skulls. Like Diesel, Walker was thrust into the spotlight following the success of The Fast and the Furious.

That summer, I was working at the local theater. I remember staying late on Thursday for an employees-only sneak. After watching the movie, all of us employees were ready to go out and street race. That weekend at the theater was hilarious. All the local kids drove their suped-up Hondas and Toyotas to the theater. Once they left, they would peel out and race each other out of the parking lot. Why was this hilarious? The police just sat out in the parking lot in unmarked cars waiting for these gearheads to do just that. I cannot imagine how many tickets were written that weekend within a two mile radius of the theater.

Lastly, my fondness for the movie centers on the bootleg version of this film that all the students on my dorm floor had. It had no music. The entire soundtrack, songs and score, was nonexistent. This made for a hilarious viewing, as we sat around a fifteen inch tube monitor. Some of the scenes were laughable without music. The bass in the trunk was thumping visually, but there was no bass sound. The characters were shouting over nothing. They were dancing to nothing. They were bobbing their heads to music only they could hear. Classic.

The Fast and the Furious opens with a semi-truck heist that has an excitement and awe-factor that none of the sequels have been able to recreate. All the robbers are wearing black masks, so you are not sure who they are. We are not even sure what they are stealing. We then cut to Brian O'Connor (Walker) red-lining his Eclipse before hitting the infamous NOS button boosting him up to over 140 mph. But, he is not satisfied, as he goes back to his job at an aftermarket car parts store. We then find out that he is LAPD working with the FBI to investigate the recent rash of semi-truck heists.

In the effort to get inside information about the semi-truck heists, Brian enters his Eclipse as collateral into a street race against the legendary Dom Toretto (Diesel) and his Mazda RX-7. Brian loses. Cops raid the race. Everyone scatters. Dom is about to caught, but Brian saves the day. They accidentally run across Johnny Tran (Rick Yune) and his gang. They shoot the Eclipse and hit the NOS, blowing up the entire car. This means that Brian owes Dom a 10-second car. Brian laters shows up at Dom’s garage with a jalopy of what could be a sweet Toyota Supra. While getting buddy-buddy with Dom and his crew, Vince (Matt Schultze), Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and Jesse (Chad Lindberg), Brian finds evidence that Tran's crew is pulling off the heists. After the raid turns up nothing, Brian's loyalty is questioned because of his relationship with Dom's sister, Mia (Jordana Brewster).

A showdown is set when Dom's crew and Tran's crew show up to Race Wars. There, tricked-out cars drag race head-to-head legally. Confrontations and conflicts fill the short amount of time at Race Wars. Jesse from Dom's crew loses to Tran. Dom beats Tran's face in. Brian watches a heated conversation between Mia and Dom which reveals that Dom’s crew is actually behind the semi-truck heists. Dom's crew leaves for another heist. Brian and Mia go to try and stop them. They turn out to show up in time to save them. Brian blows his cover to everyone to save Vince of Dom's crew. Then, there is the finale drag race between the recently finished Supra and Dom's Dad's Charger. If you haven't seen this scene, why are you reading this article?

The Fast and the Furious is a well-paced action/adventure film directed by Rob Cohen (xXx, The Skulls) from a screenplay by Gary Scott Thompson based on a magazine article “Racer X”. That's right, a magazine article was the inspiration for this ludicrous franchise. Pun intended. I can say that this was the perfect way to spend 106 minutes. As for how well does it stand the test of time? I think that if you don’t have the nostalgic memories as I do, you will not be impressed with the bad acting, bad dialog, and two-minute “10 second” races.

2 Fast 2 Furious debuted two years later in the summer of 2003. It opened strong, and finished reasonably. It opens with Brian (Walker), now an ex-cop, street racing in Miami. He is the Racing Dom of Miami, and Tej (Ludacris) is garage owner Dom. Apparently, they needed both of them to split the duties of Vin Diesel, who sat this one out. Brian wins the street course race, not a drag race, after ramping his car over an opening draw bridge. Then, cops arrive, racers flee, and Brain is caught.

Next we are introduced to U.S. Customs Agents Marham (James Remar) and Dunn. With the help of Brian’s old boss from Fast 1, Agent Bilkins, they are able to get Brian to agree to help them catch a smuggler by offering to clear his record at completion. Brian manages to work in his old friend Roman “Rome” Pierce (Tyrese) as his partner, as long as they clear his record, too. We meet Rome as he is competing in a demolition derby with a house arrest bracelet on. After a childish fistfight between Rome and Brian, Rome agrees to help the cause.

From here, the movie doesn’t really focus on the cars as much as it recreates the typical Miami Vice plot. A bad guy is smuggling contraband from Cuba to Miami. A cop is deep undercover and could be compromised. I think they used the plot for the Miami Vice movie, too.

Anyway, the guys race for an audition to run for the bad guy Carter Verone (Cole Hauser). They win the audition, which shocks no one. Brian starts to make sweet on Verone’s lady, Monica (Eve Mendes), who is the possibly compromised undercover agent. Tension builds between the two heroes and Verone’s two thugs.

The finale of 2 Fast 2 Furious is a scene I remember. The police chase Rome and Brian to a huge airport hangar. The police surround the hangar, the doors open and every tricked out car and truck in the Miami area comes driving out with the help of Tej and his friends. I know they tried, but Tej, Suki, Orange Julius, and Slap Jack are not replacements for Dom and his crew.

So, the good guys end up defying the rules of physics and ramp their car onto the villain’s escape yacht. Monica is not compromised, and all is well. Brian and Rome’s records are clear. As they walk away, they talk to each other about opening a garage with the money that they skimmed from their drug dealing antagonist. Though, this is not where we find Brian in six years. I don’t know where we are going to catch up with Rome. He will make his return to this lucrative franchise on Friday.

This was only my second viewing of 2 Fast 2 Furious. It was directed by Academy Award nominated John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood, Shaft, Four Brothers). His direction was a bit better than Cohen’s from the first film. The dialog was better, but it was not as memorable. There aren’t any “I live my life, a quarter of a mile at a time” lines. Would I use up 107 minutes to watch this again? In two years when the sixth movie comes out, sure. Until then? Probably not.

The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift opened in 2006, three years after 2 Fast 2 Furious. It opened weaker than the first two films, and finished with a domestic take putting it a distant third. As I sat to watch this one for the second time, I remembered how I felt about the movie after my first viewing so I was not that motivated to watch this one again, but I put it in the DVD player anyway, and away I went.

Tokyo Drift opens with a ridiculous car race through a housing development that is under construction. The racers are Sean Boswell (Lucas Black) and Clay (Zachery Ty Bryan). Why are they racing? In typical Fast and Furious fashion, they are racing over a girl. Because this is the last straw for Sean’s mom, he is sent to Tokyo to live with his father, who is stationed there with the Navy.

So, on his first day of school, Sean runs into Twinkie (Bow Wow), and they become friends because Twinkie has a tricked out car. Sean also meets Neela (Nathalie Kelley). She is gorgeous, and Sean is instantly infatuated with her. That night, Twinkie takes Sean to a parking garage where they drift race. In brief, the cars are lighter and special tires that allow them to slide or drift around corners.

In typical Fast and Furious fashion, our hotshot hero challenges a character known only as DK, which does not stand for Donkey Kong, but Drift King. Why does he challenge him? DK is the boyfriend of Neela. There is just one problem; Sean doesn’t have a car. Oh, and he doesn’t know how to drift race. Han (Sung Kang) gives him the keys to his car because he wants to see what he can do. Well, Sean loses. But, unlike the previous entries in the franchise, the cops don’t come.

Now, Sean works for Han to pay for the damaged car, just like Brian worked for Dom to pay for the repairs to the Supra. Han pays DK money for something illegal I guess because DK’s uncle is in the Yakuza. It is money to operate on his turf. Tensions build between Han and DK and come to head when it is discovered that Han has been skimming money from the mafia.

Along the way, Sean is taught how to drift by Han and his crew. An interesting fact: the guy who is considered the father of drifting has a cameo as one of the fishermen during Sean’s lessons. Sean finally gets a chance to redeem himself and demonstrate his drifting skills against Morimoto, DK’s right hand man. Sean wins. Again, no cops come.

Leading up to the inevitable final race between DK and Sean, Han is killed in a massive street chase, not race. In an act of avenging a friend, and acting macho for Neela who now wants to be with Sean, Sean goes straight to the Yakuza uncle and challenges DK to a race. The loser leaves the turf.

Back at Sean’s dad’s place, Han’s crew puts his dad’s Mustang back together and turns it into a drifting car. The final race takes place at night down a steep curving mountain, a mountain that only DK has made it down. In short, Sean wins and gets the girl. In the aftermath, Sean is the new DK, and is challenged by someone who says Han was family. This unnamed driver is Dom (Vin Diesel) who appears in a quick cameo.

As I look back at Tokyo Drift, I am shocked by how much less I hated it this time. Don’t get me wrong, it was still not a good movie, but it wasn’t as atrocious as I thought it would be. The storyline had the same elements as the first two films, with the exception of no undercover cop. They had the tricked out cars, the warring gangs, the hero working off debt, the racing for the hot girl, and a rapper in an insignificant role. What didn’t work? The whole fish out of water storyline they tried with Sean in Tokyo went over like a lead balloon. It just felt forced. This is the only movie in the franchise without Paul Walker. But don’t fret; Lucas Black filled the bad acting void.

Oddly enough, Justin Lin directed this movie. This is the least successful film of the franchise but somehow Lin kept the reigns for not only the fourth, but also the upcoming fifth film. What he did well in Tokyo Drift was the racing was real. There weren’t any CGI cars. Instead, real stunt drivers drifted real cars. I find this odd because the thing I remember most about Fast & Furious, the fourth film, is that it was all CGI. Another quick note: in the chronology of the franchise, this is considered to be the last movie. The events of four and five take place before Tokyo Drift. I don’t know where six is going to fall, but I would assume it will come before Tokyo Drift as well. As a final side note, Han makes a quick cameo in the fourth film, and seems to be a major character in Fast Five. He is the only character from this movie to make it into another film. The non-Paul Walker, non-Vin Diesel experiment was an utter failure.

But they got them back for Fast & Furious, which probably had the best tag line: "New Model, Original Parts." That was the only reason I got excited about this movie. By excited, I mean excited enough to rent it. I wasn’t going to go waste my hard earned $8 to watch another atrocity in theaters. Fast & Furious opened in April of 2009, as a pre-Memorial Day release. It opened strong, held on strong, and became the top earning movie of the franchise, and the second highest grossing movie involving car racing.

The movie opens with a semi-truck heist, reminiscent of the first film. Instead of electronics in Los Angeles, this time they are stealing gasoline in Dominican Republic. Han, from Tokyo Drift, is driving one truck, and a new guy named Tego is driving the other. Dom (Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) are in a lead car. After the hijacking goes south, the local law enforcement closes in on Dom and his crew. They split up. Han says that hears that they are doing interesting things in Tokyo. So, one could assume that is setting up for Tokyo Drift, but Han is returning in Fast Five which leaves me to wonder how they are going to tie in the third film. That night, Dom leaves Letty for her own protection. Despite her pleas against it, Dom slips away in the night.

Brian (Walker) is now an agent of the F.B.I. He and his division are charged with finding and bringing down a heroin dealer, Braga. Brian chases down a lead, literally. The guy gives Brain the name David Park. Now, Letty is murdered in cold blood. Word gets to Dom via Mia (Brewster), and he returns to L.A. for the funeral. He starts to look into her death, and he is lead to a guy named David Park.

David Park tells the F.B.I. that Braga’s right hand man Campos (John Ortiz) is holding a race audition for the last spot in the next drug run. Brian shows up to race, but so does Dom. Brian shows up for his job. While Dom shows up to avenge Letty’s death. Dom wins the race. Brian sets up a different driver with a bogus drug possession to get in the race anyway.

So, they make their drug run through some bad CGI tunnels under the Mexico/U.S. border. Once they reach the drop point, it is clear that the hired drivers are going to be executed by Campos’s lead driver, Fenix. Dom and Brian escape execution with the $60 million in heroin just smuggled into the country. The FBI sets up a sting to get Braga out in the open, but it goes south. This leaves Brian no choice, but to once again defy authority.

In the finale, Dom and Brian go to Mexico to bring back Campos, who is also Braga, through the CGI tunnel. The idea is to try and clear Dom’s name. Dom gets his revenge on Fenix in a very anti-climactic battle. U.S. authorities arrive on the scene, taking into custody Braga and Dom. At a court hearing, Dom is denied clemency and sentenced to 25 to life. We are left with him on a prison bus heading to jail. But the bus is surrounded by three cars driven by Brian, Mia, and Tego.

Fast & Furious was the first movie to really delve into a deep plot. I am not saying that this is by any means an Academy Award winning script, but it was a refreshing idea. I enjoyed seeing the old cast, sans Vince, back together. I did not like how they just killed Letty. She was one of my favorite characters from the first film. In the grand scheme of things, I enjoyed Justin Lin’s second attempt at this franchise. Would I watch this one again on its own? Maybe. It is a decent use of 107 minutes.

Finally, I have finished watching the entire franchise up to this point. It has been an enjoyable four days. One thing I can say for certain: These movies were not designed to be played in a marathon like this. I was surprised how Paul Walker never really improved as an actor. Unfortunately, neither did Vin Diesel nor Jordana Brewster. So, it must be the brainless car racing and action that keeps me coming back to this franchise.

