The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Based on the short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Benjamin Button, is a man who is born in his late 80's and ages backwards. He meets a young girl and they become fast friends although their lives are literally traveling in the opposite direction.

This was an entertaining, albeit very long movie. It clocked in barely under three hours. Nevertheless it was interesting and made you think about aging and the prospect of getting old--is that a good thing?. Anyway the story is very simple, not much to it. In fact there really isn't much of a plot, just random adventures that don't really lead us any where.

This film as a matter of fact, totally reminded me of Forest Gump--just not as memorable (which is not saying much as I tend to think of Forest Gump as forgettable). It is like seeing historical events through the eyes of a not so ordinary person. It was cute and sweet and I guess I am glad I saw it. But if it is ever on TV-I'll probably change the channel.


**1/2

Rated PG-13 (language and sexual content)

Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood stars and directed this film about Walt Kowalski, a Korean War Veteran that has just buried his wife and is now left alone to deal with the new immigrant neighbors.

This movie has some funny parts and I would assume that the script was really, really well written. Nevertheless--the acting, tst, tst, tst, tst. Acting. What can I say, it was like watching a student film. Clint Eastwood, despite his reoccurring growl, is great as always, but the kids are so bad at their line delivery that it completely takes you out of the movie and frankly made me awkwardly uncomfortable.

The racial slurs that Eastwood spits out at the neighbors and friends for that matter, though droll, start to become overkill and again the acting, or lack thereof begins to be more entertaining than the movie itself as most of the theatre was laughing at how bad it was. Which is so odd for an Eastwood movie! Normally his stuff is what the Oscars are all about--not this time. He needs to fire his casting director. Seriously horrific.

If you are looking for an worthwhile Eastwood film--see Changeling!

** Rentable

Rated R (for language and violence)

Seven Pounds

Will Smith stars in this drama about a man trying to help drastically change the lives of strangers.

Yeah that's all you get in terms of synopsis. "A man trying to change the lives of strangers." Like you needed me to tell you that was what this movie was about right? OK perhaps not, however what you may need me to tell you is that this incredibly sappy and dreary flick was so boring I was writhing in my seat hoping it would all come to an end.

The pacing is so slow that with the opening scene, which introduces us to our 'hero' as he is committing suicide--yes that is how it starts--you begin to consider the option yourself. Everything is spoon fed to the audience as the emotionally stunted story takes its own sweet time to slowly--ever so slowly-- unravel.

This was directed by Gabriele Muccino who also directed Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness--another film that I found to be a tad heavy handed nevertheless leaps and bounds better than Seven Pounds.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for thematic material)

Bolt

The story of Bolt the dog, who is the star of a TV show and doesn't know it's just a TV show.  He loses his best friend, co-star and owner, Penny, which leads him on a cross country search where he finds new friends and adventure along the way.

This is a solid effort by Disney Animation.  This is the first Disney Animation Studios film to be executive produced by Pixar director (Toy Story, Toy Story 2, Cars) and now head of animation at Pixar and Disney, John Lasseter, and it's apparent that Disney's story telling is improving with his help.  It's about at the level of Meet the Robinson's which was also enjoyable.  The animation, models, sets and textures look great.  The story has some heart to it, not quite the Pixar level, but solid.  The characters are likable, especially Rhino the hamster, who is voiced by Mark Walton, cousin to my cousins, we're not related but we have the same cousins...if that makes sense. He is a storyboard artist at Disney Animation and was a stand-in voice for Rhino but did such a good job they decided to keep him as the voice.  I attended a special viewing of Bolt that Mark was at, he answered some questions before and after the film and I got to meet him, a very nice guy, his performance really is the highlight of the movie.  

*** out of 4 (Rated PG for intense action and explosions)

Australia

The epic story of an English woman who during the beginning of WWII, travels to Australia to defend her husbands land and cattle from being stolen with the help of an Outback cattle driver called "The Drover", while dealing with Japan's attack on Australia.

Mandy told me this movie is terrible so going in my expectations were as low as could be, so of course I didn't think it was that bad.  The movie tries to be epic, and it is in certain aspects, like it's look, although some special fx scenes look just like fx shots and don't match the rest of the movie's look.  It's also epic in it's length, it's way too long at about 2 hours and 50 minutes, but again Mandy told me it was way too long before I saw it so I was prepared for the length and didn't mind it that much.  The story is kind of weak, very predictable and has too many distractions,  it seems like the Aussie director, who also directed Moulan Rouge, just wanted an excuse to direct a movie about Australia with Australian movie stars.  It's not the most inspiring or "epic" story, but it at least kept my interest enough not to hate it.  Maybe worth a renting if you really want to see it, otherwise you'll be alright passing on this one.

**1/2 out of 4 (Rated PG-13 for violence, language (one F-bomb), and sex)

Four Christmases

A happily unconventional couple spends Christmas in the most conventional way--with their dysfunctional families.

I saw this the day after Thanksgiving, still trying to recover from Australia, the fact that it was only an hour and twenty two minutes was already a huge plus. Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon don't really have a lot of chemistry as a couple, nevertheless as individual actors they are always entertaining. The flick is peppered with the regular Vince Vaughn comedy crew and is a tad crude in parts, but still kind of funny. Totally predictable, it was fun holiday fluff.

Forgettable? Yes. But at least you won't have to try and block it out.

**1/2 Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for sexual content and language)

Australia

A British aristocrat travels to Australia to save her marriage and sell their cattle ranch. After a rough introduction to the country opens her eyes to what her husband was trying to accomplish she agrees to stay and help save the ranch from the local bullies, no pun intended.

OK so that is a broad brush at trying to describe this movie. The fact of the matter is, that I have already blocked out most of it. I went and saw this at 9:30 PM, by 10:30 I was starring at my watch in unbelief--I still had two more hours to go and lost interest 40 minutes ago! How do I attempt to explain this....I went and saw it because I loved Moulin Rouge and Romeo+Juliet both of which were directed by Baz Luhrmann and thought that this too would be fun and worth seeing. Tst tst tst. As luck would have it, that was not the case.

Granted I went in with high expectations, thinking it would be some sort of romanticized historical drama about how Australia came to be. You know kind of a Titanic meets Braveheart sort of a deal. No, this was more like City Slickers meets The Wizard of Oz --I know, it just doesn't sit right, does it? The story is weak and the plot is muddled. I'm not sure the actors themselves really knew what the main focus of the story was. Oh yeah did I mention that it was way too long?

*1/2 Barely Rentable

Rated PG-13 (again I blocked most of it out, violence maybe?)

BOLT

Bolt, the TV super-dog is a pop-culture hero, he however doesn't know that it is all make believe. When filming one of the episodes, Bolt unknowingly escapes from the Hollywood set only to end up in New York City. There he captures a cat and forces her to help him make the trek to locate his owner, Penny. Along the way they enlist the help of Rhino a star-struck hamster that is also unable to tell the difference from TV and reality.

This is actually pretty clever. The hamster absolutely steels the show and the pigeons cracked me up. I can't say that the story is as endearing as any of the Pixar flicks, or any of the characters for that matter. The set up takes way too long, but I suppose is somewhat necessary and the ending is predictable albeit funny in its attempts to make fun of the movie industry in general.

Over all the movie was semi-entertaining. Its not Pixar--but then again can anyone really compete with them?

** 1/2 Rentable

Rated PG (no clue why--it should be G)

Quantum of Solace

Bond, James Bond, is back in the sequel to the very well done series reboot, Casino Royale. 007 is chasing the men behind the death of his lost love, Vespa, while simultaneously uncovering their plot to take over the world through a certain natural resource.

This Bond is a fun and entertaining movie. It starts with 4 different non-stop action sequences, the beginning car chase is the best of them all. Daniel Craig proves again he's one of the best Bond's in the series, he especially fits the more realistic direction these last two Bond movies have taken. You can definitely see the influence the Bourne films have had on Bond, which is a good thing in my mind, but I'm afraid America has taken over the best spy/assassin thrown for now, shame Britain. The problem with this Bond is the story. It's quite confusing and uses a very round about way to get to the main point You kind of forget Bond's motives until you're reminded of them at the very end. Although I really like the direction of the new Bond films, I have to call them out on the lack of use of the famous theme song. It is very subtly used, almost unnoticeable, in certain points, but you really don't hear it blare until the closing credits. I realize they're going away from some of the cliches and camp of past Bond films but reducing the theme song's impact is highly unnecessary. You'll also notice the absence of 007's most famous line, which appeared almost perfectly at the end of Casino Royale.