I have mentioned the running times of these films for a reason. They are all around 105 minutes. Fast Five, however, is being listed at 130 minutes. That seems a bit excessive. I am excited to see it nonetheless and look forward to the addition of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Come back Friday for the review of the latest addition, Fast Five.

Rio: Family Friendly Fun (in 3D)

2011-04-14T13:32:00.000-05:00

Read the review at insidestl.com

Win Win

2011-04-11T15:53:00.003-05:00

I was a wrestler all fours years of my high school career. I just thought I would let you in on that. I might have a slightly biased opinion. With those caveats, I loved this movie. Tom McCarthy (The Visitor, UP) brought another great story to the screen. Win Win follows the stressed out life of Mike Flaherty. Paul Giamatti puts in an excellent job as the down on his luck attorney and high school wrestling coach. I do not know if McCarthy was a wrestler or not, but he did a great job capturing the brotherhood, atmosphere, and lifestyle of it. Part of that could be attributed to Alex Shaffer. This is his first acting role, but he was New Jersey State High School Wrestling Champion in 2010. That could be why the wrestling seemed more real and authentic than Vision Quest.

As soon as I saw the trailer for this film, I knew that I had to see it. I stalked the movie sites for weeks waiting for it to hit any theater in St. Louis. Finally, this Friday it opened. I took the wife with me, and off we went. I am not going to mention the theater by name, but suffice it to say, I only go to this theater when I have to.

Win Win opens with Mike going for a jog. A slow jog. Almost a walk. We then go back to his house and meet one of his two daughters, and his wife Jackie (Amy Ryan). When Mike shows up to work, his boiler is about to explode, and his law practice partner and wrestling assistant coach Stephen Vigman (Tambor) decides to get rolls of plastic to protect the files in the basement in lieu of replacing the boiler. Their practice is not making a lot of money and cannot afford it.

Mike’s secretary Shelly makes a comment about being the guardian of Leo Poplar would pay $1,500 a month. Leo is an elderly man in the early stages of dementia and played perfectly by Rocky’s own Uncle Paulie, Burt Young. So, in a moment of weakness, Mike says he will be the guardian. Leo’s only living family is his estranged daughter who cannot be found. Kyle (Shaffer) shows up at Leo’s house looking for his Grandfather that he has never met. Mike and Jackie take him in.

It turns out that Kyle is a great wrestler, who can help Mike and Vigman’s pathetic wrestling team. Kyle also bonds with his grandfather. When his mother shows up, she threatens to derail everything.

What is so fantastic about this movie is the story and the script. Tom McCarthy crafts a story with very round, layered characters. Each character has a purpose, and a backstory that gives them that purpose. I teared up once or twice in the film. I won’t lie. I blame that on the fact that I wrestled. For this to be Alex’s first acting role, I look forward to what else this young guy has to offer. Win Win is a very entertaining, endearing movie. I actually paid full price, which was an atrocious $18 for me and the wife, to see this film. I am happy to say, it was money well spent, but I could buy the Blu-Ray for that. I would love to see this movie do well in the theaters. 5/5

Arthur

2011-04-08T16:06:00.000-05:00

Wash Your Winky

Source Code

2011-03-31T15:56:00.006-05:00

BACK TO THE LAST 8 MINUTES

When gearing up to see Source Code, I was very apprehensive. The last Jake Gyllenhaal film was a disaster. I don’t care what anybody says. The last time I saw Vera Farmiga was in Up in the Air, and I enjoyed the film. And the last time I saw Jeffery Wright, well, he was helping my favorite franchise character, James Bond. The preview looked interesting, but I was afraid it would be just like Vantage Point. The director Duncan Jones is coming off of his critically acclaimed first feature film, Moon. I am sad to say that I have not seen it. Unfortunately, the writer Ben Ripley is coming off of two unnecessary and unwanted direct-to-video sequels of Species and a television movie.

Source Code opens with Capt. Colter Stephens/Shawn (Gyllenhaal) waking up disoriented on a commuter train. Across from him sits Christina (Michelle Monaghan). Colter then tries to figure out why Christina keeps calling him Shawn, how he got on the train, and why his reflection in the restroom mirror is not him. Then the train explodes.

Capt. Colter then wakes up in a harness in a small capsule. A screen comes to life and there is Goodwin (Farmiga). She tries to calm him down and get him to focus on his mission by asking him what he saw and remembers from the train. Then, Dr. Rutledge (Wright) has Colter sent back into the Source Code. Colter then embraces his mission; he was a war hero in Afghanistan after all. Each time inside the Source Code, he gets closer to completing his mission: find the bomber. Another attack is eminent and Colter is the key to preventing it.

Every time Colter is sent back, we are right back where the movie started, on a commuter train across the seat from Christina. At this point, I started to worry that this movie was going to go down the same path of Vantage Point. Happily, it did not. Meanwhile, each time back in the capsule, he gets closer to solving how he got there and what the Source Code is. Dr. Rutledge explains that the Source Code allows Colter to relive the last eight minutes of a specific person’s life. The only hook is, you can’t change the past because it has already happened.

Now, I do not want to give away what goes down in the rest of the film. Let’s just put it this way, Source Code is the best movie I have seen this year. I know that isn’t saying a whole lot considering some of the movies I’ve seen lately, but I cannot stress enough that this movie is worth the 93 minutes and $10 ticket price. Source Code succeeds where so many movies have failed. It is entertaining and thought provoking on many levels. It could be this year’s Inception.

After watching Source Code, I cannot wait until Ben Ripley’s next foray into mainstream screenwriting and Duncan Jones’ next directorial film. 4.5/5

Sucker Punch

2011-03-25T16:19:00.000-05:00

More Like a Phantom Punch

The Lincoln Lawyer

2011-03-25T15:53:00.001-05:00

I like Michal Connelly’s novels. I have read four, I think. My favorite: Blood Work. The movie did not do the book justice. But, what movie does? Other than Jurassic Park, of course. Maybe The Godfather. Gone with the Wind according to the wife. Anyway, our book club read The Lincoln Lawyer, on my recommendation, with plans to see the film. It was not a hard sell. Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Philippe in the same film was an easy sell to a bunch of women.

As the movie opened, I was pleasantly surprised. There were old school opening credits! There was an entire opening credits sequence. After the shock wore off, we are introduced to Mickey Haller (McConaughey) and his driver Earl. This was where the movie immediately started to veer away from the book. The relationship between Earl and Haller was never really discussed. That’s too bad. We then see Haller in action in the courtroom. After this, there is no doubt that he is suave and able to bend the rules but stay within the law.

Haller then talks with bail bondsman Val (Leguizamo) about a case that Val wants the $1 million bond on. Haller decides to take a look into it. On his way to that courthouse, Eddie Vogel (Trace Adkins), the leader of a pot growing biker gang, pulls him over. Turns out, he is the “boss” of the client from the first court scene. For his first real acting gig, Trace Adkins wasn’t too bad.

After Haller finally makes it to the courthouse, he meets his soon-to-be new client, Louis Roulet (Philippe). He is up for attempted rape and murder and bunch of other associated charges. Haller quotes his price, Roulet and his mother and his family attorney agree to terms and the case starts. Haller enlists the help of his investigator Frank Levin (Macy) to help dig up dirt on everyone involved and follow leads. As the case continues, more evidence points to Roulet having done it. This causes morals to be tested, lines to be crossed, and the law to be blurred.

The story is quite engaging and twisting. I loved the book. I would recommend reading it for sure. The movie, well, it left out a lot of key things; like the relationship between Haller and his “office secretary,” and his driver as I mentioned above. The movie seemed more focused on being witty than being dramatic. It was more concerned with “zingers” than some layers of plot. The movie was good. But the book was a great read. I have not read John Grisham, only seen a couple films. The wife says his older stuff can’t be touched by Connelly. I will have to read some Grisham, I guess.

Along the way, Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston and Bones’ Michaela Conlin make appearances as detectives looking into Haller. This storyline was glossed over. It was more important in the book. Also, Josh Lucas from Sweet Home Alabama makes an appearance as the DA Minton. Minton replaces Maggie McPherson (Marisa Tomei) after she removes herself. She is Haller’s ex-wife. Finally, Michael Pena has a quick cameo as an old client of Haller’s who is less than excited to see his lawyer again.

I understand that when you adapt a book, things have to be left out. I just don’t understand why not try to keep as much as intact with a few extra lines of dialog? This was a two and a half hour movie cut down to two hours. I blame the MTV world. If it isn’t some epic fantasy story, then it has to be under two hours.

Finally, this was director Brad Furman’s first mainstream movie. It was not writer John Romano’s first script. So, I lay the blame on this movie’s shortcomings on him. I look forward to seeing if they continue the saga of Mickey Haller theatrically. I just read that they have green lit the first two books of Michael Connelly’s main character, Harry Bosch. Turns out, Bosch is the half-brother of Haller. Another storyline left out of the movie, but mentioned in the book. In the end, The Lincoln Lawyer is worth the watch, but definitely the read. Next month, the book club and I will be reading and watching Water for Elephants. Yay?

Limitless

2011-03-18T16:21:00.000-05:00

In Name Only

Unknown

2011-02-22T09:05:00.003-06:00

Not Taken by Unknown

Let’s get this out of the way from the beginning. Unknown is not Taken. It is not a sequel to it. It is not on the same plane as it. Taken was a phenomenal film. Unknown just rides on the coattails. Liam Neeson has found a niche market for himself, action hero. He is almost 60 years old, but he is now an action hero.

Unknown struggles mainly with its pacing. It does not have a good flow. It opens with martin Harris (Neeson) and his wife Liz (January Jones) on an airplane, then landing in Berlin. He is then involved in a car accident, hits his head, goes into a coma, and wakes up four days later to find that his wife has forgotten who he is and has replaced him with a convincing Martin Harris 2 (Aidan Quinn). Neeson is convinced that he is the real Martin Harris not Quinn, and goes about proving it.

He starts by finding Gina (Diane Kruger), the taxi driver when he was in the accident. She has a weird backstory that was supposed to make her more rounded. It felt a little forced. Then, poor Harris hires an ex-Nazi hunter to validate his story. After a hand-to-hand fight and a car chase through the streets of Berlin, I gave up on this movie. Why would a botanist know how to fight? Why would be able to drive like that?

Finally, Frank Langella shows up as a co-worker to Martin Harris to explain what is going on. But it was too late. I had already written this movie off as dumb. The writer should have watched The Long Kiss Goodnight. They knew how to tell a similar story, but tell it correctly. The movie really had no sense of tension or urgency. The plot was convoluted, but not in a good way.

In the end, Unknown could have and should have been better. It should have been a thriller. It could have been a decent action flick. Sadly, it failed on both accounts. I am glad I watched it though. Verdict: A Red Box rental? Absolutely! Netflix? Indeed. The $10 ticket? Nope.

Gnome & Juliet

2011-02-15T09:44:00.000-06:00

Gnomes and Shakespeare Together at Last

Okay. Two truths: I love Shakespeare. I love garden gnomes. Finally, someone took two of my loves and made the ultimate movie! I took the wife with me, and went to watch the latest incarnation of Shakespeare’s classic star-crossed lovers’ tale, Romeo and Juliet with gnomes. This was the latest in the year that is has taken the wife and me to see a movie together since being married. The last three years, we have gone on New Year’s Day. But, we made it to Gnomeo & Juliet.

As is typical with most of the animated pictures these days, the voice cast is stacked. James McAvoy and Emily Blunt are the lead characters’ voices. Behind them, you have Jason Statham, Michael Caine, Maggie Smith, Stephen Merchant, Ozzy Osborne, Julie Walkters, Dolly Parton, Hulk Hogan and Patrick Stewart as Shakespeare in a scene of brilliance.

Gnome & Juliet takes the classic tale and sets it in the backyards of the Capulet and Montague houses. You have the red Capulets that hate the blue Montagues. Each have their manicured lawns, pretty flowers, fountains, wells, and everything gnome. Gnomeo and Juliet fall in love when they meet by chance in a neutral greenhouse. The usual how can we be together, you are a red, and I am a blue trouble ensues.

The way in which the story unfolds both the classic way, and the updated gnome way, was great. The climactic scene was great. The build-up to it was great. Gnomeo has a conversation with a statue of Shakespeare who tells how the story ends. This whole scene was excellent.

I loved this movie. They made a big deal of Elton John doing the music, but he did not write any new music for it. That was disappointing. That was the only disappointing aspect of this entire film. I highly recommend this movie. If you love gnomes, see this movie. If you love Shakespeare, see this movie. If you like animated movies, see this movie. Verdict: See Gnome & Juliet. It is a great way to spend 84 minutes.

The Mechanic

2011-01-31T10:44:00.000-06:00

The Mechanic was originally a Charles Bronson starring vehicle with Jan-Michael Vincent made in 1972. That’s right, Airwolf himself opposite the gnarled Bronson. I watched it on Netflix through their streaming plan. It was a slow moving, low action, low budget movie. The opening twelve minutes had no dialog. That was amazing to me. You could not do that anymore. If you go longer than thirty seconds without people talking, I think they throw your script out the window; or they cast Nic Cage. Anyway, the original The Mechanic and the new The Mechanic follow very similar storylines and plots. Jason Statham is way cooler than Charles Bronson as Arthur Bishop, a hired assassin for a mysterious agency. I have a deep appreciation for Ben Foster and his acting. Though, for the role of Steve McKenna, I could go either for Foster, or for Stringfellow Hawke. But, I will focus on just the remake.

The Mechanic opens with Arthur Bishop killing a target, in a very sneaky way. When he gets back to his house, which he to access via boat, he is contacted by his handler Harry McKenna, played by Donald Sutherland. Bishop’s next target, Harry McKenna. He meets with the agency’s top dog, only to discover why the hit has been called on Harry. This leads Bishop to cross paths with Harry’s estranged son, Steve. Bishop decides to turn Steve’s anger and vengeance into the skills required to be a mechanic himself.

Steve does his first job alone, and it goes terribly wrong. Next they do a job together. A hit is put out on them by the agency. Why is the hit put out? Because Arthur uses Steve on a job meant for him. The agency does not like this. Along the way, they discover there was a conspiracy with Harry, and that it may not have been on the up and up. This only adds fuel to the fire. They decide to wage a war against the agency.

In an epic finale showdown/shootout/car chase of awesomeness, our heroes come toe to toe with the agency. In the aftermath, Steve discovers the truth about his father’s murder. Both the movies have the same ending, but not the same final scene.

The Mechanic joins the long list of enjoyable action movies starring Jason Statham. This one would rank in the top five for sure. It is just too bad that CBS Films has no idea what they are doing when it comes to marketing and getting the exposure necessary. There is no reason why this movie, with a modest budget of $40 million, should not turn an easy profit. Yet, Statham has really not carried a movie much farther than $35 million. I enjoyed this movie very much, and cannot wait to watch it again. I can do without seeing the original again. I am glad I saw it, but this one was so much better.

The Green Hornet (3D)

2011-01-19T08:56:00.002-06:00

Hornet Stings, in a Good Way

To say The Green Hornet is a bad movie would be wrong. To say it was a great movie would be equally wrong. I had low expectations when entering the cinema to see the latest from director Michael Gondry and writer Seth Rogen. The news and buzz surrounding The Green Hornet did not help it. It was pushed from its December opening to January for reshoots and 3D work after poor test screenings. I was afraid of wasting my time and money on this film. I got free tickets to one of many of the St. Louis screenings. So, my money was safe. All I had to lose was time.

I am too young to know the original show starring Bruce Lee. So, I have no frame of reference of what this show should be, just what it is. There were many articles about this movie before it came out. Many said that they did not care for Seth Rogen playing a super hero. Some stated that they had the same stunt driving coordinator that worked on The Fast and the Furious. Many talked about how bad the movie was as a whole. I had all this in mind when I went.

I enjoyed The Green Hornet. I found it very entertaining. My time was not wasted. I thought a few of the 3D scenes were stupid, but for the most part they worked. The car stunts and action was great. As for Seth Rogen as a super hero, I think the point of the movie is that he wasn’t one, but wanted to be one. This movie serves as the “origin” and “training” of Britt Reid. My only complaint about the movie is the realization that Seth Rogen cannot act. He is just Seth Rogen being Seth Rogen as The Green Hornet. I do not see an Oscar in his near future.

The Green Hornet opens with a flashback to James Reid, played by Tom Wilkinson, ripping the head off of an action figure belonging to a young Britt Reid. It was next to pointless, other than to show that James is all about business, and that business is the news. Next, we get the hilarious cameo by James Franco, who could win an Academy Award in February, and our introduction to Chistoph Waltz, who won one last February, playing the movie’s central villain Chudnofsky. The scene was hilarious to say the least. Chudnofsky was brilliantly played by Waltz. It

So, from here the movie really is about Britt Reid becoming Batman and Kato becoming Robin, but really Kato is Batman and Britt is Robin. The plot is overly told to you, as if you are not smart enough to figure it out yourself. I found that a bit insulting. It centers on our “heroes” acting as villains to help draw out the real villains. It was a decent plot. I have no idea if this was the plot of the original series or not, but it was at least an original idea by today’s standards.

Early in the production, Seth Rogen and Michael Gondry made a big deal of having the car stunt coordinator from The Fast and the Furious. So, I was expecting awesome action scenes and chase scenes with the cars. They did not disappoint. The action was good enough. The car sequences were good. The fight scenes were good. I just didn’t understand why in the first fight scene, the kicks “stretched” the screen. It is hard to explain, but it only happened in this scene. It was as if they filmed it, looked at it, decided it didn’t work, and forgot to take it out.

The story telling might have been a bit uneven, but as a whole, it was an enjoyable two hours. I did enjoy seeing Edward James Olmos on the big screen. Cameron Diaz was forgettable. Wilkinson was decent in his quick ten minutes or so. Newcomer Jay Chou was excellent as Kato. There was also a quick cameo by Edward Furlong. Verdict: Worth the time and the money, but I cannot say it would be worth paying the additional cost for 3D.

Pee-Wee is Back?

2011-01-19T07:46:00.000-06:00

Started off strong. Ended kinda weak. But worth the watch.

Season of the Witch

2011-01-11T10:45:00.004-06:00

R.I.P. Nic Cage's Career

15 Aug 1982 - 7 January 2011

Season of the Witch is a terrible movie. There is no other way to put it. No “beating around the bush.” No “It’s so bad it’s good.” It is just plain awful. When it comes to authenticity, I don’t even think writer Bragi F. Schut even knew the definition. This was his first full length screenplay. He wrote Threshold, but it was cancelled before completing its first season, I believe. He has a few shorts under his belt. After this, he will be lucky if I ever waste my time again watching one of his atrocities. The script hurts just to listen to the dialogue. The bad acting doesn’t help, but what they have to work with was just terrible drivel.

Over the past few years, I have been trying to defend Nic Cage’s career. Come on, he won an Academy Award way back in 1996 for Leaving Las Vegas. He was nominated for Adaptation. The man can act. He is the “star” of my favorite action movie of all time, The Rock. On the flip side, Next, Knowing, The Wicker Man, The Weather Man, Lord of War, Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, and on and on the list goes. His career has become a joke. Well, after this piece of garbage, I can no longer defend Mr. Cage and his acting or choices of films. This movie might actually put that final nail in his acting coffin. His only hope now is National Treasure 3.

Then, there is poor Ron Perlman. I do not understand why he took this movie. It doesn’t have the word “Hellboy” in the title. It has nothing to do with his highly successful FX show Sons of Anarchy. Short of roles covering him in prosthetics, his movie career success hinges on the Blade movies. So, I am announcing the death of his movie career as well.

Dominic Sena has not has a nine digit grossing movie since his last collaboration with Cage, and that 2000’s Gone in 60 Seconds. He did have a moderately sucessful film since then with Swordfish, but that’s it. So, he might be done, too.

Season of the Witch opens in 1232 A.D., if memory serves, with some women being accused of consulting with Satan, and practicing witchcraft. They are killed. One comes back from the dead and kills the priest. Why? I don’t know. We then jump to 1332 A.D., if memory serves, to the Crusades. Nic Cage and Ron Perlman are two of the best knights serving the church and crown. After they slay women and children, they become deserters. They finally land in a town overrun with a plague. They get found out as deserters and sent on a journey to take The Girl to the monks to have her tried for witchcraft.

So, a group of six set out. A monk, three knights, an altar boy turned fighter, and the guide. Basically, anything that can go wrong does. All members of the escort face The Girl who makes them question everything. They run into rabid wolves. They battle zombie monks, and finally have a faceoff with some master demon that looks like Dracula from Van Helsing. I am not joking. They ending was a CG borefest with nothing to offer but lame killings, lame deaths, and lamer dialogue.

I could go on about how bad the dialogue was, but why bother. Just believe me when I say, the words “shit,” “piss,” and “bitch” appear in the script. I am fairly certain that they did not have the same meaning, if they were even around, back in the 14th century as they do now. Verdict: I warn you, I saw it for free, and wanted my money back. If this is not at least in the top 3 Worst Movies of 2011, this is going to be a long year.

The Fighter

2010-12-17T10:23:00.001-06:00

Fighting For Everything

I love boxing movies. I love Christian Bale movies. I liked The Fighter. When a movie gets four acting nominations from the Golden Globes, along with Best Picture and Director, I expected a great film. The Fighter was a really good movie, but something just seemed off to make it great. I really can’t put my finger on it. My only thought was that it struggled with what story they were trying to tell. Dicky’s? Micky’s? Lowell’s?

The Fighter, directed by David O. Russell, follows Dicky Eklund and his younger brother Micky Ward. Christian Bale’s performance as the crack addicted, once promising boxer, Dicky, was something to see. It was his best role since The Machinist. Bale just immerses himself in his roles, and it shows. Wahlberg plays Micky Ward. He was not as electrifying as he was in The Departed, but he was still great. The movie opens with a documentary crew following Dicky as he is on his road to a comeback, or so Dicky thinks. They are really there to show the effects of crack.

Dicky is the corner man and trainer for Micky. But, due to the crack addiction, Dicky is very unreliable. The other corner man and trainer is Mickey O’Keefe, the sheriff, who was played by O’Keefe himself. The movie opens with Dicky leading the documentary crew through the streets of Lowell, Pennsylvania. He is the local legend for knocking Sugar Ray Leonard down in boxing match. He is preparing for his supposed comeback. He is also training Micky for his next fight.

Before leaving for Las Vegas for the fight, Micky meets Charlene Fleming, played by the always beautiful Amy Adams. She is a bartender at the local tavern. Once in Vegas, Micky and Dicky are informed that the fighter they were preparing for had to pull out due to the flu. So, Alice and Dicky make the decision that Dicky will fight a replacement that is 20 pounds bigger. The fight is a disaster.

Upon his return, Micky and Charlene become a pair, and this drives a wedge into the awkward family dynamic. Charlene makes Micky question whether his brother and mother have his best interest in mind. His father, George, gets his a real manager after Dicky gets arrested. There are a few stipulations, no more Alice and no more Dicky.

With his new manager, Micky gets his boxing career back on track. He picks up a few wins, and then gets a real shot at a real fighter. Dicky gives advice that proves crucial to winning the fight. With that win, Dicky gets a title shot.

Now, we are over halfway through this movie, and there has been conflict throughout. Dicky and Micky have five sisters, all who hate Charlene. Alice hates the new manager since she was his old manager. George going against the family causes more strife. Dicky gets clean and finds out what the documentary crew was really filming while in jail. With the big title shot on the horizon, family and friends are torn and fighting. The final conflict becomes can Micky survive all this and still focus on the fight.

The Fighter’s climactic fight was for the title. What I found interesting was, “Irish” Micky is best remembered for his trilogy of fights against Arturo Gatti, two of which won Ring magazine’s fight of the year honor. These are not mentioned at all. I found that odd. Oh well, you can only tell so much. A similar thing was done with Michael Mann’s Ali.

One of the biggest problems this movie had was the feel and tone. Each actor was great in their respective role, but none of them really had any chemistry. Melissa Leo was amazing as Alice Ward, but she didn’t have a lot of chemistry with Christian Bale or Mark Wahlberg. Mark and Christian had enough to make it work. Amy Adams was good. She shined in her scenes where she was feuding with the sisters.

The writing was good. The direction was good. There was just something off. Like I said, I love boxing movies. Maybe I had too high expectations. I wanted to love The Fighter. The reviews are great. I would still give this a solid 8/10. But I was really hoping for a 10. Verdict: While it wasn’t what I was wanting it to be, it was still a solid movie with solid acting, directing, and writing. Worth the money, especially a matinee showing.

True Grit

2010-12-16T12:33:00.002-06:00

True to Grit

Well, after almost a two-week break, I made it to another movie. When I first heard that the Coen Brothers were going to be making a version of Charles Portis’s novel, True Grit, I went out and rented the book from the library. That was April of last year. I did not get around to watching Henry Hathaway’s 1969 version of the film starring none other than John Wayne in his only Oscar winning role until July of this year. So, I was prepared to go see this version. The Coens kept saying that they were going to be more faithful to the source material. I thought Hathaway’s as pretty faithful, other than Kim Darby (22) being a little too old to be Mattie (14).

When the first official press shot was released, I got excited. Then, the teaser hit. I was more excited. Following that, the full feature trailer premiered. You cannot go wrong with a Johnny Cash song in a trailer. The trailer looked amazing. So, off I went with high expectations. I took my co-worker with me. The last movie he saw in theaters was Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves from 1991. So, it had been a while. We saw it at a recently built theater. It was finished about 2 years ago. The poor guy had no idea what theaters are like now.

Anyway, True Grit opens with a voice over by Mattie, played by Hailee Steinfeld, telling what started her adventures that led her to meeting U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn, played by Jeff Bridges and Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, played by Matt Damon. Mattie, being only fourteen years old, has quite a head on her shoulders. She is shrewd businesswoman, hard negotiator, and will not take “no” for an answer. Mattie Ross finally convinces the drunken Marshall to let her accompany him and the Ranger. The trio head off into the Chickasaw Indian country in pursuit of Chaney, played by Josh Brolin. Chaney, who they find out has taken in with Luck Ned Pepper’s gang, killed Mattie’s father in cold blood.