All in all it's a fun time, worth a trip to the theater, but it doesn't quite live up to it's predecessor.

*** out of 4 (Rated PG-13 for the same reasons every Bond is PG-13)

Quantum of Solace

Bond is back in this direct sequel to Casino Royale, which literally picks up one hour after the last movie left off. Bond is in pursuit of those that blackmailed Vesper Lynd. It leads him to a multi-million dollar environmental organization that has ties to his own government.

OK so I know that my synopsis of the film is pretty flimsy, but it is hard to give more information with out giving too much away. Also unlike previous 007 flicks where we have, action, action, action...slow down and catch the audience up with the plot, action, action, action...throw in a love scene and a few plot hints and then finish off with a tad more action. We are all familiar with the formula-right? But no, this one is just non-stop action and they hope you are paying close enough attention to pick up the few plot points along the way.

I don't know that this was as good as its predecessor, its lack of theme song usage and other certain 007 reliables were a tad offensive to me, nevertheless I particularly enjoyed that most of the film took place in Bolivia--even if it was filmed in Chili. But totally worth seeing on the big screen and speedy enough that one may consider seeing it a second time.

*** Must See

Rated PG-13 (for violence and some sexual content)

Changeling

Christine Collins comes home to find her son, Walter, missing. After months of searching the LA police department shows up at her office with the news that Walter has been found alive in Illinois and is on his way home. To her horror, the boy that is returned to her is not her son. To make matters worse, the police department is determined to prove that they have in fact done their job and that the boy is Walter.

This movie, based on a true story, is amazingly difficult to watch, nevertheless Clint Eastwood does a great job of recreating LA in the late 20's. Angelina Jolie, who is normally seen in power femme fatale roles does an incredible job as the reserved, soft spoken single mother during a time when very few people publicly denounced the authorities. Granted it gets horrifically frustrating at times, but again that is part of the era. What was totally unexpected is the gruesome twist that pops up mid-flick. All the more horrifying when you remember that this is a true story.

The score is really well done and completely draws you in and again the pacing and characterization can get a tad exasperating but all in all it is very well made and albeit grisly, still entertaining.

*** Must See

Rated R (some violence and disturbing content)

Body of Lies

CIA operative, Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio), is on the trail of a terrorist ring leader working out of Jordan. His attempts at running a successful espionage operation depend on the web of mistrust between him and his boss, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) not to mention the head of Jordanian intelligence.

OK so as far as realistic spy movies go, this one is actually semi-decent, however at two hours and ten minutes, it is far too long and burns out in the end. Russell Crowe is fabulous as the man you love to hate--he is just delightfully despicable. DiCaprio is also great and fun to watch, but the late plot twists make the audience begin to doubt that the film will ever actually end. Surprisingly witty and full of sharp dialogue that got many a laughs, just wasn't tight enough in the story department and ended up being predictable.

** 1/2 Rentable

Rated R (for extreme violence and language)

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick a heartbroken bass player wallows in his grief by making mixed CD's for his ex-girlfriend, who quickly discards them. Norah has been retrieving the CD's from the garbage and is in awe of the mixes.

This teenage comedy has some really funny dialogue and does a fabulous job at creating the awkward teenage angst. However despite it's laugh out loud moments, which are kind of hit and miss, the pacing is off and the show seemed to drag. The quirky side characters, which are poorly underdeveloped and underused, come in and out of the script at random times--again throwing the timing off.

Overall it isn't horrid and has some amazingly memorable lines--but it isn't Juno or even Napoleon Dynamite for that matter.
Netflix it.

** 1/2 Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for language and sexual content)

Religulous

Bill Maher sets out across the world to interview people and question them about their faith and why they believe.

Absolutely hilarious. This very funny, albeit one sided documentary, is a critical look at religion. Many people have said that it is totally sacrilegious and demeaning. Perhaps it is my self absorbed arrogance or that I tend to be a tad more cynical than most but I didn't even find this movie offensive.

My criticism of this film is not its content but the way Maher ended it. He spends the entire film humorously mocking the belief's of others only to end it with him on a soap box preaching his own "religion" for the last 10 to 15 minutes of the show. Claiming that he has faith in humanity not in a higher power, which is kind of funny, considering history--this is anything but rational thought. He in fact turns into that which he seems to scorn. It was like he just couldn't help but to jump on the band wagon, kind of ironic. Nevertheless still funny.

I wouldn't recommend this to anyone that can't handle their own religious beliefs being challenged or scrutinized, particularly if you are Christian, Jewish, or Muslim as those are the three main faiths that are questioned throughout the film. Nevertheless if you are secure in your own faith and can deal with the opinions of others I think you will be quite entertained.

*** Must See

Rated R (for language, some violence and brief nudity)

The Express

Based on a true story, "The Express" tells the story of Syracuse University star running back, Ernie Davis. The first black college football player to win the Heisman Trophy. The film follows Davis' through various struggles in his career. From filling the shoes of recently graduated Syracuse running back, Jim Brown, who some consider to be the greatest running back of all time, to confronting the deplorable racism of his coach, teammates, fans and society as he tries to deal with being treated as a superstar, and yet at the same time as a second-class citizen, to the realization of a possible career ending disease.

There are some very inspiring moments in this film, some very emotional moments that really help you care and feel for the characters. Dennis Quaid does a solid job as the coach, although at some points I wanted him to maintain his hard edge that he does a great job of establishing earlier in the film. I wanted his opening up to be a little more dramatic. The story jumps around a little too much, I felt like it needed to be tighter in terms of story telling and running time, it feels about 20 to 30 minutes too long. One mark of a solid sports movie is how the overall "sports goal" at hand ties in with the characters personal struggles and conflicts, i.e. Rudy making the team, Hoosiers winning the tournament, Rocky in the title fight, etc. It seems in this movie they struggle to clearly establish the "sports goal". Is it winning the national championship? Davis winning the Heisman? etc. The sports action is well done and not overplayed though.

It's rated PG, which I found a little questionable with the language, racial slurs and one semi-racy scene. Although they do a good job of trying to keep a Disney PG rating while not sugar coating how things were a few short decades ago, I still feel that being a little more realistic and accurate while incurring a PG-13 or even R rating would better serve. Overall it's a decent movie, somewhere in between a trip to the theater and a rental.

**1/2 out of 4

Appaloosa

Two hired guns, Virgil Cole and Everett Hitch, are employed to clean up the small town of Appaloosa that is being over run by a ruthless rancher, Randall Bragg and his band of outlaws.

This western starts out really strong. Viggo Mortensen and Ed Harris have an amazing dynamic. They are fun to watch and the dialogue seems effortless. The story itself however runs out of steam and falls flat. Renee Zellweger brings little to the story or screen, and is somewhat miscast, not to mention poorly written. Again the pacing is great up until the anti-climactic climax of the story where it fizzles and drags on for about 20 minutes more than necessary.

Take note that the dialogue is worth your time--but probably not your $10. -- Netflix it.

**1/2 Rentable

Rated R (for violence and some language)

Burn After Reading

Set in Washington D.C., an ousted CIA official, John Malcovich's, memoirs end up in the wrong hands. Namely Brad Pitt and Frances McDormand, two personal trainers at a local gym. Chaos follows as the Government gets wind of their espionage attempts.

If you are a Coen brothers fan I predict you will really enjoy this movie. Although slowly paced, the humor is sharp and blatantly poignant when it comes to our Government. Brad Pitt is hilarious and steals every scene he is in. If nothing else one should see this, just for his performance. Also note worthy, are the scenes with J.K. Simmons and David Rashce--the CIA superiors that are trying to make sense of everything--really funny.

It is a tad crass, nevertheless, the story is really clever and fun to follow--again a bit slow but worthy of your time.

*** Must See

Rated R (for language, some sexual content, and violence)

Eagle Eye

Shia LeBouf plays a man who is sucked into a weird game of cat and mouse by random phone calls giving him directions by someone or something that is watching his every move.