True Grit follows the original movie and book like you would expect. I enjoyed the movie. I loved it, actually. I tried very hard to not compare this to the original. I did a good job until the ending. Once the trio catches up with Ned and his gang, all I could see and hear was the original. Barry Pepper plays Ned Pepper, but it was more like Barry Pepper playing Robert Duvall playing Ned. The famous standoff scene just seemed a bit off in this “revisioning.” Jeff Bridges did a great job making Rooster his own, and not stepping on The Duke’s portrayal. But the “Fill your hands, you son of a bitch!” line just did not sound right. That one spot is the only one thing that grated on me for the entire film.

The western genre is a dying one. Over the last few years, the ones that have come out have been amazing. I just wish that the new generation of moviegoers would support them. Appaloosa was based on a series of books, but it did not set the box office on fire enough for its three sequels to get the coveted greenlight. 3:10 to Yuma was another remake of an old western. It just did not have John Wayne in it.

Make no mistake, True Grit was a great film. It is award worthy. The Coen brothers are incredible directors and gifted writers. Yet, for them to say this is more true to the novel confuses me. The script is almost line for line from the original. The direction is better, but I don’t know if I would say the film was much different. They did, however, have a darker tone. The dialog was a bit comical at times, which differed from the original. The acting is superb, though Jeff Bridges is hard to understand at times, as is Josh Brolin. Hailee Steinfeld stole the show. She was incredible. I could not believe that is actually fourteen. I would love to see her pick up a nomination like Haley Joel Osment and Abigail Breslin. The Coens could easily get a well deserved direction nomination, and possibly a writing one, too. I would be surprised to see Matt Damon get anything for his role.

Verdict: True Grit may not be an original film. It may be a dying genre. But it still stands tall as a great film of 2010. I urge you to see this movie. It is worth the money for sure.

Here is the famous scene I mentioned above:

Faster

2010-12-02T11:25:00.003-06:00

A Fast Way to Waste $$

Faster has one of the weirdest group of actors. It is movie actors in key roles surrounded by TV actors. The actors are Dwayne Johnson, Billy Bob Thorton, Carla Cugino and even Tom Berenger and Mike Epps make quick cameos. After that, CBS Films robbed their own sets and sets from other stations. Michael Irby from The Unit, Jennifer Carpenter from Dexter, Magie Grace and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje from Lost, Xander Berkley from 24 and Moon Bloodgood from Day Break are the ones I recognized. I am sure there are more. George Tillman, Jr., whose best movie to date is Men of Honor, directs a script from Joe and Tony Gayton. This was their first collaborative effort. Both have made decent scripts on their own. The character names look like the casting call.

Let’s begin there. The Rock plays a character known as Driver. Billy Bob is Cop. Newcommer Oliver Jackson-Cohen plays Killer. This is no joke. Those are the names. These are the three “main” characters of Faster. Everyone else has small roles; most only one scene. But, a lot of them have names. Cugino plays Cop’s partner, Cicero. Maggie Grace plays Killer’s lover, Lily. But poor Jennifer Carpenter plays the ex-love of Driver, Woman. Terrible character names. Brutal in fact.

Now that I got that out of the way, let’s look at the plot. At its core, Faster has a creative story. It was just told terribly. It opens with Driver being let out of prison after serving 10 years for a bank heist. He goes on a killing spree/revenge terror to get the guys that killed his brother and left him for dead. If you watch the trailer, he see the movie, for the most part. Along the way, we find out that Driver was shot in the back of the head, but the BULLET BOUNCED AROUND THE INSIDE OF HIS SKULL AND CAME OUT HIS CHEEK. That was verbatim from Cicero. Seriously!?!?!? If you pay attention through the first fifteen minutes, you are given everything you need to put together the rest of the film. Sadly, I paid attention.

The plot holes in Faster are large enough for Driver to broadside slide his car through. Possible spoiler here: He kills everyone, but drives off into the sunset. His face is seen on a security camera when he kills the first guy. His face is all over the news, but he still walks right into a night club to kill someone else, walks through a hospital to finish someone, and can rent a hotel room with no one notices who he is. Let alone, where is going to go after killing everyone? He is a wanted man. His face is everywhere. The other I will quickly mention is that a good cop covering up a bad cop makes the good cop bad. The other plot hole gives away too much. Suffice it to say that Woman mentions something about age that doesn’t add up with Driver’s dead brother and his girlfriend. Oh well.

This movie was rated 'R.' I expect a little blood in my R-rated action movies. I expect some action in my action movies, too. What self-respecting R-rated action film goes to a strip club, and has no gratuitous nudity? Answer: Faster.

One other thing that I just cannot understand about this movie is the time wasted on the back story of Killer. None of it matters. He had polio/crippled as a child? He made his riches in the stock market? Who cares? Not me. It had nothing to do with the story.

Verdict: Rent Faster for the few action scenes that are separated by bad story and execution. I have a script that I am working on that is better than this drivel. I just have to find a way to get it into the right hands. I was disappointed for sure. I am just glad that the local theater has the Rush Hour Shows. For $4.00.

Rampage

2010-11-29T19:16:00.001-06:00

And You Thought You Couldn't Take It Anymore...

You won’t believe me, but it is true. This movie was made by the same schlock that made House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, In the Name of the King, Bloodrayne, and countless other pieces of garbage films based on video games. Yet, Rampage, shows that Uwe Boll knows how to craft a story, film it, and bring it to life.

Brendan Fletcher plays Bill Williamson, a twenty something living in his parents’ basement. They tell him that he needs to get out and go live on his own. He gets mad. Next, he goes to work, where his boss gets mad at him for working on his own van on his lunch. He gets mad. He then goes to a coffee shop where the barista can’t make his order properly. He gets mad. Finally, Bill meets up with this best friend, Evan at a fast-food joint. The worker gets the order wrong, and spills their drinks. They both get mad.

So, they sit and discuss life, and how it sucks. A change needs to happen. The next day, Bill goes on a rampage. It is Falling Down meets Grand Theft Auto. The first twenty-five minutes are a bit slow, but they help set up the remaining sixty minute climax. It is a holy terror rampage. My favorite scene is in the bingo parlor. The twist at the end that end that everyone seems to not see coming, was not that hard to work out. But, it was awesome.

I don’t usually write about movies that I did not see in theaters, but I felt this was necessary. I have Netflix, and Rampage was an Instant Watch. I am glad that it was. A friend of a friend turned me on to this movie. I was hesitant at first, but I figured, it was only 80 some minutes. How bad could it be? Verdict: A must see if you like this kind of film. It was not as gory as you would think or hope it would or should be. It was, also, more political than I would have thought. I am usually not into the whole "political movie," but this one has attitude.

Love & Other Drugs

2010-11-29T10:50:00.002-06:00

Perscription: Boring, but Nudity

So, when I wasn’t crying at the end, I thought, Once again, I am heartless. But, I turned to my wife, who cries at Undercover Boss and Hallmark commercials, and she wasn’t crying either. That is when I knew I wasn’t emotionally broken, just bored.

Love and Other Drugs tried too hard. From Edward Zwick, the director of The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond and Glory, this was lifeless. I spent the car ride home trying to figure out where this movie went wrong. I found the following reasons.

Love & Other Drugs opens in 1996 with Jamie Randall (Gyllenhaal) is seen selling ketchup popsicle to a woman in white gloves, figuratively. He is smooth, suave, and says what the consumers need to hear to purchase whatever he is selling. After having relations with his boss’s girl, he is fired.

Next comes the most worthless scene in the entire film. For some reason, we are thrown into the middle of an argument/discussion about the medical industry in the Randall household. I am not sure what the point was supposed to be, but it failed. Apparently, Jamie has a brother, Josh, who did something on the internet instead of finishing med school. The patriarch is a doctor. He has a sister, who was a completely wasted character. She only appears in this waste of 5 minutes. She has no purpose. The matriarch just tells everyone to be good, or they get no chocolate cake. No joke. In the end, Josh says that he will make a call to his contact at Pfizer to see if he can get his brother a job as a drug rep.

Off to training, and a reminder of the mid-nineties. We see Jamie going through a bombardment of drug information. Finally, he is seen as fit to hit the streets of the Midwest, but not until after having relations with his trainer.

So, now we are introduced to Bruce Winston, a senior drug rep played by Oliver Platt. He tells of the promise land of Chicago. That is where the best of the best rep for Pfizer. We also meet Trey Hannigan, played by Gabriel Macht. He is the “evil” drug rep that has the ear of hank Azaria’s Dr. Stan. He stands in the way of Jamie and Bruce’s dream of Chicago. Lastly, we are humorously introduced to Anne Hathaway’s Maggie Murdock. In the trailer, she seems funny, witty, hot, and sex-addicted. In the movie, they give her an incurable disease, and she becomes annoying.

For the first hour of the movie, I was into it. It was fast paced and funny. The dialog was quick witted. The acting was decent enough. Then, right around the hour mark, the movie stalled. It slowed to a crawl. Then, it flat stopped and changed directions. The movie changed gears from the romantic comedy that it was to a melodrama. His brother, Josh, just won’t go away. He becomes too much and goes too far and flat out become a complete annoyance. He was supposed to be comedic relief, but just turned out to be a nuisance.

By the end, I did not care about the characters. The movie just dragged out for no reason. The confrontation with Trey never came to a head. The build-up to taking Chicago was a letdown. The whole movie became a letdown. When the lights came up, all the people around us were drying their eyes. I was trying not to groan. Verdict: Love and Other Drugs walks the fine line between being a movie and soft-core porn. Yet, somehow, what started off with such promise just sputtered out and finished bland. I would wait to rent this one if you feel you must see this movie.

Megamind

2010-11-29T10:46:00.001-06:00

Mega-Better than Despicable Me

Not that it takes a lot to get me to go to the theater, but an animated superhero movie voiced by Will Ferrell, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill, was an easy sell. As I was reading reviews and predictions for Megamind, I kept seeing the same comparison. Everyone was comparing it to Despicable Me, saying they have similar storylines of the bad guy turning into the good guy. I saw Despicable Me, and I thought it was decent, but nothing special. I, however, found Megamind much more entertaining and enjoyable. There were similarities, but there were more differences.

The story opens with the overdone ending first, middle of the action, how did-I-get-here beginning. I find this type of opening unoriginal, over used, and boring. Anyway, Megamind, voiced by Ferrell, himself narrates the opening. It is basically the story of Kal-El, or Superman for those “non-geeks” that might be reading this: planet is being destroyed; his parents put him in a shuttle and send him to Earth to save him. Along the way, another planet sends its last survivor to Earth. He becomes Metroman, voiced by Brad Pitt. Metroman lands in a rich family’s home, Megamind, a prison.

They have epic battles over the years. In a final battle, Megamind kidnaps TV reporter Roxanne Ritchi, voiced by Fey. Roxanne is seen as Metroman’s Lois Lane. Metroman comes to rescue her. With the help of Minion, voiced by David Cross, Megamind finally defeats Metroman.

Now, with no one to challenge him, Megamind does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. But this soon becomes tiresome for him. He and Roxanne both go to the memorial to Metroman to look for guidance. Before they run into eace other, Megamind assumes the identity of one of the workers at the memorial, Bernard.

After assuming Bernard’s appearance, Megamind starts a relationship with Roxanne, and they figure out that Megamind needs someone “good” to beat him or challenge him. So, Megamind finds a way to make a new superhero to battle his supervillian. Poor Hal, voiced by Jonah Hill, becomes Titan, or “Tighten” as he spells it. Megamind assumes another appearance, reminiscent of Brando’s Jor-El, to train Titan to be a superhero. As usual, Megamind’s plans do not quite go as planned.

This is as far as I am going to go with the plot. I loved the obvious twists. I loved the action. I loved the animation. If it weren’t for Toy Story 3, Megamind would be my pick as best animated movie for the year. But, Toy Story 3 owns that title, and I can’t see any animated movie topping that.

Verdict: If you haven’t seen it already, go. It is worth the time and money. I would recommend this to anyone who liked Despicable Me and The Incredibles. Oh, and listen for J.K. Simmons.

127 Hours

2010-11-24T09:40:00.003-06:00

Why I don't Rock Climb

After viewing the trailer for Danny Boyle’s follow up to his Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, I knew two things for certain. First, the shaky-cam will keep the wife out. Second, I want to see this, bad. So, off I went. When the opening credits start, my first thought was, this music is composed by A.R. Rahman, the Academy Award winning composer for Slumdog Millionaire. So, it seems pointless to say this, but I loved the music, for about 90% of the film. The other 10% seemed a little but too much Slumdog. This does not take place in India, but Utah.

127 Hours follows the true story of Aron Ralston’s struggle to survive after being pinned by a boulder while exploring the Blue John Canyon in Utah. The movie opens with Aron, played by James Franco, packing his gear for his weekend expedition. There is lot of emphasis on his water canteen, and the fact that he doesn’t take his Swiss Army knife.

He wakes up the next morning and begins his journey. Aron documents his adventure with is digital camera and his video camera. On his way to Blue John Canyon, he comes across two young ladies that are lost. They are simply named, Kristi and Megan, played by Kate Mara and Amber Tamblyn. They enjoy themselves before going their separate ways. Shortly after, disaster strikes Aron.