This movie is just plain idiotic. The first hour and a half are spent watching LeBouf and the leading lady receive phone calls with a woman's voice on the other end giving them strange instructions and somehow knowing their every move while safely ushering them through police chases, explosions, and police shootouts. After an hour and a half of this monotony, we still don't know who's making the calls, how they can see and control all or where and why the characters are running, and when all of it is finally revealed, I was saying to myself, "Seriously? This is it?" The whole story is so stupidly horrid that as I explained it to my co-workers who haven't seen it and don't intend to, they busted up in laughter, it's that ridiculous. Shia LeBouf is the only bright spot, as he continues to prove he's a great actor and is very likable in a lead roll. This isn't even worth a rental.

Not a chance, *1/2 out of 4
(Rated PG-13 for violence and language)

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Vicky and Cristina are best friends that opt to spend a summer in Barcelona, but for very different reasons. Vicky is a very straight-laced engaged young woman and plans to spend her summer doing research for her thesis and planning her wedding. Cristina is a sexual extrovert and self proclaimed free spirit that plans to spend the summer finding herself. When the girls meet Juan Antonio, a painter, and his insane ex-wife their plans get turned on end.

If you opt to see this movie, go in knowing that it is very very slow paced. In fact slow enough that you can have a conversation with those around you and not miss much of the plot--or whatever it is. This movie is not as complicated or chaotic as it might seem--just odd and random. It is in fact quite predictable, yet the voice of god narrative gives it some comedic moments.

Woody Allen has never been a favorite of mine. He tries too hard for anything to be truly comical and is just quirky enough that you can never take his stuff seriously. Nevertheless, this wasn't that bad. Not that great either, but tolerable.

** Rentable

PG-13 (for lots of sexuality and smoking)

Righteous Kill

Two veteran police detectives lead an investigation to find a vigilante serial killer. Their investigation begins to hit home when all evidence suggests that the killer is a police officer.

You know when you have both Al Pacino and Robert De Niro on the same screen you end up with movies like "The Godfather Part 2" and "Heat" -- I mean it is pretty tough to go wrong....They did.

This movie was such a disappointment. Seriously bad, right from the get go. The dialogue is forced, the plot--that thinks it is full of twists, isn't, AND the characters that they play don't make any sense. I mean these men are old--not that there is anything wrong with that, nevertheless it does make it a tad uncomfortable when they are trying to portray the police officers from "Bad Boys".

You will have predicted the ending before the opening credits are over--which by the way is the only good part of the movie.

* 1/2 Not-A-Chance

Rated R (for language, violence, sexual content, and drug use)

Traitor

A Muslim man born in the Sudan and raised in the US is arrested for dealing weapons to terrorists. While in prison in the Middle East he joins a terrorist group and the FBI begins tracking him down. I can't say much more about the plot as I may ruin something.

Mandy is completely right about the pacing. This is a very intruiging story with lots of great twists and turns, but the movie is so slow. About a third of the way through I caught myself thinking, this is kind of intense...but at the same time, very boring, nothing exciting had happened since the opening scenes. There are lots of interesting delemas brought up that make you think of where loyalties to country, religion and friends lie and which should take presidence. The acting is great, very well done. But as previously stated the pacing is totally off and the movie struggles to keep your interest. PS, I had some psychotic people in front of me at this movie who laughed, really loud and long, after very dramatic parts and after big explosions killed many people. Very weird and troubling.

** out of 4 (rentable)

Traitor

Samir Horn is an arms dealer that is arrested and thrown into prison. While there he is befriended by members of the Jihad at the same time he is being followed by the FBI, whom are convinced that he is entangled in a covert operation.

This movie has been compared to the Bourne films....that is kind of a stretch. This movie actually has such a great twisted story but the pacing is so completely off that the audience loses interest.

I would blame most of this on the editing...something was just off. It was as though the camera was moving fast, the music was intense, but what was actually happening on screen couldn't keep up and totally fell flat. In fact the pacing is so slow that the audience is always one step (if not more) ahead of the story. This was a well thought out espionage story that was told so slow it becomes pitifully predictable.

This was a huge disappointment, because again the story was there--Post just didn't hold up their end.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for language and violence)

Tropic Thunder

A group of high profile, self absorbed actors go to Vietnam to film a war-epic. While there, they're thrown into a real war with Vietnamese guerillas, thinking it's all part of the show, they soon realize it's all too real.

This movie is hilarious, it's directed by Ben Stiller, who also stars in it. Robert Downey Jr. steals the show by far. He plays a white, Australian actor, very much inspired by Russel Crowe, who has an operation to make himself black. He totally becomes black, complete with accent and all, and never breaks character, on or off camera. If you didn't know it was Robert Downey Jr., you would think it's some unkown actor. It's pretty amazing. Oh and not advertised at all for some reason is the roll of Tom Cruise as the heartless and impatient producer and he is quite funny as well. It gets pretty crass at some points, particularly Jack Black. And it kind of loses momentum about 3/4th's of the way through. But as Mandy said, it's a great jab at the movie industry and overall it's very funny and entertaining. Rated R for language violence.

*** out of 4

Tropic Thunder

While filming the over budget war movie, "Tropic Thunder" the five feuding action stars are thrown into a guerrilla style shoot within the Vietnam Jungle--so they think.

If you know anything about Hollywood and how it works with the multi millions of dollars that are thrown around, the insane producers, the ruthless agents, the weaselly assistants, the pampered actors, and never ending media coverage --this movie has it all and shamelessly makes fun of every aspect of it--Hilarious!

There are a bunch of really funny cameos and unexpected actors that turn up in this satire. Robert Downey Jr. is brilliantly funny as the "black man". Jack Black is perfectly cast as the coked out comedian and Ben Stiller who has recently been in nothing but flops seems to play himself--perfectly.

Perhaps my affinity for film and movies in general makes me like this movie more than I should. I found it to be extremely funny despite its crass nature. One warning, this movie is not for the weak--it is rated R and for good reason--there is a little bit of violence and gore and a whole hell of a lot of profanity.

***

Rated R (for pervasive language, violence, drugs and sexual references)

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Rick O'Connell and his wife, Evelyn have retired from adventure only to find their lives dull and boring. When the British government comes to them for help in returning a stolen Chinese artifact, they can't resist and are off to Shanghai where unbeknownst to them their son, Alex, is heading up an archaeological dig that is about to change the world.

No, no, no, no, NO!! Don't do it! OK first of all, this movie got made--for reals! I have always been somewhat critical of the Mummy, The original was such a great idea. It was reminiscent to Raiders of the Lost Ark, it had a believable cast, it was the perfect setting...and then the dialogue! Oh the painful, awful, scratch your nails on a chalk board dialogue. Mind you, this third installment makes the original look good--nay! Look very good.

First of all, they couldn't even get the whole cast back. Rachel Wiest is replaced by Maria Bello who goes in and out of her pitiful English accent and looks to be much older than her husband. Speaking of age, their son Alex (Luke Ford), he looks like he is the same age if not older than his dad--Brendan Fraser, who has a relatively minor role throughout the whole movie--he pops in now and again to deliver the brow beaten dialogue. The whole storyline of the prodigal son is completely and totally unnecessary--much like the whole movie. (Why don't people consult with me???!)

The story itself is totally boring and if you submit oneself to this torture, you will find yourself wanting to nod off from time to time. To all you sadists, spare yourselves this agony, watch the original one instead...at least it had potential.

*1/2 Not-a-chance

Rated PG-13 (violence)

Swing Vote

When the Presidential race all comes down to one mans vote, both political parties begin to campaign...to him. Bud Johnson an out of work, single parent that spends most of his time getting drunk and fishing is about to choose the next President of the United States.

Although totally far fetched, I believe this sleeper will catch on. It is clever and fun and seems to enjoy making fun of itself and our political machine. The set up is a tad long, but it picks up and is actually quite cute--despite its desperate attempt to raise social awareness and political conscience it kind of chickened out with the very "PC" ending. Nevertheless it was still entertaining.

***

Rated PG-13 (language)

The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Dr. Dana Scully, now working at a children's hospital is asked by the FBI to help them locate Fox Mulder. One of the FBI's agents is missing and they believe that Mulder's "expertise" could help them track her down.

So as someone who was never a devout X-Files fan, I would watch an episode randomly at 4:00 in the morning, which in turn led me to see the first movie, which I thought was great--very entertaining and very well done. So naturally I thought that number two would be just as much fun as the first supernatural thriller....not so much.

The movie itself was muddled. The plot loses its way and you find yourself not sure what it is we are meant to believe in. I suppose for those that have never seen an X-Files episode this is an easy introduction, nothing to scare the newbies away nevertheless little for the zealots to cling onto. This was actually more like watching an extreme Law and Order episode rather than X-Files--that's how little supernatural events played into it.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for violence and thematic material)

The Dark Knight

Now Batman is back and fighting crime off the streets of Gotham City in The Dark Knight, sequel to 2005's Batman Begins.  If you really want a plot summary, see Mandy's review below.

Now on to my thoughts.  This is different from any other comic book movie adaptation we've seen before, it's basically a crime epic using comic book characters.  The film is very dark, complicated and realistic, like Batman Begins, but it takes it to a whole other level.  I really liked the movie, amazing acting, story, direction, special fx, everything is very well done.  Although I do agree with Mandy that it is too long and in a couple tiny parts I lost interest as well, but I think my overall excitement for seeing this movie overcame them.  I do however disagree with Mandy about Batman's voice.  He's trying to hide his identity and intimidate criminals, so he has to change his voice, I think it works well.

Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker, in my mind, is one of the best villains I have ever seen in a movie.  He is so creepy, unpredictable, funny and scary that you're excited every time he's on the screen.  Speaking of screens, this film MUST be seen on an IMAX screen.  The scope and resolution for the 6 scenes that were actually filmed with IMAX film are phenomenal.

There's great action and suspense, at times the action feels a little too spread apart, but the intensity of the film and acting keeps you interested in the story, although the ending is a little drawn out.  Overall I really liked it and highly recommend it, but at the same time I feel like it's almost too much for a comic book inspired movie.  I don't know, almost too realistic maybe, like I said it's basically a crime epic, almost Godfather-like.  At times I kind of wanted a little more of the fun of say, Tim Burton's 1989 Batman.  But it truly is an awesome version of the Batman story.

***1/2 out of 4 - Must see (and Heath Ledger's performance just may be Oscar-worthy)

The Dark Knight

The Caped Crusader returns to Gotham City to aide Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent fight organized crime. Just as they corner in on the head crime bosses a new threat arises, a criminal master mind known only as the Joker.


Ok so this has to be one of the most anticipated sequels since Star Wars. I had tickets to the midnight showing--I got there about 10:45 PM and people were already lined up for the 6:15 AM screening. WOW!

So for all those poor saps that are still waiting in line to see this film...well I think that they will enjoy it for the most part. However at two hours and thirty two minutes, the movie runs about forty five minutes too long. The plot gets bogged down towards the end and I found myself losing interest. Also Morgan Freeman, who was a favorite of mine, from Batman Begins is completely underused. OH! not to mention the fact that Christan Bale's Batman constantly sounds like he is growling when ever he speaks. Totally annoying.

The story itself is a tad too convoluted. For those of you that are familiar with the comic book series there is a little plot twist that won't come as too much of a shock to you, but again with the running time it is dragged out way too long.

Nevertheless!! As most people have suspected Heath Ledger was amazing. His psychotic ruthless portrayal of the Joker makes Jack Nicholson's look like a creepy circus clown. The script is defiantly dark and Ledger steals every scene that he is in. Every line is delivered with such malice that you can't help but love him. Over all this movie isn't something that I would run out and see again--although the Joker does make it tempting--he is way fun. The movie has had so much hype due to Ledgers death that many people may overlook the excessive length, the hodgepodge ending and once again Christian Bales incessant growling. Seriously though, they couldn't have paid for more effective marketing.

I don't know that I would go as far as to say that Ledger deserves an Oscar for this performance--I mean lets face it, if he didn't die this would be just another comic book character that although was perfectly executed would have been completely overlooked by the academy--Still his performance alone is worth your ticket.

*** Must See

Rated PG-13 (for extreme violence and menace)

HellBoy II: The Golden Army

The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense returns to save the human race from the Elf Prince who is on a rampage to end a thousand year truce between his world and ours. He brings with him thousands of "tooth fairies" that devour human flesh and bone. Hellboy, aka Red, along with his paranormal crew expose themselves to the human world making it difficult to fulfill their mission.

Ok so I didn't see the first HellBoy--however as you may or may not have noticed - the list to the side shows that I Netflixed it so that I would be brought up to speed. Nevertheless I never got around to watching it before I saw the sequel. It would seem though, that watching the original is not absolutely necessary. I didn't seem to miss out on any of the plot and nothing seemed to refer back to the original. Having said that, this movie was terribly boring. The beginning is fun and the little tooth fairies are disgusting albeit really cool, but the plot is horrifically weak and after the first 20 minutes I didn't care at all. I will give them credit for the CGI--which was very Pans Labyrinthesque--and very cool. That in and of itself is not enough to carry this movie--needless to say--Hellboy (the original) is going back to Netflix unwatched.

*1/2 - Barely Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for violence)

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

Hellboy II, directed by visionary director, Guillermo del Toro (Pans Labyrinth).  Hellboy returns to defend the world against the "things that go bump in the night".  Hellboy himself is a daemon, (son of the devil, I think..?), that was discovered by the US Army during World War II and raised by a loving father.  Under the direction of his father, he helps create and become the face of a secret government agency known as the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, along with his girlfriend who can control and engulf her body in fire and an aquatic-humanoid known as Abraham Sapien.  This time around they're defending the world from the rage of an elf prince that is fed up with the thousands of years old truce that has kept peace between the human world and the bizarre creature world, and wishes to release the wrath of the robotic "Golden Army" that once brought the human world to submission so many years ago.

I liked the first Hellboy movie, I didn't think it was great, but it was fun and inventive, kind of a different version of X-Men.  The second one is an improvement on the first.  Hellboy is a fun hero, he loves TV, drinks beer, smokes cigars and has a temper problem.  The creature design and makeup effects, like all of Guillermo del Toro's films, is unbelievable.  They are some of the most inventive and original creatures seen in movies today.  The first about hour or hour and a half of the movie is fun and engaging but at a certain point I kind of lost interest in the story and characters, maybe that's because of the pacing of the story or my unfamiliarity with the characters, I'm not sure.  The characters are fun and interesting, one great character is introduced, voiced by Seth McFarland (the dad in Family Guy) a German spirit that is encased inside a kind of deep-sea looking suit, brings a lot of fun and whit to the story.  The story kind of picks back up towards the end, enough so to make me enjoy the movie as a whole.  It's not fantastic but it's fun and the look of the creatures is worth a trip to your local Blockbuster, Red Box or the effort of your right index finger will make by clicking and adding it to your Netflix list.

**1/2 out of 4 - Somewhere in between must see and rentable.

Hancock

Talk about reluctant hero--Will Smith plays John Hancock a man with inexplicable super powers that could care less. He drinks his life away on the streets of LA and when he does try to do something for the greater good--ends up causing a bigger mess.

Matt's review was right on--this movie wasn't exactly sure if it wanted to be a comedy or an action flick and never really meshes the two together in a coherent way. Nevertheless it has its moments--not enough to run out and see it in the theatre but enough to perhaps add it to your Netflix list. The random albeit predictable turn that the script takes leading us from the world of comedy into drama/action is poorly done and is really where the movie starts to fall flat. However, as expected Jason Bateman is fabulous and makes it worth the watching.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for language and violence)

Hancock

Will Smith plays John Hancock, a super hero, a bum, and an alcoholic whose "heroics" always manage to cause millions of dollars of damage and enrage the public.  A PR rep played by Jason Bateman, decides to take on the task of making the public love Hancock.  

This is a fun movie.  I love the original idea of the story, having a superhero be a bum and hated by the people.  There's fun action and some very funny situations with Hancock saving the day yet causing lots of damage and upsetting people.  That said, this movie struggles in deciding just what type of movie it wants to be.  The beginning is very fun and comedic, presenting a few fun situations that a hated superhero could be in (I must complain that the trailers and commercials for the movie showed everyone of those fun situations, which kind of takes away from the impact of them).  The movie takes a big turn in it's second half and gets very dramatic.  I liked both halves of the movie but I feel like one of the two routes should have been taken and explored more fully throughout the entire movie, not just a half.  Had one of the two been more fully committed to I think the movie would've had more heart to it and the actors, Will Smith specifically, could've done more with their roles.  The special fx are well done and don't take you out of the movie, the cg stunt doubles are some of the more realistic ones I've seen.  The running time is a little short for movies these days, clocking in at about 90 minutes, yet at times you're wondering when they're going to get to explaining certain things.  But as is it's a lot of fun to start and emotionally interesting enough to keep you into it to the finish, but still a little forgettable. 