Once he is trapped, Aron keeps his cool. Over the next 127 hours, he tries many ideas on how to free himself from his predicament. He rations his food and water. He uses his climbing ropes to keep himself warm. He documents his progression on his camera each day. He slowly starts to lose it. His mind wanders. He remembers his past. He hallucinates. He sees family, friends, and lovers. In the end, the inevitable solution becomes his last hope.

127 Hours is truly no more than Cast Away, only an hour shorter, no Wilson, and James Franco instead of Tom Hanks. But I loved it. I found Cast Away a bit boring. Nothing against Tom Hanks or Wilson, but I just thought it was too long.

Like Cast Away, 127 Hours rests solely on the shoulders of its main character. James Franco’s acting is superb. His facial acting carries this film a long way. I could see his first Oscar nomination for sure. Danny Boyle’s direction is top-notch, and what you would expect from him. Rahman’s music helped set the pace and the mood. The script could see a nod for adapted screenplay. It could easily see a Best Picture nomination. It was one of the best movies I have seen all year. I have seen about 40 movies that have come out in theaters this year. Not all in theaters, though. I would have to say 127 Hours would make my top five. No secret that Inception and The Town are my two favorites. I would also include Toy Story 3 and The Social Network with 127 Hours to round it out.

Verdict: If you are not squeamish, because “the scene” is very graphic, and can handle the shaky cam approach, you should definitely see this movie. I have read that over a dozen people have passed out while watching. I did not pass out, or even come close. But, I could see why some people would. It was, however, a great way to spend 90 minutes. Along the way, look for quick appearances by Treat Williams, Lizzy Caplan, and Clémence Poésy.

The Social Network

2010-11-15T09:33:00.000-06:00

Adam "Likes This" Movie

I was late to the party on this movie. I have been attending so many screenings, that I haven’t paid to see a movie since Takers. But, the wife wanted to go, and we had some Groupons that had to be used. We both wanted to see The Social Network. So, it seemed like a perfect fit; as did the movie. David Fincher, one of the best directors working. Aaron Sorkin, one of the best writers. And a cast of young up and coming actors including Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake and Rooney Mara to help bring it all together. I thought it pertinent to mention Rooney Mara since she is in Fincher’s version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The Social Network had high expectations for the studio. They thought it was going to make serious cash. I thought it would easily pass $100 million, but I did not think that it would break $200 million like some estimates. I just didn’t think that the people who used Facebook could get off of it long enough to go watch a movie about its creation. Yet, with a modest budget, it turned a profit easily; even if it isn’t as big as some had hoped.

The Social Network opens with a conversation between Mark Zuckerberg, brilliantly played by Eisenberg, having a heart to heart awkward conversation with his girlfriend Erica, played by Mara. Erica breaks up with Mark, and he goes back to his apartment/dorm on the Harvard campus and, in a drunken state, creates Facemash with the help of his later business partner, Eduardo Saverin , played by Garfield. It compares the women on the Harvard campus against each other based on hotness. After a run in with the campus board for invasion of privacy, he meets the Winklevoos twins who have an idea for a website called Harvard Connection. The idea is basically Facebook, but exclusive to Harvard.

We were then introduced to the fact that Zuckerberg was being sued by the Winklevoos’, or Winklevi as Zuckerberg refers to them, and his friend Garfield, simultaneously. In a series of flashbacks and depositions, the story of the creation and explosion of Facebook was told. It felt fresh. I am not usually a fan of the flashback, but what made this work was the fact that they did not feel like flashbacks. I give the credit there to Aaron Sorkin’s amazing screenplay and Fincher’s superb direction. The rest of the movie follows the creation and turmoil of Facebook. Justin Timberlake appears as Sean Parker, the creator of Napster. I had no idea that he had anything to do with Facebook.

Watching The Social Network reminded me of my college days. I remember when all this went down. Of course, at the time, we did not know about the controversy in its creation. I forgot that it was originally called, TheFacebook. I remember when Purdue was added, and it went through our campus like wildfire. I remember that my wife had to wait for her school, Butler University, to be added. Go Big Ten!

In the end, the movie was a very fast paced, well acted, two hours. I loved this movie. I would put it third best movie of the year. I would love to see Fincher get nominated for direction and Sorkin for writing. I would just like to see them both lose to Christopher Nolan. It would be great to see Jesse Eisenberg pick up a nomination for his acting. Without him, this movie could have failed. He really carried it well. Verdict: If it is still in theaters by you, see it. Stop playing Mafia Wars and Farmville. Stop “like this” clicking. Go out and see this movie.

Unstoppable

2010-11-12T09:50:00.002-06:00

LIARS!!

If it is called Unstoppable, I expect a tremendous crash. Okay, I had to get that out of my system. When it comes to either of the Scott brothers, you have to take into account many variables. Which one? Ridley? Tony? Then, you have to look at who they have in it. Denzel? Crowe? Look into the track record with that combination. Finally, you have to look at the running time. 90? 120? 150? Are you making a flow chart? You should be. This is Tony with Denzel in their fifth movie together at 96 minutes. I love the 90 minute zone. By the time you realize that the movie is bad, it’s over.

During the opening credits, I noticed a lot of familiar names. Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Rosario Dawson, Kevin Dunn, Kevin Corrigan and T.J. Miller. After the opening credits, the tension and action start, and it doesn’t let up. After a series of human errors, train 7-7-7 gets away and begins its journey.

The characters are simple. Old, soon to retire, experienced, hardened veteran engineer. New, school taught, rookie conductor. Smart government guy that is hated, but right. Mean, stupid, worried about money corporate guy. Smarter than corporate boss manager. There is nothing new in this film. But, unlike many of Tony Scott’s more recent movies, this was paced great, and a real joy to watch.

Unstoppable was a great popcorn-flick with plenty of action, but low on brains. I couldn’t stand how stupid people were portrayed. They talk about how explosive the phenol is in the cars, and the casualties it would cause. So, everyone comes right up to the track to take videos and pictures. Why wouldn’t a Hazmat crew keep them at a safe distance? Why wouldn’t people want to be at a safe distance? At one point, the plan is to derail the train. Everyone is waiting on the side to watch the derailment. Ridiculous. The plot holes are large enough to drive the runaway train through. Maybe that was the point? One thing that did get annoying was all the news reporter voiceovers. They narrated the story way too much.

So, the one thing I had a beef with was the budget. I have read that it could be as high as $100 million dollars. That is nuts. When was the last time Denzel had a movie make more than that? American Gangster (2007). Before that? Remember the Titans (2000). Before that? The Pelican Brief (1993). He is just not as big of a draw as people think he is. How about Tony Scott? His only movies to break the nine figure mark are Top Gun, Beverly Hills Cop II, and Enemy of the State. I just don’t understand Hollywood. There was no reason for this movie to cost that much. Most of it is spent in a railway control room with Rosario and the engine 1206 with Denzel and Chris Pine. The exterior shots were just a train shooting by. If Hollywood has this much money to blow on a movie, I have a script I would love for them to read.

I really enjoyed this movie. It was a nonstop action adventure. I have to admit, I dug a little into the actual story that this was based on. It was far less dramatic. But, that is Hollywood. Verdict: See this over the atrocity that is Skyline. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride, pardon the pun.

Real Story

Skyline

2010-11-12T07:55:00.002-06:00

Great Movie, or Greatest Movie Ever?

As sure as I sit here writing this, this was a direct quote from a guy in front of me as I walked out of the theater after viewing Skyline. I looked at my friend that had the displeasure of accompanying me to this atrocity. We both tried not to laugh.

Skyline was the worst movie I have ever seen in theaters. And that is saying a lot. I would rather sit and watch Sy-Fy Network movies than sit through this dribble again. There is nothing redeeming about this movie. The least glib thing would be the special effects achieved for such a low budget. The budget is estimated below $20 million. Some sources say even as low as $10 million. I can tell you right now, none of that budget was spent on actors, writers or directors. The only full length movie The Brothers Strause had directed before this was Alien vs. Predator: Requiem. On a plus, they directed a Nickelback music video.

Skyline had a feel like it was conceived over heavy pot smoking. It was all disjointed, and it kept ripping off of one movie, then another, then another, then yet another. The tone was another conundrum. The actors and directors took it very seriously. But the audience, well, we laughed at it. I almost cried I was laughing so hard at the crown laughing. The lines of dialog were bad, but delivered even worse. This made matter worse.

Skyline started off ripping off Independence Day, my personal favorite alien invasion movie. Then it moved to Cloverfield. After that, it was off to The Matrix. It ended with a Matrix-meets-Transformers finale.

I cannot devote more time to this waste of time. I had free tickets to the St. Louis screening last night at 11:00 pm. I should have just gone home and went to bed. Verdict: Terrible. According to IMDB, there are two sequels planned. Let’s do our part to stop that. Do not watch this movie. It has such a low budget, that it could easily make a strong profit. So, I did not pay to see this, neither should you.

Due Date

2010-11-02T10:52:00.005-05:00

Like an Ultrasound, We Already Knew

Due Date had expectations that could not be met. I try to keep my expectations in check, but sometimes it is just too hard to accomplish. I went into this movie expecting it to surpass The Hangover. The trailer was hilarious. The director, writer, producer and one “star” from The Hangover are involved. They added Robert Downey, Jr. who is box office gold right now. There was just too much going for this. It might have survived better if all the funny parts were not in the trailer. There was only one gut-busting scene not in the trailer, and, boy, was it hilarious. I almost cried. I won’t give it away, that would be a crime.

The trailer also gave away a few of the cameos that would have been better to not know about. They didn’t give away all theparts of them, but some would have been better to happen upon. Think of Bill Murray's cameo in Zombieland. I just really hated the fact that the two trailers ruined most of what would have been hilarious. Anyway, the movie itself…

Don’t get me wrong. Due Date was hilarious, just not as hilarious as it should have and could have been. It opened with a monologue that seems odd, but it worked. Robert Downey plays Peter Highman. No joke, that is the character name. He is simply trying to get home to Los Angeles to be with his wife, Michelle Monaghan, when she gives birth to their first child. He runs across Zach Galifianakis’s Ethan Tremblay. He is going to Hollywood to be an actor. Ethan really is no different than Galifianakis’s Alan from The Hangover which is too bad. I am afraid that he is going to not only get typecast, but also that he is going to get over exposed.

After our two protagonists cross paths, they are forever intertwined. Peter is put on the “No-Fly” list, and is forced to travel with the bane of his existence, Ethan from Atlanta to Los Angeles. Along the road trip, both characters are expertly rounded out. I love good character development, and Due Date was full of it. With only two main characters, the writers were able to really make those characters come to life. Both actors excelled in their roles. As they make their trek across the south, obstacles threaten to keep Peter from the birth of his child. These obstacles are people, situations, environmental and anything else you can think of. I don’t want to rehash the trailer, you can watch it above.

I did enjoy Due Duate. I was just hoping for it to go beyond The Hangover, but it did not quote make it to that level. I don’t know why. My thoughts keep coming back to the fact that the trailer was too good, and too exposing. But, that one scene not in the trailer still puts a smile on my face when I think about it. Verdict: Worth the watch in theaters. It is funny. Just don’t expect The Hangover 2, that is next year.

Hereafter

2010-10-20T09:33:00.002-05:00

Thought My Life was Going to Meet the Hereafter Before this Ended

I look forward to every Clint Eastwood movie. Whether he is directing or acting, or even better, both in the same movie, I look forward to his films. I have missed a few over the past few years, but I try to see them all in theaters. I love the way he directs and crafts his films. He has a very old school look and approach to his films. When I first saw this trailer to Hereafter, I was excited. Clint was going supernatural. Matt Damon is a solid actor. I have not seen Invictus, but, Matt was nominated for his role in it. So, the two of them working together again seemed like a good idea. The running time of just over two hours didn’t scare me. Most of Eastwood’s movies clear the 120 minute mark. Peter Morgan, writer of Academy Award winning films The Queen, Frost/Nixon, and The Last King of Scotland, wrote this, adding another perk.

Hereafter opens with an incredible scene of a tsunami wave crashing through a small coastal town. One of the main characters, Marie LaLay, a French investigative reporter, is killed by the wave, but is revived. She is played by Cecile De France, from one of my all-time favorite horror movies High Tension. Marie gets a glimpse of the afterlife before she is saved. This vision consumes her throughout the film. This scene of destruction was amazingly filmed. The sound, the movement, the visuals, all gelled together to give a final product of greatness.

From there, the movie goes straight into the crapper. We are next introduced to Marcus and Jason, twin brothers played by real life twins Frankie and George McLaren. They live in England with their junky of a mother. One is tragically killed. The survivor is left in the hands of child services. He goes on a search to find out what happens after death and to see if he can communicate with his deceased twin. There is one other scene that is a stroke of genius in a subway station.

Finally, we meet Matt Damon’s character of George Lonegan. He is a real-life psychic. He can communicate with the dead through physical touch. His brother, Jay Mohr, tries to get him to re-open as a psychic for money.

Now that we know all three of players, nothing happens for another hour. We see Marie lose her career and boyfriend. We see young Marcus fail at communicating with Jason. George loses his job and fails in love. Then, for a forced reason, they all wind up in London at a book fair where they finally cross paths and end this tragically long film. As we reached this apex, it felt like a bad M. Night Shyamalan film.