**1/2 - Not a must see, but worth a July 4th trip to the theater.

(PG-13 for vulgar language and violence)

Sex and the City

The girls are back in New York and on the big screen. It is five years later and the movie picks right up were the series left off. Miranda still lives in Brooklyn with Steve and their 5 year old son Brady. Samantha and Smith have moved to LA to further his acting career, Charlotte and Harry are living happily in Manhattan with their 3 year old daughter Lilly. And Carrie and Mr. Big are finally getting married!

As one who didn't watch the series when it was on HBO--I had to catch up with the edited television version--which I have always enjoyed. So the movie did have a tad more sex in it than I expected having only been familiar with the edited t.v. episodes. Sex aside, I think that anyone who was a fan of the series will absolutely love the movie--very funny and extremely fashionable.

My only complaint would be, Jennifer Hudson, who is a new addition to the cinema version. Her character was unnecessary and frankly she was horrid in most of her scenes. Otherwise it is a very fun comedy about relationships, love, and friends.

***

Rated R (Language, Sexual Content, and Nudity)

Wanted

An accountant nobody is recruited into a assassins fraternity after his father was killed by a rouge fraternity member.

OK so this movie is the ultimate shoot em up, extremist action film that I have yet to see. The plot, although flawed, is fun and exciting. However the constant blood, shooting, throat cutting, hand slicing, body piercing, bone crushing Matrixesque type of violence--not to mention language is a beyond over the top.

** Rentable

Rated R (for gratuitous violence and language -- I think that it should have been rated NC-17)

WALL-E

And Pixar goes 9 for 9! WALL-E is a futuristic tale of Earth, overtaken by trash and pollution, abandoned by humans and inhabited by one little robot, WALL-E (Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth class) whose job is to clean up. As WallE goes through his mundane life of picking up garbage, he's developed a personality and a hope of love and companionship. When a hi-tech, life-searching robot named EVE shows up, he thinks he's found what he's looking for.

WALL-E is quite frankly an amazing film. The very idea of this movie; a love story on a wasted, ugly Earth, the main characters are robots that don't speak English and most of the movie will be without dialogue, you'd think it's crazy, but Pixar nails it. There is so much heart to the story. So much emotion and like-ability come from WallE, yet he doesn't speak English and has limited range of expression, but through the animation they convey so much. It's almost like Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin, conveying emotion and telling a story without words. You feel so much sympathy for WallE and that's all realized through story, animation and sound. The look of the film is beautiful. The scenes of a futuristic, wasted Earth are a little spooky but at the same time an amazing piece of art. Something also must be said of the sound work by Ben Burtt, the man who created sounds for Star Wars and many other films. The sounds that each robot make, especially WallE, do an almost perfect job of communicating what they're feeling.

This isn't your typical Pixar film as it doesn't have the bright colors in the sets and characters, which may make it a little less marketable to kids, and there are a few little slow points that they might get a little antsy in, but overall it's another amazing work of art by the masters of computer animation. Not my favorite that Pixar has done, but everything they do is still head and shoulders above the rest, this is a lock for best animated film of the year.

Oh and as always, Pixar has an animated short before the film. This one is called "Presto". The story of a magician and his rabbit, and their battle for a carrot and the perfect show. It's really funny and very well done. Another achievment for Pixar. They're unbelievable.

**** out of 4

WALL*E

WALL*E is a Waste Allocation Load Lifter-Earth Class, and he has spent several hundred lonely years cleaning up the earth. While sifting through the junk he has collected a few of the humans items--one seems to be a heart. When EVE a slick new robot comes to town she realizes that WALL*E has stumbled upon what may save the human race. She quickly returns to space to report her findings with one twitterpated WALL*E hot on her tail.

Loved it! Yep absolutely LOVED it! Talk about pure visual story telling. The first 20 minutes are almost completely dialogue free. Pixar did an amazing job with this one. As some one who wasn't a huge fan of Ratatouille (gasp!) I wondered if this would hold my interest for the 96 minutes (more than a half an hour shorter than the last two Pixar films)--I was more that pleasantly surprised.

Disney and Pixar of course have a history of making us fall in love with inanimate objects--but I was totally blown away with how endearing this little garbage disposal was. The CGI is so well done, the story is really just a simple love story--with some interesting political/environmental and social commentary--nevertheless so, so, SO well done. Once more I can't emphasize enough how well the story was told--and again almost all visually. There are only 5 or 6 speaking parts the rest plays out like a silent movie--visually stunning and lots of charm.

**** Oscar Worthy

Rated G

Get Smart

Maxwell Smart is a data analysts at Control-a secret government agency. For years he has dreamed of becoming a field agent. When Control is compromised and the identity of most of it's agents revealed Max gets his chance. Partnered with Agent 99, an experienced field agent, they set off to save the world from Chaos.

Over all this movie is totally forgettable--nevertheless Steve Carell is great and makes it worth watching. The plot is completely predictable and I guess reminiscent of the television show? Not sure as it was slightly before my time and I couldn't stand to watch the reruns. Having said that--it wasn't a horrid movie--it had it's moments of laughter despite its cliches.

**1/2 Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for violence and risque dialogue)

The Incredible Hulk

Bruce Banner hides out in Brazil while trying to cure his gamma radiation poisoning. The US Government, or one General in particular, is determined to find him and bring him back to exploit the rage within him and turn it into a weapon.

I have to admit, after seeing Ang Lee's HULK 5 years ago--I didn't expect much from this version either. I was wonderfully surprised. This remake is very well made. Great script, well told story, amazing cinematography, and the CGI isn't depended upon to tell the story--their is actually decent character development and good performances that hold up their end of the deal. As Matt said, this Hulk is actually the right size unlike his most recent predecessor who resembled King Kong.

Although I didn't like this quite as much as Iron Man, it was still a lot of fun. Iron Man has a little bit more charm to it in terms of its shrewd astute dialogue, nevertheless the Hulk in pretty Incredible.

*** Must See

Rated PG-13 (Violence)

The Incredible Hulk

The Hulk is back! This is a remake, not a sequel, of the less than impressive 2003(?) Hulk. But the stories of each line up as so this could basically be a sequel. That said, it's still a remake, new actors, new director and it explains everything. We start with scientist Bruce Banner living in Brazil, trying to control and cure his condition while hiding from the US Army, which wants possession of his body and the monster it holds inside. The Army gets wind of his location and goes after him, and the adventure begins.

Marvel is 2 for 2 this summer with Iron Man and now the Incredible Hulk. This new version blows the 2003 version out of the water. There's never a dull moment, this movie is packed with action. It's a fun and well done superhero movie, definitely does the Hulk character justice. Edward Norton, who co-wrote the story, does a great job as Bruce Banner and the rest of the cast is solid. The special fx are very well done, and thankfully Hulk is the right size this time instead of the size of King Kong. Some of the close ups on Hulk are amazing, his skin and muscles look absolutely real, like they were filmed on set. There are some beautiful shots of rolling hills in Brazil completely covered with houses, really cool looking and it makes a great setting for a chase scene. The climax of this movie is truly epic with an amazing fight between Hulk and his nemesis, the Abomination, loads of fun, awesome stuff. Now that Marvel has taken full control of their movies with no studio interference, they're doing some very cool crossover stuff with all of these superheros. If you haven't seen Iron Man yet, you may want to before you see The Hulk, as there is a very cool cameo by Tony Stark aka Iron Man that gives more clues to the upcoming Captain America and The Avengers. Speaking of cameos, watch for the actor that played the Hulk in the 70's tv show. Oh, small tangent. Please turn your phones off while in the theater. When someone opens their phone in a pitch black theater, it's a tad noticeable. I sat next to a kid that literally texted throughout the entire movie! There's no way he could tell you what the movie was about because he was texting away the entire time and lighting up the theater!! I hate that. But anyway, it still didn't stop me from enjoying the movie, loads of fun, a great time at the movies.

***1/2 out of 4

Kung Fu Panda

From Dreamworks Animation comes Kung Fu Panda. The story of Po, a tubby, clumsy panda with a passion for kung fu and food. Po is stuck helping his father's noodle restaurant but dreams of life as a kung fu warrior. He is chosen through an ancient prophesy to become the next "Dragon Warrior" and train with his idols "The Furious Five" Crane, Monkey, Mantis, Snake and Tiger, to defend his people from evil.

Dreamworks has given us both ends of the spectrum with their animated films. Some very entertaining films, but also some big disappointments. The first two Shrek films and Over the Hedge are their best efforts and Kung Fu Panda is right there with them. Dreamworks continues to be right on par, if not a little below, with Pixar in terms of character and set design as well as the actual character animation. Where Dreamworks has failed is in the story department. Kung Fu Panda has some of the "heart" that Pixar seems to nail every time. It's not quite to the Pixar level, but it's getting closer. It has the heart but maybe not quite the...what's the word?...."charm" or "magic" of Pixar. That said it is a very well done film. The artistic talent on display is amazing. The character design is great, the sets are beautiful and the animation is very well done. There's a lot of comedy and great action/kung fu sequences. The voice cast does an excellent job, especially Jack Black as the panda and Dustin Hoffman as his kung fu master. I was a little bugged that Dreamworks gave in to cheap comedy again with yet another groin hit joke, only one this time, but still unacceptable. Although Jack Blacks line afterwards makes it somewhat tolerable. The soundtrack is very good and odd to say, but the ending credits are very well done and the music during them is great. And I suggest staying for after the credits, there's a great little moment at the end of them. Solid effort by Dreamworks, although their up and down trend could continue, their next film is a sequel to Madagascar, a movie that doesn't exactly scream for a sequel. We'll see. Next review...The Incredible Hulk...

Oh and I had kind of an Indiana Jones moment after the movie. I had my phone turned off and in my shirt pocket. As I stood up to leave, my phone dropped out and behind the seats in front of me. Keep in mind, my phone is black, thin and off (no lights). I got down on my hands and knees on the seldom cleaned theater floor to look for my phone. Couldn't see a thing. So I had to reach under the chairs and feel around for my phone, grabbing used napkins, wrappers, food, crumbs and who knows what else. What's worse is I wasn't quite sure which seat my phone was under so I had to feel the floor under about 3 chairs. Still no phone. So I grabbed a popcorn bad and used it to sweep out everything from under the seats, and out came my phone, covered in gags of all kinds. Disgusting. I went straight to the bathroom and washed my arms and phone. Maybe I won't be courteous anymore by turning my phone off.

*** out of 4

(Rated PG for lots of kung fu fighting)

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The second installment in the Narnia adventures. I liked the first one but wasn't a huge fan, liked it much more the second time I saw it on dvd. That said, I liked this new one better than the first. While true, there isn't a lot of character development, it kind of assumes you know all the set up from the first one, it still is very entertaining and has a lot of heart to it. I have to disagree with Mandy about the religious aspects being down played, I thought they were very prevalent and very well done, the ending, while a bit abrupt was particularly emotional. I will agree however on the soundtrack, very powerful. There is quite a bit of fighting and battle scenes and I'm a little surprised it didn't earn a PG-13 rating because of it, although there's not blood and guts, most of it is hidden from the camera. All of the actors do a great job and I found the four kids to be much more believable this time around, especially in battle scenes. The special fx are truly top notch. A movie of this scale and imagination simply could not have been done and done well without the technology we have today. Weta, Peter Jackson's fx company, continues to be tops in the business. Apparently this movie isn't doing quite as well at the box office as Disney had hoped, probably from being sandwiched in between Iron Man and Indiana Jones, but it's definitely worth a trip to the theater. Next up...Kung Fu Panda...

***1/2 out of 4

Indy's back...sort of.

The fourth installment of the Indiana Jones adventures. This is a fun movie, but it's not great. The first two acts are very fun, fast and very Indiana Jones. During certain scenes I found myself smiling because it was just fun to see Indiana Jones back in action. But the 3rd and final act kind of slows down and as Mandy said, there's not a real sense of danger, especially from our villains. And although the previous 3 films deal with something fantastical, as this one does, the whole alien thing was a little weird. But I actually kind of liked it, it's something new and different. It's just I always think of Indiana Jones as looking for some very important religious artifact, like the ark of the covenant or the holy grail. Harrison Ford just is Indiana Jones and, for the first hour especially, feels right back at home as Indy. Shia LeBouf continues to impress with his acting talents and does a great job as Indy's....uhmm...new sidekick. The actress that plays Marion is great when first re-introduced and for the next 10 to 15 minutes following, but then becomes uncomfortably cheesy. Speaking of cheese, there are a few moments that got a little too cheesy and a little rushed towards the last hour of the film. And the ending scene, which is way too cheesy, is somewhat redeemed at the end of the scene by one of the coolest moments in the movie, which could suggest the Indy legacy will continue with more films. Also a few of the cgi elements are a little too obviously cgi, which is due to bad lighting. The cgi elements lighting done in the computer doesn't exactly match the lighting shot on set. But other fx scenes look amazing. While there are fun moments tying into past Indy movies, there wasn't as much nostalgia as The Last Crusade, which was the perfect ending to the trilogy. This is more of just another fun, and ultimately unnecessary, addition to Indiana Jones' many adventures.

**1/2 out of 4

Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones returns! In the forth installment that takes place 20 years after The Last Crusade, Dr. Jones has been kidnapped by the KGB and is forced to help them find US Governments secrets from Roswell, New Mexico. This leads to a race against the Soviets to a lost city in South America in search of a mystical Crystal Skull.

Admittedly I went into this movie as a skeptic. I was certain that they wouldn't be able to live up to the original trilogy and this forth attempt would be mediocre at best. So going in my expectations were already very low... I was still disappointed. My complaints are surprisingly enough not about the storyline, nevertheless, the previous films were all about religious artifacts that Jones simply sees as historical finds and is then humbled by their powers. This one is more supernatural...and that's fine, I can deal with that. In fact I thought that it was clever, as the movie is set in the 50's...made sense. What was awful was the dialogue. The on the nose, campy, corny, almost talking to the audience dialogue. You are spoon fed every step of the way. Also I understand that this is not a new character--so people may think character development is not needed...but we haven't seen this character for 20+ years. What happened to the reluctant hero? Suddenly we are watching a movie where there is never once a sense of urgency or real sense of danger. Also as NONE of the endearing sidekicks(Marcus Brody, Sallah, or Professor Henry Jones Sr.) return in this episode, (not even Short Round) how about a little character development on the new guys? Make me care.

I get that people will argue and say that the earlier Jones movies were also a little campy and designed to be "B" action movies. But they took themselves a tad more serious. This one was almost like watching a cartoon. The reunion scenes between Indy and Marion (sorry if that is a spoiler) are so painful to watch--stupid, silly, forced banter that doesn't even come close to the chemistry that they had in Raiders.

I knew going in that it wouldn't live up to the originals, but I had no idea how bad it really was. It's almost as if Spielberg and Lucas were afraid of really trying. I went to the 12:01 AM showing on opening night, I got home around 2:30 and was so distraught that I watched Raiders of the Lost Ark just to make sure I wasn't over reacting........ I wasn't.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (I guess Violence? I know I said this before, but for a movie with such a legacy, to have invented the PG-13 rating, I expected a little more sense of urgency, a sense of danger--I mean come on, scare me.)

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The two sons of Adam and the two daughters of Eve return to Narnia after being back in London for a year. Upon their return they find that hundreds and hundreds of years have passed in Narnia. Everything is foreign to them and they find themselves in the middle of a war.

This wasn't, in my opinion, as good as The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Mind you I watched this on the tails of the Jazz/Laker game so admittedly I was a little out of sorts when I saw the movie. Nevertheless even in my state of sorrow I was still able to detect the severe lack of character development in the second installment. Long stretches of battle scenes that are not really necessary tend to pull you out of the story. It also plays down the religious/spiritual aspect so much so that I didn't really get the ending--as it is very abrupt--granted I didn't read the book, so there may be parts that I am missing. Still despite its flaws, it was entertaining and had a great soundtrack.

*** (Not really a Must See, but one you want to see on the big screen)

Rated PG (Violence)

Go Speed Racer Go!

Speed Racer, the movie version of the 70's (I think) cartoon.  Directed by the Wechowski brothers, the duo that brought us the Matrix trilogy.  Apparently if you were a fan of the cartoon you'll love this movie.  I knew nothing of the cartoon, besides the catchy theme song, (which is cleverly incorporated into the score) but I was still very much entertained. 