In the finale, I felt that I should feel happy for the trio, and should have had some emotional connection to them, and cried. People around me did. All I felt was elation that this was coming to an end. Or was it? It didn’t really end. It was just kind of over. The ending was rushed, but it took too long to get there. When it was over, I checked my watch to make sure it was still Monday. I was afraid that I lost a day or two in there. Along the way, look for appearances by Bryce Dallas Howard, Richard Kind and Sopranos’ own Steve Schirripa. Verdict: Boring, dry and unfulfilling, I do not recommend this movie. I just hope Eastwood’s Hoover biopic is better.

RED

2010-10-10T14:44:00.000-05:00

Red Does NOT Mean Stop!

Well, if Bruce Willis blowing stuff up with Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich wasn’t enough for you, they threw in Helen Mirren, Mary-Louise Parker, Richard Dreyfuss, Ernest Borgnine, Brian Coxand up-and-coming Karl Urban. Whew! That is a lot of people. It is second only to The Expendables.

R.E.D. was everything that The Expendables wanted to be; a bunch of over the hill people going out one last time. The story in this movie was vastly superior to that in The Expendables. The action scenes were about the same, but knowing that there were no strings or computer graphics does give The Expendables there. I think this is a better movie than The Expendables, which might sound sacrilegious, but it is true.

R.E.D. is simply the story of Frank Moses, played by Willis, who is a recent retiree from the C.I.A. He is marked Retired Extremely Dangerous by the powers that be. Karl Urban’s William Cooper is sent on a mission to kill Moses. He asks no questions. We find later is basically Moses’ replacement.

Moses strikes up a phone relationship with Sarah Ross, played by Weeds’ Mary-Louise Parker, who works for Social Security. After a hit squad attacks his home, Moses goes to get Ross before she is killed. After that, we meet Freeman’s Joe Matheson in his retirement home. Next up is Marvin Boggs, played by John Malkovich, living in his below ground bomb shelter. His character was the best. Every scene he is in, he stole. Lastly, we meet Helen Mirren as Victoria in her stately home. The crew then go on a mission of their own to discover who has marked Moses RED, and why.

Along the way, Ernest Borgnine plays the elderly man who guards the archives. Richard Dreyfus is part of the conspiracy. Nip/Tuck’s Julian McMahon plays a Presidential candidate. And Brian Cox plays an old Russian from the Cold War who has history with the crew. All the acting was spot-on. A friend of mine thought that Brian Cox’s Russian accent didn’t suit him, but it didn’t bother me. The director’s inexperience did not show. His only real credentials are the pilot episode for Lie to Me, Flightplan, and The Time Traveler’s Wife. It’s not that impressive, but this was. His next movie is R.I.P.D., Another comic/graphic novel adaptation. The writers were the same that brought the graphic novel Whiteout to the screen. I didn’t see that, but judging by its box office take, neither did anyone else.

In the end, I loved the movie very much and found it very entertaining. Verdict: I highly recommend this movie to any action movie junky like me. The story was solid, the acting superb and the action was explosive. Sorry.

DEVIL

2010-09-20T11:18:00.000-05:00

The Devil May Be Bad, but the Movie is Good

I have to admit, when I first heard of a movie based on a story by M. Night Shyamalan , I had a laugh. He has not been worth anything since Signs. He seems to be more of a punch line now more than anything. Yet, the concept seemed intriguing. I took a screenwriting class where one of our assignments was to write a scene in which three or more characters are stuck in an elevator. They all had to have a unique voice. So, when I saw this movie, at first, it looked like someone stole my idea. As it happens, my friend and co-writer that I met in said-class, called to see if I wanted to go see Devil. He had free tickets, so I figured, why not. It’s only 80 minutes. How bad can it be?

Devil opens with a voice over about how the devil likes to take human form and torture his victims in life before claiming them for eternal damnation. Later, the security guard refers to this as “the Devil’s meeting.” He narrates the story, telling of how it starts with a suicide, which happens. This allows the devil to take human form. Throughout the movie, the narrator gives insight as to what will happen next. The security guard I mentioned above does the narrating.

So, five strangers get into an elevator, which just so happens to be an express elevator, and head up. They are an older woman, a male security guard, a mattress salesman, a rich woman and a shady looking guy. I have to admit, the dialog was entertaining. Each character had their own feel and motivation.

When the elevator stops, two security guards notice and ask the maintenance guy to look into it. In classic horror movie fashion, the cameras work, but the two-way speaker only works one way. The security desk can talk to the elevator, but not vice versa. The narration warns that people that try to get in the way of the devil’s plan wind up paying for it. The maintenance guy finds this out. Meanwhile, the lights flicker, and go out. When they come one, one of the passengers meets their demise. This was a stroke of genius. It allows there to be violence, but not seen keeps it PG-13. Also, the pitch black with noise all around helps keep things eerie.

A detective looking into the jumper from the beginning answers the call of the stuck elevator after the first death. Of course, he has a backstory. While he tries to get to the trapped passengers, other dies. All things come full circle. The voice over, the detective’s backstory, and everything going on in the elevator cab get nicely wrapped up. I just wish that they would have pulled the final twist and tied in the jumper from the beginning.

Verdict: I am afraid people are not going to see Devil because of M. Night’s involvement. That is too bad. This was a very entertaining popcorn flick. I recommend this. I just hope people, and you, can look past M. Night. He really has nothing to do with this film.

The Town

2010-09-16T10:28:00.002-05:00

I was a big fan of Ben Affleck’s directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone. I though the story was compelling, and made you think. I thought the acting was overlooked by the Academy. But surprisingly, I thought the directing was phenomenal. Yes, Ben Affleck was Daredevil. Yes, he was in Paycheck. And yes, he is an Oscar winner. Ever since he married Jennifer Garner, he has been on a rampage to reinvent his career. He turned in an absolutely amazing performance in Hollywoodland, but was panned by the Academy. He was great in State of Play, but the entire film was not on the radar of award season. This could be Ben’s first nomination since his win in 1998.

After I first saw the trailer to this film, I was determined to see it. So, when I got the chance to see the St. Louis screening on Monday, I jumped out of my chair, printed my tickets and texted my friend to see if he was interested. Of course, he was.

The Town is based on an award winning novel by Chuck Hogan, Prince of Thieves. I am in the middle of it, but have not finished it, yet. The cast is full of great actors in great roles, and Blake Lively. Jon Hamm, Golden Globe winner for Mad Men, plays FBI Special Agent Adam Frawley who is given the task of tracking down a group of bank robbers. Jeremy Renner, Academy Award nominee for The Hurt Locker, plays Ben Affleck’s best friend and group co-leader Jem. Chris Cooper, Academy Award winner for Adaptation, plays Ben’s father. So, with this cast, an award winning novel, and a great director, this movie was just too good to be true.

Well, The Town was awesome. It is the second best movie I have seen all year, with Inception being the only one better. I was a bit worried when the first action scene came on screen. It was great. The action was great. The shootouts were great. It shows that Ben Affleck knows and loves Boston. All the acting was great. I will even say that Blake Lively was tolerable. The music was a bit hit or miss. The script was great.

The Town follows a group of friends who live in Charlestown in Boston, or more fondly referred to as The Town. This group of friends robs banks and armored cars. It opens with a robbery on a bank. While there, the silent alarm is tripped. This causes the crew to take a hostage, Claire Keesey. This marks the group’s first kidnapping. They let her go free, but they are afraid that she might have seen something that could give them away. The FBI is trying to solve the robbery, and they hope she can be of use. Doug falls in love with her. In the meantime, a mysterious florist, played by another Oscar nominee, gives them the goods on a final score. So, with the FBI close on their tail, the group goes for one more take.

When the movie was over, I was disappointed. I wanted it to go on. I wanted to see more. As I said above, I loved this movie. Jeremy Renner was amazing. Jon Hamm was great. The acting was so good. There were great actors in small roles. Chris Cooper was only in one scene, but he owned it. The dialog was compelling. I loved the scene between Affleck and Renner, when Affleck explains that he needs Renner’s help, but he cannot ask any questions, now or ever. But, they are going to hurt people. He asks him if he is okay with that. Renner’s response: “Who’s car we takin’?” Excellent. Verdict: See this movie. It is just over 2 hours, and I loved every minute of it. I highly recommend The Town. Let’s see if the award season with miss this one like they did Gone Baby Gone.

The Expendables

2010-08-13T12:27:00.006-05:00

I am paying for it right now, but, it was worth it. I went to the midnight show last of The Expendables. Surprisingly, it was not that full. The theater I was at had a midnight showing of all three wide releases. I have been stalking and waiting for this movie since the day I heard about it. I was all over the bootleg trailer when it hit the internet. I watched the official trailer more than anyone should. My excitement and anticipation was so high, the wife warned me that I was setting myself up for disappointment.

Well, I am happy to say, I was not let down. I loved Stallone’s latest film. Before I go much further, make no mistake, this is not a great movie. It will not be nominated for any Oscars or Golden Globes. But, it was everything I thought it could be, would be, but a little shy of what it should be.

The thought of Stallone, Statham, Li, Crews, Rourke, Lundgren, Austin, Roberts, Daniels, Schwarzenegger and Willis in the same movie is enough to make any man get giddy. I sat down and counted the total movies that I have seen with each of them, because I use my time wisely. The answer: 165, not counting this film.

Stallone wrote the screenplay. Stallone sat in the director’s chair. Stallone wrote and directed Rocky Balboa and Rambo. So, going in, there was some level of expectation. This is where the film falters. I found a bunch of the dialog a bit corny and forced. Unusual to Sly’s normal scripts, the characters were a bit under developed. Even in Rambo, the mercenaries were a bit more developed. Stallone tries to round out the characters, but the scenes just seem to serve as filler until the next action sequence. I also think that the film could have benefited from someone else directing. Stallone might have been a little too close to the project.

The plot is nothing spectacular, but that was to be expected. The Expendables centers on a group of mercenaries, called The Expendables, and their “missions.” After an opening mission worthy of a Bond film, they return to get their next job. Stallone meets with Willis and Schwarzenegger to discuss a possible job on the fictitious island of Vilena. If you Google the name, you get an interesting result. Anyway, Stallone and his team, Statham, Li, Couture and Crews take it.

The mission is simple. Kill the dictator of this island. The problem is he has backing from a rogue CIA agent, Roberts. Roberts has his own team, Austin and Daniels, along with an entire army under the dictator. Where does Lundgren fit in? He is an ex-Expendable. And Rourke? Ex-Expendables, too.

Well, this wonderfully simple plot leads to an epic battle that has plenty of blood, kicks, punches, explosions, gunshots, and everything else you can think of, to get your fill for the rest of the year. Some of it was so ridiculous; you couldn’t help but yell, “OOOOOOOOOH!” I read every article, every interview, and watched Stallone on every talk show. I knew what to expect, and I was still in awe. They actors used no wires for their fight scenes. Stallone talked about breaking his neck in the fight with Austin. He talks about how the stuntmen did not want to go another round with Couture. Stallone wanted it all to be “real,“ and it looked good. There are two scenes that utilize CGI, and they stick out. The opening boat scene and the palace at the end both look bad compared to the rest.

At only 103 minutes, I was sad to see The Expendables end. I could have watched it again, even though it was 2 am. Yes, it was ridiculous. Yes, the plot was thin. Yes, the acting was either over the top, or just plain bad. But, that is what I was expecting. The real drawback to me is this: The Expendables seemed like an eighties action movie made in the eighties. It does not have the updated quality that Rambo had. Rambo seemed to be an updated version o f an eighties film. Verdict: Probably my guiltiest pleasure in a very long time. Probably my guiltiest pleasure to be had for a very long time. If you like the kinds of movies that the actors are in, then this is a no-brainer must-see. Just do me a favor, if you are a male, see this while your better half sees Eat Pray Love, unless she hates it like my wife. See the trailer below:

And because I found it, and I couldn't help it:

Via: Term Life Insurance

End of June, Now July

2010-07-07T09:55:00.002-05:00

Well, I missed Karate Kid and The A-Team this past month. Really, for no reason. I had a busy month, but no reason that I shouldn't have found time to see them. I did, however, go see Jonah Hex, and you can tell from my review, it was terrible. Toy Story 3 leads for best movie of the year, so far. I have already seen Despicable Me and Knight and Day this month, but that is only the start. For the rest of the month, I plan to see Predators, Inception, Salt and possibly The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I will be seeing The Girl Who Played with Fire with the book club members. Also on the Indie circuit, I hope to see Winter's Bone and Cyrus. Again, check back and see what I find time to watch.

As a side note, I am pondering adding movies that I catch on DVD. Thoughts?

Despicable Me

2010-07-07T09:54:00.001-05:00

Knight & Day

2010-07-07T09:53:00.002-05:00

Toy Story 3

2010-06-29T09:41:00.001-05:00

Jonah Hex

2010-06-21T08:35:00.002-05:00

JONAH HEXED

When I first heard about this movie, I was excited. I love westerns. John Malkovich is a great villain. Megan Fox is hot. Josh Brolin is a solid actor. It is a comic book adaptation.