This is visually the most amazing movie I've ever seen.  The bright colors, stylized special fx and action are amazing.  It creates a world that is complete eye candy and a joy to watch.  The actual races are adrenaline pumped and very exciting.  The Wechowski's, as they did in the Matrix, create a world with it's own laws of physics and gravity, and you completely buy into it.  However, that being said, Speed Racer does have it's flaws.  There is a fine line of cheesiness that is walked almost perfectly through the first hour or so, yet it annoyingly crosses the line in two kung-fu fight scenes and a few other scenes with Speed Racer's little brother and sidekick/pet chimpanzee.  The length of the film is also an issue.  It clocks in at 2 1/2 hours, about 30-45 minutes too long, especially for a PG rated, Saturday morning cartoon inspired movie.  Which brings up another thing I noticed, the PG rating.  With quite a bit of swearing and voilence and some bird flippage, I'm surprised this wasn't PG-13.  All in all it's a fun time at the movies.  

*** out of 4

Next up....The Chronicles of Narnia 2 and Indiana Jones 4...

Iron Man

Being a lesser known superhero, I knew nothing of the history or back story of Iron Man going into the movie. Usually only the big name superhero's turn into big screen hits, ala Batman, Spiderman, Superman, XMen. Lesser known's such as Dare Devil, The Punisher, Ghost Rider, etc, usually aren't well recieved. Iron Man reverses the trend. "Iron Man", much like the first Spiderman and Batman Begins, explains how the hero came to be super, although Iron Man is much like Batman in that he has no superpowers, but instead a lot of money and a purpose for protecting the people. Robert Downey Jr. is the perfect actor for the role given his own history. Tony Stark, our hero is a very wealthy, very intelligent man that runs his fathers company that bascially supplies the world with weapons of destruction. Stark loves what he does and loves to party and doesn't care much for the adverse effects of his company, only the profits it gives him. Events are set in motion that effectivley change Starks views.

The special effects are well done and unnoticeable, aka you don't step out of the movie and say "Cool special fx", it's just "Cool scene" "Cool movie". Very important in cinema fx. The only complaints I would have are that we don't actually see Iron Man in action for quite a big chunk of the movie, but that actually adds to the character development and you're never bored. The other would be the climax needed to be a little more, oh what's the word.....epic? But I think that feeling comes from not knowing the franchise, the villains, etc. The ending is very fun. It definitely takes a different twist on superhero identity and anonymity. Oh, and stay after the credits, you'll see a little setup for Marvel's three recently announced films; Iron Man 2 (April 2009), Captain America (2010) and The Avengers (2011). Which apparently all tie into one another, The Avengers being the sequel to Captain America. The summer blockbuster season, my favorite time of the year, kicks off with a bang! Hopefully it continues. Next up...Speed Racer...


***1/2

Iron Man

Tony Sparks (Robert Downey Jr.) is a multi-millionaire arms dealer. His company makes weapons and sells them to the US government. On one of his many trips to the middle-east to demonstrate to the army his newest weapon of mass destruction, Sparks is hijacked and held hostage by a terrorist group.

I really don't want to give away anything more than this, however to those of you that, like me, know nothing about the Iron Man story/comic book series I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I don't know how close this is to the comic book, Iron Man zealots--let us know. Nevertheless this is not your typical super hero movie in that there is very little super hero action--don't let that sway you--this movie is very smart, funny, great dialogue, and even though our hero doesn't really show up until an hour into the movie--the character development is really well done and FUN!

Hopefully this is indicative of the summer blockbusters to come--Iron Man has set the bar and was a great kick off.

***1/2 Must See

Rated PG-13 (Violence and War)

Baby Mama

A single successful woman desperately wants to start a family but is unsuccessful with invetro. She decides to take the next step and hires a Surrogate Mother. When the Surrogate has problems at home she moves in with the leading lady and a form of the "Odd Couple" ensues.

I have to admit that I was totally surprised at how entertaining this movie was. I went in expecting another dumb SNL movie and was genuinely surprised. This isn't an amazing comedy and is still pretty forgettable nevertheless for what it is, it was fun and entertaining. There are also some fun supporting characters that pop up through out the film.

***

Rated PG-13 (Language and Sexual Content)

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Peter is dumped by the famous television actress Sarah Marshall. In order to get on with his life and forget her, he goes to Hawaii, only to find that his hotel room is right next door to, who else? Sarah Marshall and her new British Boy Band boyfriend.

So the mayhem begins, as he tries to forget her, but keeps running into her. This movie is being called one of the funniest movies of the year and even though there were a couple of times where I did in fact laugh out loud. This movie was so crude, so foul, so raunchy-I don't think that I would ever recommend it to anyone. It's not funny enough to put up with the raunch. And has so much raunchy, crude, foulness that it seems like a cheep way to a punch line. I know that lots of critics out there loved this movie, but I think that real humor is smart not foul. Forget seeing Sarah Marshall.

* Not-A-Chance

Rated R (language, sex, nudity, lots of nudity, blood, violence...you name it, it's got it)

21

A MIT student, desperate to earn money for Harvard Med School, joins an exclusive “club” that spends their weekends in Vegas counting cards and winning at black jack.

I went into this movie expecting an Ocean’s 11esque type movie. The young geniuses taking down the big bad casinos for the greater good of education…yeah not so. Not only is this not a young version of Ocean’s 11. It’s not even a fresh version of The Sting. The plot is slow and predictable and about an hour into it you will find yourself somewhat bored. Kevin Spacey was great as the devious professor but totally underused.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (for thematic elements)

Horton Hears A Who

Movie version of the classic Dr. Suess childrens book of the same title. This film is the 3rd Dr. Suess book to be made into a movie, the others being forgettable live action versions of "The Grinch That Stole Christmas" and "The Cat In The Hat". This time it's done 100% CGI, and Dr. Suess is made for computer animation. Blue Sky Animation Studios, the same studio that made the Ice Age movies (you'll get a trailer for "Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs") does a wonderful job with the sets, textures, character design and overall look of the film. The first view of "Whoville" caused one person next to me to say out loud "I want to go to Whoville!". It looks amazing. The animation is some of the best 3D animation you'll ever see. There's great usage of what animators call "squash and stretch", which basically means that the characters bodies and limbs squash and stretch to really exaggerate the movement, something used heavily in traditional 2D animation and starting to come into it's own in 3D.

It looked great, but now on to the most important part, story. It's evident that this was a 15 page book stretched into 90 minutes. That's not to say you won't be entertained the complete 90 minutes, but the strongest points are the beginning and ending. The middle kind of loses the heart of the movie, partly because the use of a great narrators voice disappears after the first 5 minutes...and returns for the final 5 minutes. Had that element been included more steadily, the heart of the story could've somewhat remained. There are also two scenes that, to me, take you out of the movie. Both are funny scenes but don't seem to fit. One is a weird morph into anime/japanimation world, and the other an odd musical number at the end. The voice cast, including Jim Carrey and Steve Carrell, do a great job, especially Carrell. All in all a worthy effort by Blue Sky. It looks amazing but once again, the story doesn't reach the "Pixar-level".

*** out of 4

The Other Boleyn Girl

King Henry the Eighth finds himself with out a male heir and a Queen who can no longer bare children. Enter the Boleyn Family. With two young girls that just might please the King, their Uncle takes every opportunity to put them in the middle of the Royal Court.

This movie was actually very entertaining, however completely and totally historically inaccurate. The film makers obviously didn't take the tour at the Tower of London, where the local Beef Eater guards tell the story of Anne Boleyn daily. Nevertheless it is a fun fictorical (that's a new word I made-up) drama. Two sisters battling for the affections of a King that according the Catholic Church isn't available, beheadings, babies, war. Doesn't it sound romantic?

** 1/2 Rentable

Rated PG-13 (Sexual Content and some beheadings)

Vantage Point

The President of the United States is shot at a peace conference in Spain. The Secret Service, amidst the chaos, have a limited amount of time to catch the culprits.

OK so this movie is such a fun and great concept. It is the same 12 minutes told over and over again from 5 or 6 characters points of view. Very fast paced, action packed, and fun to watch. The last 20 minutes of the movie however are so horrid they ruin the movie altogether. The dialogue is campy, the story just ends, and it all tries to come together in a Crash meets Die Hard sort of way that just makes this movie unbearable! I guess if you can look past the ending it might be worth watching.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (violence)

OSCAR!!

Check out the Oscar winners of 2007.

Gone Baby Gone

Directed by Ben Affleck. The story takes place in Boston and tells of a little girl being kidnapped and a private investigator, played by Casey Affleck, is hired to find the girl, if she's still alive, and find out who took her and why. I don't want to give away too much, it's a complex story that unravels with few characters being who you think they are. It will definitely have you asking yourself what you would do in the situation of the main character and will have you thinking about it for the next few days. The Afflecks being from Boston do a wonderful job of showing you the real Boston. Great film.

***1/2

Rated R for very strong Boston language, aka lots of "F bombs" and some violence.

Definitely, Maybe

...or maybe not? Will Hayes(Ryan Reynolds) is in the middle of a divorce when his daughter(Abigail Breslin) asks him about how he and her mother met and fell in love. Will then proceeds to tell the complicated love story, changing the names along the way.

Total "chick flick" and much like the movie Be Kind, Rewind...the concept is much more funny than the actual movie. I think here though, the flaws come from the editing. Abigail Breslin steals every scene she is in, which unfortunately are few and far between as they book end the film. Like many romantic comedies these days the plot has a lot of holes and is a tad unconvincing.

** Rentable

Rated PG-13 (sexual content and frank dialogue, language)

There Will Be Blood

And oil man makes his way in turn of the century California.

Yeah there really isn't a whole lot to say about this movie-you just have to see it. It is totally random, very little plot or story line. Very little climax-if any at all, and frankly a lack of blood. Nevertheless I loved it. Daniel Day Lewis is amazing-absolutely amazing! And Paul Dano, who is not one of my favorite actors, was perfectly cast in this. Despite its seemingly lack of story you will find yourself thinking about the movie for days to come. I guess my only complaint about this movie would be, aside from one minor hole, is the score--it is somewhat annoying and kind of takes you out of the movie. Still totally worth seeing.

**** Major Oscar Buzz

Rated R (for some violence)

Gordon B. Hinckley 1910-2008

Gordon B. Hinckley

Cloverfield

Well as luck would have it, this movie was all hyped up and so when I saw it I was all overloaded with high expectations, nevertheless having said that it was still kind of fun. Cloverfield, which I have yet to figure out the relationship between the title and the movie itself, is one of those old fashion monster movies--without so much of the monster. The alienesque monster attacks New York while we the audience are at a going away party video taping the fond farewells.

It was interesting in that the whole movie is told through a home video cameras point of view. That in and of itself make the movie worth seeing I guess. It wasn't an amazing monster movie, but it was a little different and that makes it new and fun I suppose.

**1/2

Rated PG-13 (for thematic elements, violence, and language)

A Little Sundancing

I didn't attend the full plethora of films that Mandy did, only two, but it was fun. I saw Phoebe in Wonderland. Very well done and acted. The Fanning girl (sister of Dakota) does a great job, acting runs in the family I take it, or their parents are forcing them to act and living vicariously through them. Anyway, pretty good movie, a little out there at points midway through, but the ending really brings it in full circle and is a good story.

The other movie I saw was "Stranded". A documentary about a Uruguayan rugby team of 19 year olds crashes in the Andes mountains and is stranded there for 72 days. It's an amazing story, and really makes you question what you would've done in their situation.

SUNDANCE January 17th-27th 2008!!

January is such a lovely month. It begins with the Movie Marathon and ends with 10 days of independent films and fun, otherwise known as the Sundance Film Festival. This year brought an eclectic group of flicks, some good, some bad and some ugly.

I started the dance up in Park City at the SHORTS PROGRAM IV--aka the comedy shorts. Yeah they were somewhat misstated as only one was a comedy. The rest of them, for the most part, were overly dramatic and vulgar.

Next I saw THE GREAT BUCK HOWARD, it is a slow movie about a young law school drop out that begins working as the personal assistant to the Great Buck Howard, a has been magician. The movie stars Colin Hanks, Tom Hanks, Jon Malkovich and Emily Blunt. Despite the stellar cast the movie was slow and didn't really touch a chord with me or the rest of the audience for that matter.

On to THE LINGUISTS a documentary that follows two Linguists around in Siberia, India, and Bolivia as they try to save dying languages. Surprisingly enough this film was delightfully entertaining. Very funny and really interesting. This has been picked up by PBS so look for it soon.

LOVE COMES LATELY, a movie about an aging writer that gets lost in his stories, was painful to sit through. It was long and boring and the movie itself had no idea where it was going. Someone sitting in front of me in the theatre fell asleep and apparently their dream was much more exciting than the movie as it woke them up with great gusto--I am sure they were quite disappointed to realize that their reality was the nightmare of a movie we were all stuck in.

BLIND DATE, Stanley Tucci's second directing venture was very interesting. It is about a couple that pretends to go on a series of blind dates in order to rekindle their romance. The entire movie is shot in a single location, as we just see them meet time after time in the same bar. It was a little slow, but you get into it and with every date, more and more of their story is revealed.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED was interesting. It was one of those movies that had tons of hype and then didn't quite live up to it. This movie was about the daily life of a producer, Robert DeNiro, and what kind of horrific acts he has to do and put up with just to get a movie made. Kind of funny...but eh.

PHEOBE IN WONDERLAND, this was a complete surprise. A darling movie about a little girl that desperately wants to be in the Alice in Wonderland production that her school is putting on, but has difficulty separating the story itself from her reality. Elle Fanning (Dakota's little sister) is so good in this. It has a stellar supporting cast as well. I believe it was picked up by Fox Searchlight.

THE MERRY GENTLEMAN, Michael Keaton's directorial debut was charmingly funny despite its dark topic. A suicidal hitman and a woman on the run from her abusive police man husband find an unlikely friendship. It is a little slow to start, but has a great sense of humor about it as well as timing. Not sure it will be released but definitely rentable.

SUGAR is a sports drama about the baseball hopefuls in the Dominican Republic that get recruited to the minors in small town USA. This is a really fun, interesting twist on a sports movie. Totally full of no-names, which makes it so much better; this is one of the best movies I saw at Sundance. Picked up by HBO so be on the look out.

SMART PEOPLE, an interesting movie about, what else, smart people and their inability to socialize with the rest of the world. Ellen Page (Juno) is the highlight, along with her uncle Thomas Hayden Church (Sideways) they totally make the movie work and worth seeing. Not the best of the best, but sure to be picked up due to its cast which also included Sarah Jessica Parker and Dennis Quaid.

HENRY POOL IS HERE stars Luke Wilson in an uncharacteristic role of the straight man. He is actually really good, playing a man that is dying and just wants to be left alone, but a water stain on the side of his house has captured the interest of all of his neighbors who just won't let him be. Perhaps a little heavy handed on the hope and faith side, it is still kind of fun.

THE KING OF PING PONG, which actually won best foreign film at the festival, is a comedy of sorts. It is about a chubbed boy that is socially awkward, nevertheless, extremely good at Ping Pong. This has somehow earned him the respect of all, as long as they are inside the community center. Outside however is a totally different story where he is bullied by his peers and younger brother. It is funny I guess, but I was a tad surprised it won.

THE LAST WORD was by far my favorite film of the festival. This is a dark comedy about a writer in LA. His job? He writes suicide notes for those that have decided to kill themselves and want to leave a great letter behind. Absolutely hilarious. Wynona Rider co-stars as the sister of one the dead clients and Ray Romano is amazing as one of the new clients. Must see! Cross your fingers that it gets picked up!

THE YEAR OF GETTING TO KNOW US-was horrid. Fact is Jimmy Fallon is only cute and fun to watch when he is funny, not when he is a depressed writer blaming all of his problems on his screwed up parents. He looked dirty and wet the whole movie...Take a shower! Someone growled in the movie too.

STRANDED. Wow! An amazing documentary about the Uruguay rugby team that crashed their plane at the top of the Andes Mountains in the 70's... 45 people were on the plane, 32 survived the crash, 17 got off the mountain alive. It is such an amazing story; PBS picked it up so you have to watch it.

BE KIND REWIND, starring Jack Black and Mos Def. This is about a pair of idiots that accidentally erase all of the videos at the video store they work at. So they decide to recreate the movies themselves hoping no one will notice. What starts out as a fluke turns into a cult appeal and they start doing more and more. The concept here is actually more funny than the movie itself, it has been picked up, but I wouldn't rush out to see it, rentable. But still funny.

So there you have it-my Sundance Film reviews pathetically shortened down to a few sentences. Can't wait for next year!!!