Well, it failed….epically. Jonah Hex might be one of the worst movies I have had the displeasure to have sat through in theaters, ever. Nothing worked. I should have been warned. I did not dig into this movie as I do normally. I would have found out a few things that could have sent up red flags. Would they have stopped me from seeing it? No. But, they would have at least lowered my expectations. Will Arnett is in this as a soldier, and the role is serious. The writers were the same guys that brought us Crank, Crank 2: High Voltage, and Gamer. I love Crank, refused to sit through the sequel, and was let down heavily by Gamer. I feel that they were a one trick-pony. Now, I hear that they are working on the Ghost Rider sequel. It sounded like they tried to write jokes every five or ten lines, and they went over like a lead balloon. And the last red flag, it was only listed at 80 minutes.

As I mentioned above, nothing worked. The story was hard to follow. It just jumped from scene to scene. I am still not sure why Quentin Turnbull (Malkovich) hates Jonah Hex (Brolin). There was something to do with Hex causing the death of his son, Jeb. Jeb was played by an uncredited Jeffery Dean Morgan marking his third comic book adaptation, all of which bombed at the box office. Then there is the character of Lila. Megan Fox looked so out of place in this movie it hurt. As a whore in the old west, I would never picture Megan Fox. Never. Will Arnett was a caricature of a soldier. I am not sure what his point was. He was a good guy that didn’t believe in hiring the bad guy, Hex, to hunt down the other bad guy Turnbull. Why? Who cares? I could write and entire 5 pages on why the story was bad and did not work, but why bother?

I love musical scores. I have not heard one as misplaced since the unfortunate Public Enemies score last summer. The duo of Marco Beltrami and John Powell gave us the old twang of guitars meets Godsmack. And it was down harshly and rough. Twang-twang-twang-BUMP-BUMP-BANG-BANG-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP! Awful.

And finally, what caused the biggest problem? The bad story and screenplay is one thing. The actors can only work with what they have. The music was terrible. But, this was supposed to be a western based on a comic book. I would have thought there would have been some awesome action. I was wrong. The director did not know what he was doing, and it showed. This was his first live action movie to direct, and only his second movie to direct. Before this, he did Horton Hears a Who and worked as an animator at Pixar. Who would have thought he could do this? Apparently, Warner Bros.

Verdict: I cannot stress this enough, do not waste your time. It was awful. If you don’t believe me, it was at a 12% on Rottentomatoes, and it opened with just over $5 million. The one thing I liked, Tom Wopat! Go Luke Duke!

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2010-06-04T10:40:00.002-05:00

Well, this was my first outing to a movie with our book club. Last month, we read the novel by Stieg Larsson. It was amazing to say the least. The local art house theater still had the movie playing, so we set a date to go see it. As I usually do, I dug into the movie and its key players. Being a foreign film, I did not know anything that any of them had done. I did, however, learn that the film is the highest grossing Swedish film of all time. I am no stranger to foreign films, and I have no problem with subtitles. Some of the people in the book club were worried about it, but they all seemed to be fine with it in the end.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the more neutral translation. The book is actually titled, Men Who Hate Women. After reading the book and watching the movie, the original title fits perfectly. The movie follows the basic outline of the story very faithfully. The problem with a movie of a 590 page book is, they have to leave things out and change things enough to meet budget and time restraints. The basic story and plot are still intact.

The story focuses on Mikael Blomkvist, a disgraced investigative journalist, and Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker with autism. The movie doesn’t focus as much on her autism or Aspergers syndrome, yet the book does. It does focus on the relationship between her and her guardian, Nils Bjurman. That is a dark storyline.’

The story opens with Blomkvist being found guilty of libel, and having to leave his post at his newspaper, Millenium. Blomkvist is then hired by the elderly Henrik Vanger to look into the disappearance and murder of his granddaughter Harriet. The catch, she went missing 40 years ago, and the suspects are all part of the Vanger family. They all live on an island with one way on, and it is the same island where Harriet went missing. As the mystery unfolds, Blomkvist hires Salander to help in solving the crime. I do not want to give anything away, so I will leave it at that.

Being a foreign film, it is hard for me to rate the acting. I thought the casting was a bit odd. Noomi Rapace was an excellent choice for Libeth Salander. Bjurman was well cast. I would have chosen someone a little frailer for Henrik. The ladies from the book club thought that Blomkvist should have had more sex appeal. Anyway, the direction was solid. The score was neither good nor bad. The tension was palpable. I love it when all of the elements come together to make you feel uncomfortable.

As for the differences from the novel to the film, the only one I did not care for was the fact that the last 120-175 pages was condensed to about 10 minutes of screen. That part was very interesting and entertaining to me. They cut out a lot of the storyline of the magazine, the Vanger Group, and what really happened with Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Some of these elements bother me because the book is the first in a trilogy, but a planned ten book series until the untimely death of the author. I have only read the first book, but I cannot see how they are going to ignore these storylines in the future films. All three books have been filmed in Sweden. David Fincher has signed on to direct an American remake of all three films. The casting rumors are fun to read, but I do not understand the need for this remake.

In the end, I have to say, read the book. It is amazing. The movie is good. It did seem to have some overlap with the future books, which bothered me a little since I have not read them. But, oh well. I did enjoy it. As a warning, it is 148 minutes long. I kind of lied to the wife about that so she would accompany me. Oops!

The Rest of May and the Start of June

2010-06-01T11:33:00.001-05:00

Nothing else this month interested me enough to go see it in theaters. I will rent Robin Hood and Shrek Forever After, but the rest I will likely pass on. June does bring a few more interesting movies. I will definitely be seeing Toy Story 3, The A-Team and The Karate Kid. I might see Knight & Day, Killers and possibly Jonah Hex. You’ll just have to check back to see.

IRON MAN 2

2010-05-06T11:28:00.002-05:00

This is Why I Love the Summer!

This movie is number two on my anticipated movies of the year list, behind only The Expendables. I was psyched to see this movie. I went to the midnight show at the local IMAX theater and sat with all the comic book dorks. I don’t judge, I was there, too.

We are first introduced to Mickey Rourke’s sinister character Ivan Vanko while he is in Russia watching the news cast that ended the first film. We learn that his father worked with Stark’s father, but there was some bad blood. Vanko is then seen making a weapon similar to what powers Iron Man.

Next, we see Tony Stark, played by returning cast member Robert Downey, Jr., at a Congressional hearing where they want him to turn over the Iron Man suit for military use. The leader of the hearing is Senator Stern, played by Gary Shandling. He calls on rival arms manufacturer Justin Hammer, played by new cast member Sam Rockwell, to back him. After Stark makes him look like a fool, Rhodey is called in by the Senator. As the only new cast member in an established role, Don Cheadle only made me think one thing. Terrence who? Again, Stark works his mojo and the hearing is over. Hammer is not happy, and again, we can see that there is some bad blood there, too.
We are then moved to see Iron Man’s arrival at the Stark Expo. Apparently, these used to be more prevalent in the years of Howard Stark. It is a science expo where people work to create scientific discoveries to benefit world peace and the like. During an old video by Howard, we see that Tony is sick. It is from his power source that is keeping him alive. Ironic.

As the movie moves forward, there are plenty of action scenes. Vanko is arrested for attempting to kill Tony. Hammer intercepts him, and employs him. Rhodey and Stark fight verbally and physically. This leads to the creation of War Machine, and Iron Man suit armored by everything Hammer has. Also along the way, Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury makes an appearance. This was the only stupid part of the film to me.

I don’t like how Marvel is going back and trying to map out a plan to reach an Avengers film after the fact. If Marvel would have mapped it out and planned it ahead of time, I think things would have flowed better. This whole story line was kind of stupid. We find out that Scarlett Johansson’s character works for S.H.I.E.L.D. and she is there to protect him. They mysteriously have the solution to the problem of Stark’s life force, but he has to figure it out for himself. This lead to the only part of the film I threw out as outrageously ridiculous. This forced Favreau and his crew to bend to what was needed to reach this future film. It also makes Iron Man 2 not stand alone as well as it should. I do appreciate how they did not make it an open ended film that requires a sequel. That seems to be the fad as of late, i.e. Pirates of the Caribbean and Transformers.

Howard Stark hypothesized this power source presumably decades ago, but was unable to create it. But, thankfully, Tony is not only smart enough, but rich enough to perform the experiment in his house.

In the end, Vanko becomes a super villain, and by joining forces with War Machine, Iron Man saves the day. Other story lines are explored with Pepper Potts, played once again by Gwyneth Paltrow. Jon Favreau has his cameo as the servant to Stark, but it is a larger role this time. The chemistry was there again between all the actors. The script was great. The dialogue was witty and quick. Favreau showed once again that he is not afraid to have fun with his explosions and action scenes. In an interview about Iron Man 3, Favreau stated that he has nothing planned because he is waiting to see what happens to Stark and Iron Man in The Avengers.

Let me go there again real quick. I just hope that Marvel know what they are doing. Thor may not translate well to film. Look at Hulk and then The Incredible Hulk. Bruce Banner’s alter ego just doesn’t seem to make a good transition to the big screen. Captain America should be a lot easier sell, though some of the casting has me worried. Chris Evans has already been Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm and The Losers’ Jensen. Do you really think it is wise to give him another comic character? He might be too much of a smartass to be Cap.

Anyway, as I do too often with comic book movies, I have written more than needed. Iron Man 2 was awesome. It was not quite as awesome as I was hoping for, but it was far better than The Losers. Verdict: A must-see of fans of the original, and everyone else. IMAX? Not needed.

Date Night

2010-04-28T14:47:00.002-05:00

The Perfect Date Night Movie

Date Night has Tina Fey, her biggest starring role was the tepid Baby Mama, with Steve Carell, his biggest starring role was Get Smart (basically an untested leading man) in a movie directed by Shawn Levy, director of Night at the Museums and Cheaper by the Dozen, in a moderate budget comedy. Seems like a “can’t miss.” Both leading roles come from hit comedy series. It boasts a cameo cast of Mark Wahlberg, Kristen Wiig, Mark Ruffalo, Ray Liota, James Franco, and Mila Kunis. It seems way too good to be true. Happily, it wasn’t.

The wife and I went out to see this on a Friday night, we had free passes, it wasn’t like we hit the lottery and decided to forgo the cheap early shows. From the start, we both found it funny. As it went on, the laughs did not let up.

Date Night was a nice mix of North by Northwest and Adventures in Babysitting. I know, it sounds weird, but once you see it, you’ll understand. The Fosters lead a normal, safe, mundane life in the suburbs of Manhattan. They decide to go into the city for a nice dinner to add some spice back into their marriage. When they can’t get a table, they steal the reservation from the Tripplehorns. This innocent act starts an avalanche of hilarity and adventures. It becomes more than they bargained for when they get in the middle of a blackmail scheme gone wrong.

While watching this movie, I had the same thought I have had many times. How can they keep a straight face while doing all this crazy stuff? I could not imagine trying to keep a straight face looking at Tina Fey say, “I need to go home and fart in a shoebox.” I just laughed to myself typing that line.

After we left the movie, satisfied, and impressed, we went out to dinner, where we had a gift card. We managed our “date night” on a paltry $29.00 with tip. Verdict: This is a Must see for fans of Carell and Fey, but you already saw it if you are. If you aren’t, but enjoy a good adventure, this was well worth the watch.

The Losers

2010-04-28T13:55:00.002-05:00

Living Up To Its Name = Bad

I was so excited to see this movie. I love the trailer! It looked action packed, full of humor, and a decent cast, include the always attractive Zoe Saldana. It was action packed. It was humorous. Zoe Saldana was gorgeous. So where did it go wrong? It went horribly wrong with Jason Patric as Max. Everyone else was good. Jason Patric’s comedic performance as the villain was as bad as Mark Strong’s was good in Kick-Ass. It is hard to not draw comparisons between these two films. Both are based on little known comics series. Both have no name casts, and directors. The Losers was helmed by Sylvain White, who directed the direct-to-DVD sequel I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, and Stomp the Yard.

I believe firmly that it was not the script. The actual lines of dialog were not bad. It was Jason Patric’s approach to the role. His right hand man, Wade, should have been the comedic relief, not Max himself. I was even willing to look past the lame weapon of mass destruction. It was an eco-friendly bomb. Ouch.

As for the action, it was stupendous. I loved it. There was no shortage of action in this movie. I really enjoyed the character interaction. They each had their specialty and part to play. They reminded me a little of and IMF team from Mission: Impossible.

The humor was passable. I did find Chris Evans portrayal of Jensen a bit too much like his Johnny Storm. I just hope he tones it down for his Captain America. If not, that could be the worst comic book movie since Catwoman. Idris Elba is always fun to watch. His Roque really just wanted his life back, no games. Columbus Short has been in many films lately, including Stomp the Yard. This was a better role for him than Armored. Oscar Jaenada was Couger, their sniper. He did not have a lot of lines, but it fit his character well. Oscar is a decorated actor in his home country of Spain, but I am not familiar with any of his films. Finally, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is the leader of this unit, Clay. He played himself playing Clay. I think that the only time Jeffrey has not been this character was when he was the Comedian in Watchmen. Then there is the mysterious Aiesha, played by Zoe Saldana. I almost sat down to watch Crossroads because she was in it. But I quickly remembered, so was Britney Spears. Pass.

As a whole, the movie was entertaining, but it felt wrong. As I mentioned before, I blame Jason Patric. On a positive note, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” has a moment in the film, too. You can never go wrong with Journey. Verdict: Not worth the money in theaters. Yet, it is totally worth a rental. Here’s to hoping Iron Man 2 can get us back on track

Kick-Ass

2010-04-19T12:59:00.001-05:00

Living Up to Its Name = Good

As it is customary for me to do, I geeked out and delved into the people associated with this film. I do love comic books, I went attempted to purchase the Kick-Ass comics, but they proved hard to find. Anyway, the director really only directed Layer Cake and Stardust before embarking on this journey. I love Layer Cake. I have not seen Stardust. So, that made for an interesting beginning. The lead character is Dave Lizewski, who creates his alter-ego, Kick-Ass. The actor is Aaron Johnson. He was in Dummy, a bad film, and he was in The Illusionist, as a young Edward Norton. Throw in McLovin from Superbad, the little sister from (500) Days of Summer, and Nicolas Cage with Mark Strong as the villain, and I was sold. The trailer looked good. So, off I went, with the wife in tow, curious to see if the movie could live up to its name.

It opens with a voice over of why ordinary people are not superheroes. We then meet Dave and his two comic loving friends as the comic store/soda jerk. We briefly meet Chris D’Amico, who later becomes Red Mist. From there, we get a glimpse into the life of Dave. He’s a nobody at school. His only friends are the ones we have already met. One day, after leaving the comic shop, they get “held up” by some thugs who threaten physical violence if they do not surrender their money and other valuables. A man witnesses this, but does nothing.

This is the changing point for Dave. He decides he is going to become a superhero. This does not go well for him. On his second attempt, he made into a YouTube sensation. From here, the story really takes flight. We are introduced earlier to Mindy and Damon Macready, but now we meet their alter-egos, Hit-Girl and Big Daddy. They are a father-daughter duo reminiscent of Batman and Robin. They have an ulterior motive, but warn and help Kick-Ass. Red Mist enters the scene as yet another superhero. The main bad guy is a villainous mobster/drug dealer, played to perfection by Mark Strong.

As the story unravels, there is plenty of violence, more than enough profanity, and not a shred of dignity. The movie’s other turning point occurs in time to ramp up the action one last time for a final assault on the villain’s stronghold.

Throughout the movie, the actors play their roles solidly. Nic Cage goes a little out there with portraying Big Daddy like Adam West did Batman. It kind of works, but it was not given enough time to really work. McLovin was great in his role. Chloe Moretz tore it up as Hit-Girl. As a warning, if you are not a fan of children cussing and using offensive language, this is not your film.

Verdict: Kick-Ass had enough plot twists to keep you guessing, and not too many to where it became tiresome. It was a nice balance of action and story. As the title suggests, the movie did indeed kick ass. I will be buying this when it hits BluRay. This movie officially opened the door to Summer for me. It is the first of 3 comic book movies in four weeks. Next week is The Losers. Two weeks are that, Iron Man 2.

2010-04-08T09:50:00.003-05:00

I have no idea why I did not post this right away. This is going to be my "Movie-of-the-Year." This is the must-see for me. Too much testosterone for just one movie. I will keep you posted.

Why Did I Get Married, Too?

2010-04-05T11:56:00.001-05:00

The wife and I went to see this movie on Sunday morning. We both loved the original. I thought a sequel seemed like a terrible idea. But, I trusted Tyler Perry to not destroy what he had built. So, we saw it. It blew me away. The original covered common ground. Each couple had secrets and dirty laundry. The laundry got aired out in a memorable dinner table scene. At the end of the first movie, the characters faced their conflicts and changed accordingly, or suffered the consequences. I did not understand why a sequel was needed.

Simple, Tyler Perry had other grounds to cover. I could not believe where the beloved characters from the first film went. They went into some dark places. They went into some heavy places. Yet, like the original, all the characters either changed or suffered from the conflicts. I felt bad for all of them at some point in the film. That made the film interesting. Since we already knew the characters from the previous film, he was able to cover so much in 2 hours. There was a hint at infidelity between a few couples, a divorce that got ugly, and trust issues among them all.

As a twice laid-off worker this past year, I really felt bad for and connected with Troy. He uprooted his life in Colorado and moved to Atlanta because Sheila wanted to. Once there, he had trouble finding a job. That made money problems float to the surface. With the other couples in the movie all being well-off, Troy went through feelings of inadequacy and had problems feeling as though he fit in with the rest of the group.

With sequels come the replacements. Yet, this sequel had all the original actors back in their roles. I really appreciate that. I also found it impressive. Each actor brought the same antics from the original back. For those of us that loved Angela, she is crazier this time around. Also, for those of us that cannot stand Janet Jackson’s terrible acting, she brought that back with her. This time around though, I found Sheila to be a bad actress. I do not remember thinking that when I watched the first movie. Making an appearance was Louis Gossett, Jr. and Cicely Tyson. Louis looked old. I know he is over 70, but he looked really old.

Verdict: There was one flaw to this film. There was a shameless cameo at the end that I did not care for. I will not spoil it for anyone. But, I like the actor and respect the actor. I just felt like it almost forces a third movie to be made. If that scene was left off the film, I would say this was better than the original. In the end, I would recommend this movie to anyone that loved the original. To those of you that haven’t seen the first one, why not? Rent it, then go see this one!

As a final thought, Bring on Why Did I Get Married, Again?!?!?!

Alice in IMAX 3D Wonderland

2010-03-16T11:11:00.001-05:00

Well, this movie was Tim Burton being Tim Burton to the power of Tim Burton. Every aspect of this movie screamed Tim Burton. Danny Elfman did the music, Johnny Depp starred, Helena Bonham Carter starred, and then there were the visuals that only Tim Burton could produce. The usuals were accompanied by Anne Hathway, Crispin Glover, and a plethora of voices belonging to the likes of Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry and Michael Sheen.

This telling of the story reminded me of Burton’s take on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He tells a back story and the known story. In this version, Alice is set to be asked to marry a Lord. She freaks, and follows the White Rabbit and falls down the rabbit whole.

From here, she does her adventures in Wonderland. Along the way, we meet all the usual characters that Wonderland has to offer; the Red Queen (Carter), the White Queen(Hathaway), Mad Hatter (Depp), the Rabbit, Tweedledee & Tweedledum, Knave of Hearts (Glover), the Cheshire Cat and of course, the Jaberwocky. Almost everything is CGI. The only main characters that are not in someway computer generated are Mad Hatter, White Queen and Alice herself. The visual effects, though, are stunning. I did pay the extra money to see this in the IMAX in 3D. It was totally worth the extra money.

After the climactic fight with the Jaberwocky, Alice goes back to the exact time she left, and is confronted with the marriage proposal. It was just an odd addition to the story. I am not saying it was bad, but it just seemed like an afterthought. It almost did not feel like it belonged on this movie, but more like his Sweeny Todd.

As far as if it was good, I enjoyed the movie. It is not something I would necessarily purchase. It was entertaining, and lot of that had to do with the 3D aspect. Johnny Depp put in the same performance that he did for Willy Wonka. So, if you are not a fan of Depp in that role, this is not for you. Likewise, if you are not a fan of Burton’s works, this movie is totally not for you. Verdict: If you have the option to see it in 3D at the IMAX, totally worth your $12.50, or however much it would cost you. If not, eh, you could pass if you are sitting on the fence. It would be worth rent if you wanted to wait that long to see it.

STOP @ GREEN ZONE

2010-03-15T10:37:00.002-05:00

Because I loved The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Ultimatum, I was excited to see Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass join forces to bring us a war flick. I was severely let down. I guess after seeing two non-political war films in a row, I was expecting another. Not only was this political, it was so political that it distracting from the rest of the film. But looking back, I realize that the rest of the film wasn’t that great either.

Matt Damon plays Chief Officer Miller. He leads a team into WMD sites. We encounter him on his third straight attempt; and again, they come up empty. This prompts him to ask about the bad intelligence. This question makes Kinnear’s Clark Poundstone mad, and Brendon Gleeson’s Martin Brown happy. In a quick one scene cameo is The Unit’s Michael O’Neill.

The premise is then clear, we are at war with bad intel and there are no WMDs. This simple point is pounded down our throats for the remainder of this drab film.

So, this leads us on a search from a source code-named “Magellan.” From this point, we get rogue Miller hunting down the truth. What hinders this heroic soldier’s search for truth? Briggs, sent by Poundstone. Briggs is played by the always bad guy Jason Isaacs. He is a Special Forces soldier that is supposed to be “evil.” He is out to eliminate “Magellan” before he can be brought in to blow the top off the bad intelligence.

The other conflict, if you will, is between Poundstone and Brown. I found this almost more interesting than the truth about Magellan. Their dispute is over who should run the new regime in Iraq, and how it should be handled. Yet, again, it is very politically biased.

Finally, the climatic scene is a Greengrass fast paced, quick cut, scene on crack. I think the conversation before filming it went like this: Greengrass “Alright camera man, we are going to tape this camera to the heel of your shoe. Now, you are going to run through this dimly lit cluttered market. You get a five second head start, then we are sending Mr. Isaacs and Mr. Damon to chase you down. If they appear in your footage (no pun intended), then great. If they don’t, who cares? You can’t see anything anyway.” This was possibly the worst climax scene I have seen in a long time.

In the end, I was happy to see this movie end. I enjoyed Greengrass’s fast cuts and A.D.D. take on action in the Bourne series, but I feel that it has been played out. The script also had its terrible moments. “The reasons don’t matter.” “They matter to me.” Ouch. I was just waiting on Pounstone to yell, “You can’t handle the truth!” That is all that was missing to complete the travesty that was Green Zone. Verdict: Not worth the time or money, especially in theaters. But that is why I do this, to save you time and money.

Taking Chance

2010-03-10T11:06:00.001-06:00

I have a soft spot for the Armed Forces. My best friend of over 20 years is in the Army. My Best Man was in the Navy, now he is in the Marines. My cousin is in the National Guard and he did a tour in Iraq. I have lost a classmate in Iraq as well.

So, when I saw the preview for this TV movie, I wished I had HBO. After Kevin Bacon won the Golden Globe for his performance, I moved it to the top of my Blockbuster Online queue. Last night, I sat down to watch it.

We follow the true story of Lt. Col. Michael Stobl, played by Kevin Bacon, as he is the military escort for a fallen Marine. The Marine is Private First Class Chance Phelps. Stobl escorts him on his journey to his final resting place in Wyoming. Stobl felt connected to the Marine because they are from the same hometown. It turns out that he joined up in the same town, but he grew up in Wyoming.

Lt. Col. Stobl was an office worker who analyzes manpower for the military. He has a wife and two kids. He chose not to go to Iraq with Operation: Iraqi Freedom. He felt like less of a soldier even though he was a veteran of Desert Storm. This leads him to make his decision.

Taking Chance was an emotionally moving film. From the time Stobl leaves on his journey, he and Phelps are shown great respect all the way to Wyoming. I hate to admit it, but it made my cry so many times at so many scenes that I felt a little less masculine. One other interesting aspect was that we see the crew of people who prepare the bodies of the fallen. It was a very touching aspect that I was unaware of. I do not know how these people can do what they do.

Kevin Bacon was moving in this performance. He had very few lines, but he made the most of what he had. His actions and reactions to others also helped make the film emotional and moving. The direction and writing were superb. They use of cut scenes of the cleaning and the personal effects also helped set the mood. It is almost sad that this was not released in theaters.

Verdict: I loved this touching film. I thank soldiers when I see them on the street, at restaurants, at hotels, etc. This film showed people thanking and going out of their way to help Stobl get Chance Phelps to his grave sight. I highly recommend this movie to anyone that knows a member of the Armed Forces, especially to anyone who has lost someone. I enjoyed the fact that there was no political influence in the film. This was worth the rent, now I am looking to purchase it. It was the most emotional 77 minute movie I have ever seen. Also, look for Tom Wopat at the end.

Biggest Disappointments of 2009

2009-12-22T11:48:00.002-06:00

As is the case every year, some movies surprise and some movies disappoint. I posted earlier my favorite movies of the year. So, I decided that I would dedicate some time to those few films that were not worth my time, or anyone's.

Public Enemies-Why? This movie was so disappointing that I don't even know where to begin. After a killer trailer, I was too stoked to see it. With Michael Mann directing, two of the hottest actors in Depp and Bale, this looked too good to be true. And it was. Both actors seemed unispired and it seemed as though they phoned in their lines. The direction was alright. Mann knows how to have a shoot-out. The music was atrocious. All in all, a very sad attempt at a very cool story.

Paranormal Activity-Why? I know I seem to be in the minority here. I was not impressed by this overly hyped re-imaging of the superior Blair Witch Project. It started out good, got moving great, but ended terribly. The actual last scene was made more preposterous when I found out that it was Steven Spielberg's idea. This has to be my wife's most disappointing film of the year. All she wanted was to be scared, and she wasn't.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen-Why? It was bigger, louder, and stupider than the original. The first one focused on making it seem "real." This one focused on making it loud and obnoxious. They sacrificed storyline for action. They sacrificed character development for action. They sacrificed action for more action. This was as big of a let down as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. All action, so point.

Seven Pounds-Why? Will Smith is solid. He really does not make bad movies, especially lately. (Hancock is not as bad as some think, just too short.). This movie was just terrible. Onvce you understand what is going on, I could not wait for it to end. I know that this movie came out in 2008, but I saw it January 1. It was my first movie of the year. It put a bad taste in my mouth for the year. One that was luckily taken away by Taken a few weeks later.